OK, this wasn’t at all what I was expecting. (Which goes to show that you shouldn’t pay much attention to blurbs and short reviews.)
The story is a first person view of a young woman working in (pre-COVID) LA. Like many women, she seems to have body-perception issues, and seriously obsessive eating behaviors. From her own point of view, it is quickly clear to us that these issues are tangled in other matters, including her relationship with her mother.
Not being young and female, it’s a bit disorienting for this reader.
The situation spins off into totally unexpected directions when she meets some nice yogurt servers. Calorie restriction suddenly tangles up with sexual attraction and connecting with Jewish heritage.
Did I mention disorientation.
Our protagonist is pretty horny, and we are treated to fantasies and seductions, in some detail. It’s not overly shocking (much if it is pretty sweet, in fact), but it’s quite a deep development from the opening concerns about the calories in the sprinkles on frozen yogurt.
Young Rachael takes a sudden swerve toward love, and maybe toward coming out as gay or bi. We are all cheering her on, though my own experience is that this is not how things really happen. But, you go girl!
Rachael also discovers a sudden attraction toward the comforts of family, specifically almost-orthodox Jewish family life. Considering her isolated and neurotic lifestyle, I, for one, wasn’t especially surprised that she liked it.
And with all of this, Rachael suddenly starts eating normally. Eating when she is hungry, stopping when full. Eating things she likes. And gaining a bit of weight, which is probably really good for her. This is a real relief–we were awfully worried about her.
Unfortunately, this swerve is only a short interval. Love goes away, and that really hurts. Family life goes away, too. Her new sexual tastes lead to the usual relationship problems. Her crappy job unravels, despite the new Rachael. And so on.
But she does seem to be able to eat normally and not worry about it. So that’s good.
it’s such a sad story, with no happy ending
I ended up kind of liking Rachael, even if I can’t really identify and understand with her struggles.
1. Melissa Broder, Milk Fed, New York, Scribner, 2021.
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