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The Fat Woman's Joke
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Esther Wells goes on a diet and the scales fall from her eyes. Depriving themselves of fatty foods, both husband and wife have new perspectives on each other, and the process is one of slow destruction of their marriage. Esther tells in flashback, from the depths of her basement apartment in Earls Court, the history of her marital disaster - in between her consumption of chocolate cake, tinned fruit, sweet sherry and a host of other high-calorie goodies. This novel examines the role of Womanhood. The time is the mid-sixties when sex role stereotypes are being examined and rejected, and Fay Weldon's book reflects the passions, humor, and anger of an era when women's self-analysis entailed a good deal of disruption. This novel depicts the rage and outrage of that traumatic era.
Esther Wells goes on a diet and the scales fall from her eyes. Depriving themselves of fatty foods, both husband and wife have new perspectives on each other, and the process is one of slow destruction of their marriage. Esther tells in flashback, from the depths of her basement apartment in Earls Court, the history of her marital disaster - in between her consumption of chocolate cake, tinned fruit, sweet sherry and a host of other high-calorie goodies. This novel examines the role of Womanhood. The time is the mid-sixties when sex role stereotypes are being examined and rejected, and Fay Weldon's book reflects the passions, humor, and anger of an era when women's self-analysis entailed a good deal of disruption. This novel depicts the rage and outrage of that traumatic era.
143 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
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275 people want to read
About the author
Fay Weldon
159 books398 followersFay Weldon CBE was an English author, essayist and playwright, whose work has been associated with feminism. In her fiction, Weldon typically portrayed contemporary women who find themselves trapped in oppressive situations caused by the patriarchal structure of British society.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fay_Weldon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fay_Weldon
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
March 14, 2022
”During the day she would read science fiction novels. In the evenings she watched television. And she ate, and ate, and drank, and ate.”
What did Esther Wells like to eat? Probably an easier question would be what did Esther Wells not like to eat.
”She ate frozen chips and peas and hamburgers, and sliced bread with bought jam and fishpaste, and baked beans and instant puddings, and tinned porridge and tinned suet pudding, and cakes and biscuits from packets. She drank sweet coffee, sweet tea, sweet cocoa and sweet sherry.”
Living in a basement flat in Earl’s Court, I could smell the damp coming off the walls and ceiling. This is where Esther hides from the world and eats. And eats. It is her buffer against a society that doesn’t understand her. And that she cares even less to conform to.
Having recently left her hubby Alan, after twenty years of marriage, Esther decides she’s had enough of pretending. So off to her dingy flat she goes, where she eats for England. And thumbs her nose at the world.
It all begins with a diet (doesn’t it all?). Esther and her husband Alan decide that they are far too comfortable with each other and in their middle aged lives. A dinner party at their thinner and raunchier friends’ Gerry and Phyllis makes them realise this. The answer? Lose some pounds!
As Gerry announces at said dinner party:
” ‘Eat, drink and fornicate,’ boomed their host. ‘There is too much abstinence going on.’ His wife made apologetic faces at the guests.”
This is an insightful novella by Fay Weldon, told with her usual acerbic wit and wisdom. Is it really about being overweight? Yes and no. The added kilos and our relationship to food is shown as part of a wider societal judgement. Assuming that people on the larger side are lazy, unfit or don’t care about themselves, and that their thinner cousins have it all figured out and must surely be much happier and content. With better social and love lives.
This book got me thinking about how judgemental society can be, making assumptions of people based on their external appearance. And also how food has become such a boom industry in the last 10-15 years. Celebrity chefs, food bloggers, food stylists. Food is no longer there to be used either simply as fuel, sharing a meal with family and friends or for sensual enjoyment. It has become all pervasive.
The story is told via the POVs of Esther, her thin (yet neurotic) friend Phyllis, Alan (I can’t help but think of Alan Partridge), and Susan (Alan’s secretary, who he’s having an affair with in the office).
