Enlarged Hearts

by Kathie Giorgio

Linked literary short story collection.

Genres: Fiction

185 pages, Paperback

First published April 3, 2012

About the author

KATHIE GIORGIO is the author of a total of fifteen books: eight novels, two story collections, an essay collection, and four poetry collections. She’s been nominated for the Pushcart Prize in fiction and poetry and awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Library Association, the Silver Pen Award for Literary Excellence, the Pencraft Award for Literary Excellence, and the Eric Hoffer Award In Fiction. Her poem “Light” won runner-up in the 2021 Rosebud Magazine Poetry Prize, and her work has also been incorporated into many visual art and musical events. Kathie is the director and founder of AllWriters’ Workplace & Workshop LLC, an international creative writing studio. She lives with her husband, mystery writer Michael Giorgio, and their daughter Olivia, in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Three of her adult children, Christopher, Andy, and Olivia, live close by, along with her solo granddaughter, Maya Mae. One adult child, Katie, has wandered off to Louisiana and lives among the mathematicians and alligators.

Reviews

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely LOVED this collection of short stories! The stories are poignant, real, and some are sad. The story "The Fat Girl in Disguise" made me cry. I wanted them to accept her so badly! Then I wanted her to accept herself so badly. The last story is really uplifting, clever, and made me just giggle. Kathie Giorgio has an amazing talent. In this day and age it's not OK to discriminate against many groups of people, but boy it sure seems OK to torture Fat People. I suggest everyone read this book for a little perspective! I am very thankful to have won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway!

[Katherine Michalets Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was so much to be impressed by when reading "Enlarged Hearts" by Kathie Giorgio -- from her ease with words to her original voice and use of imagery to tackling difficult topics. I had several favorite short stories in this collection, including "The Fat Girl in Disguise," "The Fat Girl at the Fair" and "The Fat Girl Strides High."
Each of the Fat Girls has a unique and compelling story that draws the reader in. Through her words, Giorgio gives her readers access to the Fat Girls' innermost thoughts, desires and fears. Each story evokes strong feelings in the reader.
"Enlarged Hearts" is a real masterful collection of short stories.

[Shaindel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclosure: I went to graduate school with Kathie Giorgio and wrote the cover blurb for her first novel. With that being said, I was really excited to read _Enlarged Hearts_. Kathie does something really interesting with this short story collection in terms of challenging readers' beliefs on body image. In each story, the main character is known as "the Fat Girl." I thought this was such a brave move so that we have to consciously think about how we label others and how we label ourselves.

There are scathing moments in the short story collection, such as when a girl is buying a homecoming gown in a plus-size boutique, and her mother is berating her in front of the other customers:

The mother says, "Why can't you just lose weight? We've tried every diet there is, and still you're fat! We would have so many more choices at other stores. But you just eat and eat and eat and eat! You're a little pig! Don't you have any self-respect at all?"

There are beautiful moments where one of the "Fat Girls" questions why her health-nut husband died of a heart attack while out running, yet she is still around.

There were moments where I found myself judging the characters; I'll admit I wondered, "Well, why is she eating that?" Or there were moments when a thin character made poor food decisions, and I judged that. I think it's marvelous that Kathie was able to put together this collection which really makes us question the way we perceive ourselves and others.

It is also skillfully woven together; the stories all involve women who work at the Large & Luscious Large Women's Clothing Boutique, and you catch different glimpses of them in each other's stories in and outside of the store.

[Ellyn Lem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kathie Giorgio is a local writing coach, and I was curious to see what her fiction was like. This collection is a series of short stories with the unnamed Fat Girl (as she is called) as the central character in each. At first, I felt a little confined by these parameters. . .always the Fat Girl's daily experiences with a great deal of time spent at her job at Large and Luscious, a clothing store that specializes in larger sizes of women's clothes. But, some of the stories are experimental, which offers variety in style and theme. My favorite "The Fat Girl Strides High" centers on a trip to the Grand Canyon, a place where "big and beautiful" are celebrated and not shunned. Giorgio does a great job with her description, especially of scenery and various body parts. She is unflinching in taking on both the physical and mental realities of "fat" and I was moved by the character's realistic movement from acceptance to shame and back again depending on circumstances, including outrageous meanness on the part of mothers, strangers, teenagers who treat Fat Girls as an outlet for what must be their own deep-seated unhappiness.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book of short stories about Fat Girls. It’s an unusual collection, each story about a different Fat Girl (never given another name) who is connected with the Large & Luscious Large Women’s Clothing Boutique at a shopping mall somewhere in America. These stories both tear at the heart and make it bubble with joy. The Fat Girls struggle to fit into a world where they are scolded, made fun of, and deemed unacceptable. In each of these stories, we get close look at how harsh their world can be. When a Fat Girl goes to the state fair, for example, a carnival worker drags her over and makes people guess her weight. At the Food Court in the mall, rowdy teenagers drop their leftovers on a Fat Girl’s table and taunt her to eat them. But it’s not all bad. There are moments when a Fat Girl glories in her bounteous size and zaftig beauty and we love her for that. These stories, like the shop, are large and luscious, and, like all of Giorgio’s books, delightfully original. If you don’t want to read them because they’re about fat girls, shame on you.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful, heart wrenching, maddening, and entertaining. Kathy Giorgio does not shy away from painful and dark secrets. Her work is introspective and draws us into the reality of her characters. This earlier collection of short stories by this Wisconsinite is a favorite. It never strays far from my bedside table.

[Beth Browne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous collection of short stories by an extremely talented writer. Highly recommended.