Written by Marina JohnsonI loved it! ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
|
At Last, back on my #DecTheShelves reading shelf again, I picked up Marina Johnson's Fat Girl Slim. I had previously thoroughly enjoyed A Confusion of Murders and made a note then to read more of Ms. Johnson's books.
The blurb:
Fat Girl SlimFat and friendless, carer to her mother by day and a secret binge eater by night, 28-year-old Alison hates her life.
She feels powerless to help herself until one day she encounters the person she would like to be and determines to transform herself.
Admiration soon turns to obsession and as Alison loses weight she discovers she’s capable of things she never imagined.
Will she get the life she desires or the life she deserves?
Satire
Dark Comedy
My thoughts:
I loved it! Fat Girl Slim is written in the first person from the point of view of Alison, a very overweight, downtrodden 28-year-old who has been caring for her miserable mother since the woman had a stroke some ten years earlier.
I felt great sympathy for Alison, coping with her cantankerous and controlling mother; a woman who has browbeaten Alison all her life, ensuring she has no friends or family and no job.
For Alison, seeing Bella in the supermarket and determining to be just like her, was the starting point in changing her life. She needed to lose a lot of weight, so stopped comfort eating and started to exercise. Initially she exercised at home, but having built up her stamina, was soon able to pound the pavements at night - when nobody would see her, and after the mother went to sleep so that she could not dissuade her from her new exercise regime.
The word 'Diet' makes me run towards the fridge, so I was delighted that Alison had found something - or rather someone - that motivated her do something about her weight, and thereby her life. Losing a few pounds gave her the confidence to think about making other changes. And it tickled me that when she wanted a cleaning job she used reverse psychology on her mother, to get her mother to insist that she apply for one.
I was surprised when Alison spoke up for herself in her job interview. And as the story progressed, I was a little more than surprised by the things that she was doing, things that she could easily justify to herself... but not to me. She definitely crossed the line.
I ripped through this story in a couple of days, all the time worrying that Alison would get herself into serious trouble. I did like Alison as a character, but I could not condone some of her actions.
If you enjoy a dark comedy, I would highly recommend Fat Girl Slim.
As a bonus, at the end of the digital book, I was able to download Mother's Ruin, a short story subtitled How Mother's life was ruined by Alison's arrival. I'm dying to know why Mother was such a piece of work!
I also want to know if Alison gets away with her criminal activities, so I've now added Fat Girl Slim Returns to my wish list.
| Author Bio – Marina Johnson |
|---|
Author Bio – Marina Johnson
Marina Johnson loves all things British, including the weather when it stops raining. She keeps trying to write something serious and straightforward but it never quite turns out that way... |
| Social Media Links – | |
| @mjohnsonwriter | |
| Facebook.com/marina.johnson.5437 | |
| Web site | tamarillaspress.wordpress.com |
| @marinajohnsonauthor | |
| @tamarillaspress | |
| Goodreads | Marina Johnson |
No comments:
Post a Comment