” ‘…there’s one law for husbands and another for wives.’
‘Of course there is. Wives need husbands more than husbands need wives.’
‘What a terrible thing to say.’
‘It is not terrible, it is simply true.’ ”
Such an Orton-esque quote! In fact, this entire novella had a distinct Joe Orton vibe, as Fay Weldon has such a good time at poking fun at society.
And yet, this book was written back in 1969. When cultural and love revolutions were occuring. Women realising there could perhaps be more to life than being a homemaker. That a man’s happiness didn’t equal a woman’s happiness. And how confused everyone was by it all. How much has really changed? We’re not all exactly a bunch of happy little vegemites, and society seems to be more splintered than ever.
Plenty of pithy one liners and observations. A laser eye showing that really, most of us aren’t particularly happy, and feel the need to conform in one way or another. Even the most rebellious are following a formula.
”When children take their games seriously, it ends in tears. With grown-ups, it ends in suicides, divorce and delinquent children. Be careful what you do.”
I couldn’t help but wonder why this novella hasn’t been converted into a play to be performed onstage. It would translate brilliantly to a live performance, as the characters are minimal in number, yet they each have so much to say.
Fay Weldon is an absolute joy to read. Brilliant.
”Food. Drink. Sleep. Books. They are all drugs. None are as effective as sex, but they are calmer and safer.”
What did Esther Wells like to eat? Probably an easier question would be what did Esther Wells not like to eat.
”She ate frozen chips and peas and hamburgers, and sliced bread with bought jam and fishpaste, and baked beans and instant puddings, and tinned porridge and tinned suet pudding, and cakes and biscuits from packets. She drank sweet coffee, sweet tea, sweet cocoa and sweet sherry.”
Living in a basement flat in Earl’s Court, I could smell the damp coming off the walls and ceiling. This is where Esther hides from the world and eats. And eats. It is her buffer against a society that doesn’t understand her. And that she cares even less to conform to.
Having recently left her hubby Alan, after twenty years of marriage, Esther decides she’s had enough of pretending. So off to her dingy flat she goes, where she eats for England. And thumbs her nose at the world.
It all begins with a diet (doesn’t it all?). Esther and her husband Alan decide that they are far too comfortable with each other and in their middle aged lives. A dinner party at their thinner and raunchier friends’ Gerry and Phyllis makes them realise this. The answer? Lose some pounds!
As Gerry announces at said dinner party:
” ‘Eat, drink and fornicate,’ boomed their host. ‘There is too much abstinence going on.’ His wife made apologetic faces at the guests.”
This is an insightful novella by Fay Weldon, told with her usual acerbic wit and wisdom. Is it really about being overweight? Yes and no. The added kilos and our relationship to food is shown as part of a wider societal judgement. Assuming that people on the larger side are lazy, unfit or don’t care about themselves, and that their thinner cousins have it all figured out and must surely be much happier and content. With better social and love lives.
This book got me thinking about how judgemental society can be, making assumptions of people based on their external appearance. And also how food has become such a boom industry in the last 10-15 years. Celebrity chefs, food bloggers, food stylists. Food is no longer there to be used either simply as fuel, sharing a meal with family and friends or for sensual enjoyment. It has become all pervasive.
The story is told via the POVs of Esther, her thin (yet neurotic) friend Phyllis, Alan (I can’t help but think of Alan Partridge), and Susan (Alan’s secretary, who he’s having an affair with in the office).
” ‘…there’s one law for husbands and another for wives.’
‘Of course there is. Wives need husbands more than husbands need wives.’
‘What a terrible thing to say.’
‘It is not terrible, it is simply true.’ ”
Such an Orton-esque quote! In fact, this entire novella had a distinct Joe Orton vibe, as Fay Weldon has such a good time at poking fun at society.
