published February 23, 2016
Penguin Books
This quick read is dark, funny, and devastating, taking the reader from Lizzie/Beth/Elizabeth’s awkward, overweight adolescence through her equally awkward, thin adulthood in 13 connected stories.
Awad tells Elizabeth’s tale by jumping into various points in her life, through telling vignettes. Most are from Elizabeth’s point of view with a couple from the perspective of the men in her life. Starting in Missasagua (or “Misery Saga” as she calls it) we see Lizzie play the role of fat friend to thinner girls, and needy sure thing to callow men looking for a little worship to boost their egos. Later she is thin – a state hard fought, hard won, hard maintained, and grimly enjoyed. Beth, as she is now called, endures passive aggressive scone eating with a metabolically-blessed coworker while carefully calculating every lettuce leaf she eats in pursuit of her goal. Some of the most affecting parts of the book deal with her relationships with her husband and her mother.
This story of one woman’s uneasy relationship with her body is an excellent choice for both women and men. It would also no doubt spark lots of discussion in a book club setting.
Happy Reading!
An advance galley of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest opinion.
