The Fattening Hut

by Pat Lowery Collins

Helen doesn’t want to stay in the fattening hut. She’s told her mother that she’s too young, not ready for it. Why must she marry so soon? She doesn’t want to gorge on rich meals for months—until she is round and heavy, like a good bride should be. Just like her mother and sister before her, just like all the women of her tribe. When she finds out the terrible secret the fattening hut harbors, she becomes even more confused and defiant. Lonely, scared, and feeling hemmed in by family, by culture, and by tradition, Helen fights for the chance to be educated, young, and free.

Genres: Young Adult, Poetry, Fiction, Teen

186 pages, Hardcover

First published September 22, 2003

About the author

Pat Lowery Collins is the author of many acclaimed novels and picture books. She was inspired to write HIDDEN VOICES when she learned that Antonio Vivaldi wrote countless concertos to showcase the talents of orphan girls — and snare husbands for a lucky few. She lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Fattening Hut is the fictionalized account of Helen, a young tribal girl who is being prepared for marriage at a very tender age. She enters the fattening hut...a secluded place where she is encouraged to eat to add fat to her body. However, a darker secret is told...she will also be subjected to female genital mutilation as the prerequiste to the marriage. Helen has seen her sisters and other female tribe members succumb to the after-effects of this brutal tradition where death is not uncommon. With gentle prodding from her Aunt Margaret and childhood friend Ahsani, Helen runs away in hopes of reaching visiting 'scientists' who will carry her to safety by envoking the power of the foreign word 'asylum'.

A sobering look at a barbaric tradition that is still being carried out today. Thousands of young girls are mutilated in tribal communities as a rite for marriage. This procedure results in difficult childbirth and other bodily functions are adversely affected.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heather Stewart
Multicultural
This work of fiction was based on cultures in Africa and deals with the customs that girls have to go through before they get married. Helen is put in the fattening hut to eat and do no work so she gains weight before being married to Esenu. Her outcast aunt gives her books telling about other cultures and she dreams of what it would be like. When she finds out about the cutting ritual she must endure she decides to run away. She is able to claim asylum and return to England on a ship with her younger sister. This book raised my awareness of the rituals of female circumcision and fattening rooms and how women are scarred by them but have no choice except to runaway. The topic may seem like it would be challenged but there aren't any graphic details.

[C.O. Bonham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say that this an impulse check out from the library. It was sitting on the shelf and its title struck me as so unlikely that I had to pick it up. Surly I had read it wrong. I hadn't. After reading the first two pages I knew that it was one of those rare books that I just have to read lest I start thinking that I imagined its existence.

The story is about a young girl named Helen who lives on an island. Her people have ideas about feminine beauty that as an American I found strange. Instead of desiring women to be thin and lithe the people of this tribe fatten their women to a bulging roundness. This in itself wasn't what made me cringe. The secret is a sad reality for many women around the world and I warn you that this book will shake many readers out of their comfort zone. Of course if you wanted to stay content you wouldn't read would you.

In addition to being a short novel, the poetic rhythms of the narrative help make for even faster reading making this a fast and enjoyable book.

[Katie Kapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Fattening Hut" by Pat Lowery Collins is a disturbing piece of realistic fiction due to the subject matter, female circumcision in African tribes. The audience has to be mature to understand and appreciate the book, so it is not intended for younger readers. A person interested in African culture might enjoy the book, though.

The book takes place in a African village. The tribe members view obesity in women as beautiful, so all teenage girls are sent to a "fattening hut", where they do nothing but eat so they can become fat. Once they are fat enough, a tribal elder performs a special ceremony on the girl where she is circumcised. Collins wrote the book in first person, and Helen, the narrator, does not want to be cut. Her aunt Margaret, who is an outcast because she refused to take part in the ceremony when she was Helen's age, sympathizes with her. Margaret helps her escape from the fattening hut and the ceremony. On her own, Helen wanders around the tiny island, knowing that she can't stop for a long time because tribal members are searching for her. She eventually reaches the site of a crashed airplane, with Margaret's help, where she meets her childhood friend, Ashani. He nurses her back to health after her long journey. He notices that English scientists are on the island studying tropicbirds; he hopes they will take the two of them with them. Sadly, the boat starts to leave as the teens are making their way towards it. Helen and Ashani manage to get the passengers' attention by shouting and waving, so he runs to the boat. The scientists refuse to take the children because they can't "steal them". Helen protests, however, and confesses her dilemma only to one of the women. So, the scientists agree to take Helen. Helen's little sister Suba was also resuced from the tribal customs by their aunt Margaret, and she arrives on the boat. The English say they will take the girls, but they will not take Ashani because he is not in danger. The story closes with the boat sailing away from the island, the only home Helen and Suba ever knew.