And yet, this book was written back in 1969. When cultural and love revolutions were occuring. Women realising there could perhaps be more to life than being a homemaker. That a man’s happiness didn’t equal a woman’s happiness. And how confused everyone was by it all. How much has really changed? We’re not all exactly a bunch of happy little vegemites, and society seems to be more splintered than ever.
Plenty of pithy one liners and observations. A laser eye showing that really, most of us aren’t particularly happy, and feel the need to conform in one way or another. Even the most rebellious are following a formula.
”When children take their games seriously, it ends in tears. With grown-ups, it ends in suicides, divorce and delinquent children. Be careful what you do.”
I couldn’t help but wonder why this novella hasn’t been converted into a play to be performed onstage. It would translate brilliantly to a live performance, as the characters are minimal in number, yet they each have so much to say.
Fay Weldon is an absolute joy to read. Brilliant.
”Food. Drink. Sleep. Books. They are all drugs. None are as effective as sex, but they are calmer and safer.”
Read
June 16, 2008Everybody should read this book, mostly because I won't be quoting all the things I'd need to quote to give an adequate impression, and random ones would be misleading. They'd not be hugely memorable either, but nearly everything in this short novel is still depressingly true, forty years after she has written this novel.
I wasn't actually sure if I'd read it, but remembered after a few pages (well and she'd signed it for me in 1999). Told in a number of interlocking dialogues (semi-artificial, yet still revealing), it's the tale of Esther leaving Alan after their diet, which had caused him to have an affair with Susan. There is of course talk about dieting and (women's) weight and bodies, with the line about them needing to be less substantial being most in my mind, although I had mixed it up with Atwood. In 1967 marriage and gender roles were still more rigid, despite the free love culture of youth, and I guess Weldon's novel must have seemed more radical (this time through I realised it's unpleasant Alan who writes a "cold, cruel" novel in this story which he thought was rather "warm and funny", and that I think is about Weldon herself, who agreed with me that only laughter can make one bear life).
Unlike Townsend's "Stealing Coventry" there is no (pretense) at rising from the ashes. The book is more concise and down to Earth than Acker, less narrative than Atwood. And I just realised I didn't get the joke this time round reading it.
I wasn't actually sure if I'd read it, but remembered after a few pages (well and she'd signed it for me in 1999). Told in a number of interlocking dialogues (semi-artificial, yet still revealing), it's the tale of Esther leaving Alan after their diet, which had caused him to have an affair with Susan. There is of course talk about dieting and (women's) weight and bodies, with the line about them needing to be less substantial being most in my mind, although I had mixed it up with Atwood. In 1967 marriage and gender roles were still more rigid, despite the free love culture of youth, and I guess Weldon's novel must have seemed more radical (this time through I realised it's unpleasant Alan who writes a "cold, cruel" novel in this story which he thought was rather "warm and funny", and that I think is about Weldon herself, who agreed with me that only laughter can make one bear life).
Unlike Townsend's "Stealing Coventry" there is no (pretense) at rising from the ashes. The book is more concise and down to Earth than Acker, less narrative than Atwood. And I just realised I didn't get the joke this time round reading it.
May 26, 2014
Its years since I read a Fay Weldon, and I had never come across this one before, but I remember being riveted by Life and Loves of a She Devil and The Cloning of Joanna May, so I was really disappointed when I just could not get on with this one at all.
First thing to note is the style it is written in - consisting entirely of what can be described as a series of "scenes" consisting of dialogue only with nothing ever to say who said what, so you really have to keep your wits about you to keep track of who is talking. One "scene" will consist of Esther (the wronged wife) discussing her failed marriage with her friend Phyllis, and the next scene will consist of Susan(the husbands' mistress) discussing her side of the story with her friend, Brenda. Unfortunately, however, each set of dialogue just came across as stilted and boring to me - it just didn't flow and I couldn't imagine real people talking like that at all.
Looking at the characters - there didn't seem to be a single one in there who I could take to, sadly. They came across as a pretty boring, shallow, pretentious, nasty bunch all in all.
