I had really hoped to get my review of Skinny by Diana Spechler posted today. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get my review written over the weekend. Still, I couldn’t just let today go by without notice.
Publisher’s Summary
In the aftermath of her Orthodox Jewish father’s death, twenty-six-year-old Gray Lachmann finds herself compulsively eating. Desperate to stop bingeing, she abandons her life in New York City for a job at a southern weight-loss camp. There, caught among the warring egos of her devious co-counselor Sheena, the self-aggrandizing camp director Lewis, his attractive assistant Bennett, and a throng of combative teenage campers, she is confronted by a captivating mystery: her teenage half-sister Eden, whom Gray never knew existed. Now, while unraveling her father’s lies, Gray must tackle her own self-deceptions and take control of her body and her life.
Visceral, poignant, and often wickedly funny, Diana Spechler’s masterfully crafted second novel illuminates a young woman’s struggle to make sense of the inextricable link between hunger and emotion, and to make peace with her demons, her body, and herself.
Why It Was Special to Me
On top of being well written, Skinny is quirky, irreverent, and incredibly honest. I have never yet read a character so like me as Gray when it comes to compulsive eating. What’s wonderful about this novel really isn’t that so much as it is that it didn’t make me feel bad about myself like other similar novels have. I felt as though finally someone has acknowledged issues I face without judgement and without the intimation that becoming skinny will make everything better.
So…
Skinny is a wonderful novel for anyone, but I can’t recommend it enough for book clubs. Pick up a copy of Skinny or request it from your library. At the very least, you’ll get to know me better through Gray and her father.
I’m so excited to see you liked this so much! I can’t wait to read it.
This is such a beautiful review. Thank you so much! I’m thrilled!
-Diana
I’ve also heard very good things about this book! I’d really like to read it. I remember when camp ads just called these places Fat Camp without any effort to make it sound better!
This book is new to me, so I’m glad you featured it! I really do think the message our culture sends to people is that being skinnier will make everything better.
This post makes me hungry….
[...] or 3 and a half hours of sleep that Saturday, Sunday and Monday night. In fact, my last post about Skinny by Diana Spechler only made it up there because I couldn’t sleep. I figured if I can’t sleep, I might as [...]
I really liked this one, too. I think the book offers a sympathetic view of obesity/overeating, without being saccharine or patronizing. And, oh that quirky humor. You just gotta love it!
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