Rachel is a non-religious queer Jewish woman in L.A. By day she works for a talent agency. By night, she’s a stand-up comedian. She dresses well, goes to therapy, is politically progressive, and is probably the coolest person a lot of her friends know–at least until you factor in her toxic relationship with her mother, paralyzing insecurity, and eating disorder. When she meets a beautiful fat woman named Miriam who introduces her to the wonders of opulent fro-yo sundaes, kosher Chinese food, and Sabbaths in the embrace of a loving, supportive family, things begin to change at a rapid pace.
Not to get all #meetthebookstagrammer here, but I enjoy food. I don’t have a relationship with my mother, I’m straight, lactose intolerant, and formerly studied Christian theology. According to every white woman I have ever worked with, I am obnoxiously self-assured. I did do standup for a little while, though.
I tell you all of that to say that there is almost nothing I directly relate to in this book or its characters. There are large parts of this that I just do not get at all. But OMG I LOVED THIS BOOK.
Rachel is a mess, but a lovable, witty one. Her food escapades are simultaneously detailed, sensual, and disgusting (seriously, all of the eating in weird places like public bathrooms and dumpster alleys made me a bit nauseous.) Her love life is depicted similarly, both triumphant and disastrous by turns. All of this is held in a basket made of her mother fixation, her precarious mental health, and her desire to reinvent herself more authentically. And despite all the dietary self-harm, poor friend choices, and doomed relational decisions, you really want Rachel to win. Whether or not she does is…kinda up to you, and what you see as a happy ending, in a way.
There’s also this spiritual dream sequence subplot featuring a famous rabbi that I had to Google for a bit to really understand what was happening there and you know what? Just go read this book. When it was described to me, I was very sure I wouldn’t like it. It’s such a nice surprise that I did, and I hope you enjoy it too.
An all-you-can-eat kosher Chinese buffet to Milk Fed.
(Fellow readers! This was an interesting one–it snuck up on me through my library holds and made me really glad that I occasionally reserve something way out of my comfort zone just for fun. I don’t read enough fiction by Jewish writers to have a handy-dandy booklist for you today, but you can still do a search in the Equal Opportunity Bookshop and find some interesting titles. If you do that, or buy anything you find via a link on this website, we’ll make a small commission. TIA, and go read something good! Peace!)
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