First thing to note is the style it is written in - consisting entirely of what can be described as a series of "scenes" consisting of dialogue only with nothing ever to say who said what, so you really have to keep your wits about you to keep track of who is talking. One "scene" will consist of Esther (the wronged wife) discussing her failed marriage with her friend Phyllis, and the next scene will consist of Susan(the husbands' mistress) discussing her side of the story with her friend, Brenda. Unfortunately, however, each set of dialogue just came across as stilted and boring to me - it just didn't flow and I couldn't imagine real people talking like that at all.
Looking at the characters - there didn't seem to be a single one in there who I could take to, sadly. They came across as a pretty boring, shallow, pretentious, nasty bunch all in all.
October 9, 2019
All of the negative reviews are true but for some reason I was still enchanted by this odd sort of absurdism in which nothing really happens
June 2, 2020
Das Buch war zäh, die Figuren allesamt grauenhaft. ABER: Gemessen daran, wann es erschien, in den 1960ern, ist es ein ekelhaft gelungener Gegenentwurf zu Schmonzetten à la 'Bettgeflüster' oder 'Ich heirate meinen Mann' und dann auch ganz gut zu ertragen. Wer also für den Zeitgeist gern querliest, kann das mit diesem Buch mal tun, aber nicht zu viel erwarten.
February 14, 2017
Alan and Esther have sunk into fat, middle-aged complacency. After an acerbic dinner party they decide to go on a diet, and that is the catalyst for the breakdown of their marriage, hunger fueling their dissatisfaction with each other and their dull lives. A true suburban stereotype, Alan turns to Susan, his secretary, whilst Esther moves into an unpleasant basement flat and takes her revenge on a looks-obsessed society by constantly eating.
When Esther's friend Phyllis visits, perfectly manicured and coiffured, horrified by Esther's descent from the pedestal of saintly wifeliness, the most entertaining aspect of the whole novel is how she gradually starts to succumb to food herself, eating fleshy pink slabs of luncheon meat, and the infantile meal of stewed apples. Believe me, this is one book whose food obsessions won't make it into cosy recipe books.
A mean little book with not one likeable character, this must have caused quite a shock wave in 1967, dealing as it does with the shallow, middle-class view of what it is to be a woman, how we should act, how we should look, and what we should be grateful for.
'Why can't you be satisfied?' whines a frustrated Alan. 'You've got a home, and a child, and security and a husband who comes home every night. I support you. I'm polite to you. I don't beat you. You're luckier than almost every other woman in the world.'
I was depressed by the ending, but maybe that ultimately is the joke.
When Esther's friend Phyllis visits, perfectly manicured and coiffured, horrified by Esther's descent from the pedestal of saintly wifeliness, the most entertaining aspect of the whole novel is how she gradually starts to succumb to food herself, eating fleshy pink slabs of luncheon meat, and the infantile meal of stewed apples. Believe me, this is one book whose food obsessions won't make it into cosy recipe books.
A mean little book with not one likeable character, this must have caused quite a shock wave in 1967, dealing as it does with the shallow, middle-class view of what it is to be a woman, how we should act, how we should look, and what we should be grateful for.
'Why can't you be satisfied?' whines a frustrated Alan. 'You've got a home, and a child, and security and a husband who comes home every night. I support you. I'm polite to you. I don't beat you. You're luckier than almost every other woman in the world.'
I was depressed by the ending, but maybe that ultimately is the joke.
July 24, 2016
The word that came to my mind after reading this book was "incisive."
It cut me. It's proof that a novel can be both hilarious and profoundly depressing.
Read if you're interested in feminism. Read if you appreciate the absurd. Read if you enjoy f*cked up characters and situations.
Quotes:
Susan: "I need men to define me: to give me an idea of what I am. If I didn't have boyfriends I don't think I would exist. I would fly apart in all directions. So I must live my life in perpetual pain, if I want to live at all."