I loved reading this book! It gave me a glimpse into a foreign culture I knew nothing about. In addition, the book was written in free verse, not prose, so it was different and original on Collins’ part. It gave a nice rhythm to the plot. I enjoyed watching Helen persevere throughout her journey, and the conclusion was purely genius. “The Fattening Hut” definitely deserves five stars!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting verse novel about a young teenage girl named Helen who lives on a fictional African island (though the author says the traditions/scenery are based off Nigerian customs and the Caribbean island of Martinique, I believe) whose tribal customs include arranged marriages, the fattening and female circumcision of their women to prepare them for said marriages. However, Helen does not want this life, but dreams of freedom and the chance to be educated. Will she escape her fate? Although I thought it was a little long-winded, it was an fascinating look into traditional African customs and thinking outside of the box. Recommended for teens 15+, though the topics are difficult to read about.

[Cassi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked and was disturbed by this book at the same time. It is a sort of social commentary book that reads as a novel regarding the mental, emotional, and physical toll of a society on a girl that doesn't quite fit, and soon relaizes she doesn't want to. The deeper story finds that there are harmful secrets in the society which is propagated by the very people it harms, and is passed down from generation to generation. Almost got rid of the book when I finished it, but at the same time, I could not because of the message.

[Michelle Sánchez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given the heavy topic of women's rights in the world the author does a good job of putting a human face on the issue. It's written in verse and is a fairly Quick read so it would be a good choice for some reluctant readers. Female oppression and genital mutilation are topics that are discussed in almost too vague terms so most middle schoolers would need a guiding hand to get what this novel is talking about. Would make a great novel for a book discussion group.

[Mokamonkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one's about female circumcision. A difficult subject, but the author touches on it somewhat gently through her novel in verse.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel in verse about female circumcision in a community on an island off the coast of Africa has elements of fantasy.

[Renae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very powerful piece of writing. An excellent read for those who are also intrigued by Patricia McCormack's "Sold."

[Kristin Eoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was kind of confused when I first started reading this book because it appeared to be set in Africa but then was on an island. Then I read the addendum at the back and saw the author made up her own culture on a secret island. That made more sense.
In any case, it was a good book with suspense and some mysteries. The sad part is that it is totally based on horrifying things that happen to real girls in Africa and other parts of the world. The book is not explicit but gets its points across well.

[Vigenere · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book, it was gentle yet provided a stark portrayal of this terrible custom. I would, however, have enjoyed it more if it had been written as prose. The poetry was lovely, to be sure, but the point - and Helen's feelings on the matter - would have come across much more vividly if it was prose. I also didn't quite enjoy the section wherein Aunt Margaret's story was retold - sure, it probably holds some significance in the big picture, but I'd prefer to get right to the point.

Ah, I'm probably one of the only four-star-reviewers who spends more time criticizing the book than praising it! I truly enjoyed it, and, as unlikely as the possibility is, hope for a sequel!

[Sima · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't really enjoy it because it was in the format of poems which had a vast amount of imagery. However, the story was great. It's about how a girl who struggles in following her culture. The women were required to eat till their thickness showed because that was what men looked for. I didn't think that was fair because she was forced to change so that her husband would accept her. This was the controversy i had with this book because women shouldn't have to face this obesity because that was what men favored.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

A teenage girl on a tropical island can no longer run free with her friend. She must stay in the fattening hut to be made ready for marriage. No one else understands her fears or frustrations. All you want to eat, no work, what could be better? As the girl discovers what the ritual entails(FMG) she decides to run away. Sh escapes her tribe and with the help of her friend and her aunt, she escaptes to a boat of scientists who give her asylum.

[Dianah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that the subject matter of this book was so interesting - I ended up googling crazy island customs for WAY too long. However, at less than 200 pages, the story was severely underdeveloped, and I felt like there was so much more that the author could have done with her characters. Her messages about woman power, breaking the mold, and following your own convictions are clear, but such shallow development might keep readers from becoming emotionally invested enough to care about them.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I didn't care for the writing style (in the form of a long poem); the message was so powerful, I continued to read. The country was never mentioned, though I believe it was in Africa somewhere. The plot had to do with female genital mutilation as an initiation ritual.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Forced to live in the fattening hut in order to become a valuable bride-to-be, Helen finds herself struggling between the traditions of her tribe, her family's expectations, and her own wishes to fulfill her dreams for a better life in a free world.

[Rena Searles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book in just a few hours. Although a work of fiction, the author depicts an independent young girl (African, we think) who has come to an age where she must be fattened up and genitally mutilated to make her good marriage material. Unique presentation in free verse form.

[Sheri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had it been a true story I would have liked it much better.

[Phoebe L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book ironically reminded me of The Hunger Games.