Thinner Than Thou

Reed brilliantly delves into the psyche of a society that is enslaved by its relentless quest for physical perfection and ever-lasing youth. Thinner Than Thou scrutinizes every aspects of the image-making industry, i.e., plastic surgery, fat farms, diet fads, diet aids, cosmetics industry etc. and serves as a social commentary on the ridiculous, cult-like obsession we have with attaining the ideal appearance. I would definitely recommend this book to high school adolescents who already grapple with teen angst when it comes to their physique. This book definitely raises a social consciousness about a superficial world that is utterly infatuated with unattainable perfection and the extremes to which its members are willing to undergo show more (financially, emotionally and physically) to achieve it. show less

I feel dirty after reading this book. It's a rather formulaic dystopian story about image trumping inner character. The humor at the beginning of the book is not sustained throughout. One dimensional. I adored the nebulous ending.

Favorite passages:

Mom’s so smart but she prayed and prayed and never lost an ounce, was she doing it wrong or praying for the wrong thing? Mom, she realizes, has had a long, sad life trying to be beautiful, when any fool can see at a dead run that beautiful was nothing she was ever going to be, not even in the pictures when she was a lot thinner and almost as young as Betz. What can Mom hope for now, when her life is over because she is, like north of forty and therefore officially old? So what is it with show more you, Mom, isn’t it enough to be smart, which is the best thing about you?

My love courted me with roast duck and steamed Christmas puddings, we coalesced in debauchery and now we are bonded: we fall down together and gorge and get up and live for the next night when we fall down all over again, but when you are happy, especially when you are this happy, you must always remember. Nothing is forever. It never is.

For imagining there’s anything out there beyond physical perfection, for believing there is something beyond the NOW, these groups will be hunted down and burned out of their quarters or harassed to extinction. It’s not persecution, exactly, but it is. These holdouts who pursue a higher power, whether they call it God or Yahweh or Buddha or Allah or a name we don’t recognize, are a living reproach to right-thinking people who live for NOW. They are an insult in these days when body is everything, and appearance comes first.

“He wants us all fat and hungry and suffering, OK? He likes us that way.”
“No!”
“This people do. Who else do they have to make fun of?”
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Body image to the extreme. Is this where the world is heading with all of the fast-food chains and diet scams? It could be, and that is what makes this book frightening.

Great book focusing on our increasing addiction to having the "perfect" body.

2005 Alex Award.