Esther: "Grief is a lovely word and a lovely thing. It heals, as resentment cannot. Grief must be admitted and lived through, or it turns into resentment, and continues to bother you for the rest of your life, rearing its depressed little head at all the wrong moments, so that one Sunday tea time at the old lady's home you will unexpectedly begin to cry into your toasted teacake, and the nurses will say "Poor Mrs. Frazer, that's the end," and will move you into the senile ward, when the truth of the matter is quite different. It's not senility, but grief grown uncheckable with age. Myself, I cry now and eat now, so as not to cry later, when it is yet more dangerous. I shall make a very cheerful old lady."
Alan: "You shouldn't keep other people's phallic symbols on the mantelpiece."
It cut me. It's proof that a novel can be both hilarious and profoundly depressing.
Read if you're interested in feminism. Read if you appreciate the absurd. Read if you enjoy f*cked up characters and situations.
Quotes:
Susan: "I need men to define me: to give me an idea of what I am. If I didn't have boyfriends I don't think I would exist. I would fly apart in all directions. So I must live my life in perpetual pain, if I want to live at all."
Esther: "Grief is a lovely word and a lovely thing. It heals, as resentment cannot. Grief must be admitted and lived through, or it turns into resentment, and continues to bother you for the rest of your life, rearing its depressed little head at all the wrong moments, so that one Sunday tea time at the old lady's home you will unexpectedly begin to cry into your toasted teacake, and the nurses will say "Poor Mrs. Frazer, that's the end," and will move you into the senile ward, when the truth of the matter is quite different. It's not senility, but grief grown uncheckable with age. Myself, I cry now and eat now, so as not to cry later, when it is yet more dangerous. I shall make a very cheerful old lady."
Alan: "You shouldn't keep other people's phallic symbols on the mantelpiece."
September 1, 2015
It is decades since I first read, enjoyed, and probably even felt empowered, by some of Weldon's books, but had not previously come across 'The Fat Woman's Joke', the first of her published novels.
How does it stand up to my memory of her previous works and the impact they had? Given this is the first of her novels, that is perhaps an unfair question, rather what I find intriguing is to imagine how this book would have been read and received when it was first published in 1967 ... the Female Eunuch was still three years away from publication ...
Here are unsympathetic, selfish and self obsessed characters, full of their own fantasy views of who they are, who other people are, and what is going on around them ... presented on page with very little airbrushing ... it is not easy reading, but it is intriguing ...
How does it stand up to my memory of her previous works and the impact they had? Given this is the first of her novels, that is perhaps an unfair question, rather what I find intriguing is to imagine how this book would have been read and received when it was first published in 1967 ... the Female Eunuch was still three years away from publication ...
Here are unsympathetic, selfish and self obsessed characters, full of their own fantasy views of who they are, who other people are, and what is going on around them ... presented on page with very little airbrushing ... it is not easy reading, but it is intriguing ...
November 24, 2014
Brilliant criticism of 60s middle class lifestyles, but it is a criticism. Theres not much in terms of plot or character development which makes it slow and dense. But it is good. I don't think I've even underlined more during a book. On a sentence level, Fey Weldon makes some excellent points. If you're looking for some feminism, this is the book for you. I will probably read more by Weldon but I have to take a break.
February 17, 2010
Written in 1967 the novel had a strong message. I admire Faye Weldon for bringing up so many topics that women are still struggling with. What does independence mean? What is beauty? What should gender roles be? I don't believe that in the past 43 years, these questions have been answered, yet. I've become a big Faye Weldon fan.
August 13, 2023
It reads more like a play than a novel. I really enjoyed the quirky, satirical tone of the book. It’s a quick easy read with some good quotable lines.
December 26, 2015
Just one big dialogue. But I do love the Brits!
January 18, 2023
This may not be Fay Weldon's best work, but it is her first, and indicates the direction which her later books were to take. Written in the late 1960s, when women's questioning of their social position was becoming the flood of the Feminist movement, 'The Fat Woman's Joke' illustrates the basis for such need to know.
Husband works at his office, providing the means to support his family, while wife Esther spends her days cooking food to delight them both, as well as son Peter. Esther had already broken out in rebellion some years before, but Alan had taken her back and resumed their middle-class existence with her. Now though, his decision that they should go on a slimming diet is fatal. Robbed of their shared pleasure, the couple become irritable and argumentative. Lacking anything to do with her days--Esther has Juliet to sort-of clean the house--the wife thinks too much, while the husband finds consolation in the arms of secretary Susan--who in her turn debates the place of the unmarried woman with friend Brenda.
The story is told in alternating scenes, between the various characters. None of them is particularly likeable, but all seem as shallow as the social structure which they're obliged to support, yet undermine by the expression of their deeper needs.
An uncomfortable read of an unpalatable truth--but Weldon was never one for the happy-ever-after. Recommended.
Husband works at his office, providing the means to support his family, while wife Esther spends her days cooking food to delight them both, as well as son Peter. Esther had already broken out in rebellion some years before, but Alan had taken her back and resumed their middle-class existence with her. Now though, his decision that they should go on a slimming diet is fatal. Robbed of their shared pleasure, the couple become irritable and argumentative. Lacking anything to do with her days--Esther has Juliet to sort-of clean the house--the wife thinks too much, while the husband finds consolation in the arms of secretary Susan--who in her turn debates the place of the unmarried woman with friend Brenda.
The story is told in alternating scenes, between the various characters. None of them is particularly likeable, but all seem as shallow as the social structure which they're obliged to support, yet undermine by the expression of their deeper needs.
An uncomfortable read of an unpalatable truth--but Weldon was never one for the happy-ever-after. Recommended.
January 14, 2023
In dit eerste werk van Fay Weldon worden we reeds geconfronteerd met de thema's die steeds weer naar voor zullen komen in haar boeken, essentieel gecentreerd rond de psychologie van menselijke relaties en hoe de mensen elkaar de duivel aan kunnen doen.
"The Fat Woman's Joke" is opgebouwd als een reeks van dialogen en dat maakt het geheel zeer vlot leesbaar.
Mijn enige teleurstelling is wel de manier waarop het werk naar het einde toe afloopt... en ik gebruik hier het woord "afloopt" niet alleen in figuurlijke, maar ook letterlijke zin... Het gaat bergaf. Fay Weldon werkt niet toe naar een climax, maar eerder naar een sisser... er is geen grap van de dikke vrouw, tenzij je haar als een grap op zichzelf beschouwt.
Maar goed, dit is duidelijk een eerste werk en in haar latere oeuvre maakt Fay Weldon zeer veel goed.
"The Fat Woman's Joke" is opgebouwd als een reeks van dialogen en dat maakt het geheel zeer vlot leesbaar.
Mijn enige teleurstelling is wel de manier waarop het werk naar het einde toe afloopt... en ik gebruik hier het woord "afloopt" niet alleen in figuurlijke, maar ook letterlijke zin... Het gaat bergaf. Fay Weldon werkt niet toe naar een climax, maar eerder naar een sisser... er is geen grap van de dikke vrouw, tenzij je haar als een grap op zichzelf beschouwt.
Maar goed, dit is duidelijk een eerste werk en in haar latere oeuvre maakt Fay Weldon zeer veel goed.
April 1, 2024
This was a short, interesting book that put me in mind of sit coms from the early seventies with respectable businessmen having affairs, wronged wives and indolent mistresses all wrapped up in farcical subarbia. The main character, Esther, does break out of this cliche to an extent with sharp pithy dialogue that punctures the pomposity of the other characters. However, as I find with a lot of fiction, the outcome was disappointing and felt unresolved. Also, and this is probably on me, I was never sure what the fat woman's joke was.
May 13, 2021
One of those thoughtful, free flow of ideas kind of books, bringing in to harsh cynical focus the nature of love, affection and the male female relations. The flippant, witty style interspersed with negativity makes on think, search the true intention of our interactions and how much is love and how much is ego stroking. An essential read for every feminist seeking to break through the dream and shackles of societal pressure.
February 26, 2018
Scherp verhaal over een vechtscheiding. Een vrouw weigert het om mee te doen aan de slankheidscultus, en is verder heel eerlijk over zichzelf en over de mensen de haar omringen. Zij geeft een krachtig, geestig, vilein portret over een ingesleten huwelijk, ouder worden, de rivaliteit tussen vrouwen en de hierarchie in vriendschappen.
December 10, 2019
I have ambivalent feelings about this book. On one hand, I finished it in 3 days and liked a lot of the quotes and themes from it; on the other hand, I felt very bored at times and really did not enjoy a lot of the dialogue (and the book is 90% dialogue). It felt stiff and pretencious and nothing like real people talk.
September 8, 2024
Belongs alongside other titles by Brit Lit titans, such as Evelyn Waugh.
There is really an art in putting each other down via dialogue! Love the deeply troubled personalities that complain about EVERYTHING, and let you know it!
There is really an art in putting each other down via dialogue! Love the deeply troubled personalities that complain about EVERYTHING, and let you know it!
September 28, 2022
started off strong but went nowhere. not really sure of what the whole point of the novel was?? maybe I just didn't get it.
March 19, 2023
Eating disorder
July 19, 2024
Hard hitting with punches that make you think twice but stays funny and entertaining throughout! Classic Fay Weldon!
July 24, 2025
not bad diatribe, but not nearly as good as her later work
September 22, 2013
A könyvtári könyvem legvégén vagy 6 oldalnyi üres lap található, amit nem tudok mire vélni. Remélhetőleg nem nyomdahibás a könyv és az üres lapok ennek az eredményei. Az utolsó nyomtatott szöveggel megajándékozott lapon nincs oldalszámozás, szóval reménykedem, hogy megkaptam a regény befejezését.
Így viszont nem is tudom, hogy mit szóljak. Egy biztos, hogy nem erre számítottam. Adott volt a Szabó Ervin könyvtár Böngészde részlege, angol könyvek sarka és ott a vidám címkével ellátott polc. Ott először a könyv címére figyeltem fel, majd a fülszövege is megfogott és úgy gondoltam, hogy a sok szakirodalom mellett megérdemlem azt, hogy egy könyvet a magam szórakoztatására is kihozzak.
Ennek fejében teljesen mást kaptam. Egy rövid regényt, nem túl nagy történettel, egyszerű kiszámítható fordulatokkal. A fontosabbak inkább a párbeszédek voltak, ahol gyakorlatilag egy görbetükröt állítottak elém. A társadalomról, a házasságról, a női szerepről, és magáról a nemi szerepekről is.
Nehezebben emészthető témákat könnyedén vet fel a könyv. Egyet már eddig is tudtam, de emlékeztetett rá a könyv: az élet nehézségein néha segít egy kis nevetés, nevessünk magunkon, a nyomorult helyzetünkön, különben nem fogjuk bírni.
Így viszont nem is tudom, hogy mit szóljak. Egy biztos, hogy nem erre számítottam. Adott volt a Szabó Ervin könyvtár Böngészde részlege, angol könyvek sarka és ott a vidám címkével ellátott polc. Ott először a könyv címére figyeltem fel, majd a fülszövege is megfogott és úgy gondoltam, hogy a sok szakirodalom mellett megérdemlem azt, hogy egy könyvet a magam szórakoztatására is kihozzak.
Ennek fejében teljesen mást kaptam. Egy rövid regényt, nem túl nagy történettel, egyszerű kiszámítható fordulatokkal. A fontosabbak inkább a párbeszédek voltak, ahol gyakorlatilag egy görbetükröt állítottak elém. A társadalomról, a házasságról, a női szerepről, és magáról a nemi szerepekről is.
Nehezebben emészthető témákat könnyedén vet fel a könyv. Egyet már eddig is tudtam, de emlékeztetett rá a könyv: az élet nehézségein néha segít egy kis nevetés, nevessünk magunkon, a nyomorult helyzetünkön, különben nem fogjuk bírni.
November 13, 2009
Wanneer Esther en Alan Wells, een echtpaar op middelbare leeftijd, samen besluiten op dieet te gaan, breekt de hel los. Meneer, vanuit een HONGERgevoel (tip: geef je man altijd voldoende te eten), gaat plots vreemd. Mevrouw, vanuit datzelfde hongergevoel, ontdekt dat haar relatie en huwelijksleven een gevangenisgeurtje heeft, verlaat het huis en geeft zich over aan boulemie-aanvallen in een miezerig flatje.
Voor de feministe Fay Weldon de kans om alle registers open te trekken en de lezer om de oren te slaan met haar visies op man-vrouwrelaties.
Fris en genietbaar (ondanks '67), al wijkt m'n eigen ideeëngoed wel wat af van het hare (en daar zal er eentje hier in huis niet echt rouwig om zijn).
Voor de feministe Fay Weldon de kans om alle registers open te trekken en de lezer om de oren te slaan met haar visies op man-vrouwrelaties.
Fris en genietbaar (ondanks '67), al wijkt m'n eigen ideeëngoed wel wat af van het hare (en daar zal er eentje hier in huis niet echt rouwig om zijn).
July 21, 2012
2008 bookcrossing review:
I didn't like this book much. It was dull and ranty and a bit disappointing after the last book by Fay Weldon I read. I looked in the front and it says that it was first published in 1967. There was something about it that reminded me of Girl,17 by Kingsley Amis - not the writing or anything, just the way everyone was sleeping with everyone else and not being happy.
In some ways this was more like a play than a book, and it was just a rant about the battle between the sexes, the way women are used etc etc. Thank god it wasn't a long book.
I didn't like this book much. It was dull and ranty and a bit disappointing after the last book by Fay Weldon I read. I looked in the front and it says that it was first published in 1967. There was something about it that reminded me of Girl,17 by Kingsley Amis - not the writing or anything, just the way everyone was sleeping with everyone else and not being happy.
In some ways this was more like a play than a book, and it was just a rant about the battle between the sexes, the way women are used etc etc. Thank god it wasn't a long book.
October 22, 2014
The dialogue was awkward, and the characters were painful to watch, but it was still a good read. I couldn't have tolerated it as a longer book, and the ending was disappointing. The value in it was how many times Weldon stripped people down to brazenly honest thoughts, and illustrated over and over how looks are deceiving. My favorite part was when Esther railed at Phyllis about Phyllis cornering happiness no matter what, even if it took ripping apart and stuffing her own flesh.
October 2, 2012
Me aburría mucho, y ponía en el resumen de esto algo de que era más divertido que las pifias de Romney. Ya. Resulta que no pillé la broma.
Lo hubiese terminado de todos modos, pero por ahí el 60% llegó mi hermana diciendo que lo había cogido por razones parecidas y dejado por razones parecidas también.
Lo hubiese terminado de todos modos, pero por ahí el 60% llegó mi hermana diciendo que lo había cogido por razones parecidas y dejado por razones parecidas también.
September 2, 2009
Description from Amazon "Fay Weldon's first novel is a parable on the way people see themselves. It follows Esther Sussman who leaves her husband after they go on a diet that she soon realizes she does not want to be on. She sets out to show that happiness is not dependent on her size."
October 9, 2011
This is an interesting book, but all of the characters are unlikeable. The two main characters are The Fat Woman and her husband's mistress and they are each telling their side of the story to a friend. We also meet the husband. You just want to slap them all silly.
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