A strange book written from the perspective of a contemporary woman. She is struggling with depression, eating disorders and her experiences are described explicitly with a comedic twist. Broder writes literary fiction in a style that has a pretentious but colloquial feel to it making this a great book for someone interested in dark humor.

Tits Aplenty in LA
Dirty. Sophomore effort from known Twitterer of @sosadtoday, Melissa Broder, Milk Fed is the story of a young woman, Rachel, working in the entertainment business in LA while coming to terms with her attraction to women, her Jewish heritage, her deeply troubled relationship with her mother who lives across the country, and her serious eating disorder. It’s a lot to pack into your early twenties but Broder’s sensitive and truthful descriptions of how food, calorie counting, exercise, and weight can take over a life carry us to a place in the story when the main character begins to spend less time obsessing over that and the sex scenes dominant. Some readers might be into it–but for me, it made me squirm and not in a good way.

Wendy Ward
http://wendyrward.tumblr.com

This book! It made me think, it made me uncomfortable, it made me never want to put it down. It's all about women and our relationships - with food, with our bodies, with sex, with our mothers and with ourselves. Funny, explicit, dramatic, draining and raw, these are the conversations women should be having with each other. Until they do, at least they have Rachel's story to read. I'm grateful to Melissa Broder for writing it.

Thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for the copy to review.

Thank you to Scribner for providing me with a copy of Melissa Broder’s novel, Milk Fed, in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel is in her mid-twenties and living the fast life in Hollywood, California. She works for a talent agency by day and moonlights as a stand-up comedian with a weekly gig. However, Rachel’s primary job is her all-consuming obsession with staying skinny. Her life is ruled by a sadistic exercise and calorie restriction routine. This singular focus leads to not only incredible unhappiness, but also isolation, as she prefers to eat alone and fears social events due to food.

Rachel’s life changes when she meets Miriam. Miriam is the daughter of the owners of a frozen yogurt shop that Rachel frequents. It may seem contradictory, but Rachel has a sweet-tooth and she has worked out the exact order size/combo of a low-fat frozen yogurt that gives her a treat that doesn’t kill her calorie count. Previously, Rachel had only met Miriam’s brother, who was precise with Rachel’s yogurt order, no questions asked. Miriam not only dares to question Rachel’s order, but pushes her to try a different, calorific combination. Rachel caves and indulges.

This experience sends Rachel into a spiral of overconsumption as she lets go and experiences all of the food pleasures that she had been denying herself for so long. She also becomes infatuated with Miriam, who is seemingly innocent and inexperienced.

The two women are polar opposites. Miriam is from a strict and observant Jewish family, while Rachel is lapsed in her Jewish faith. Miriam is tightly bonded with her parents, while Rachel’s parental situation is beyond complicated. Physically, Miriam is overweight, living in a body that Rachel fears. Yet, despite their different lives, there is a mutual sexual attraction. Will Rachel learn to love herself? Will a new romance with the magnetic Miriam change Rachel’s perspective?

Milk Fed is a force of a novel, a lightening-fast read that I found impossible to put down. The primary question of the story is whether or not someone has the guts to live their authentic life. When we first meet Rachel, she is an absolute mess, which goes far beyond her eating disorder. Rachel is desperate for validation. The relationship that she has with her mother is so toxic ( including childhood weight related trauma) that Rachel’s therapist encourages Rachel to take a detox from her mom, which involves a temporary cut in contact. This might have worked, except for Rachel has latched on to a “mother substitute” in a friendship that she has with an older coworker, a woman who constantly praises Rachel’s methods of depriving herself. It might be even more messed up than Rachel’s relationship with her real mother.

On the surface, Miriam seems to be happy in her own skin. She indulges in the things she enjoys and she is open about the love she has for her own family. She has qualities that Rachel so desperately wants. However, what Rachel initially mistakes for innocence, is actually fear and repression. Miriam knows that the only way to remain in her family is to follow expectations. She must eventually marry a man and bear children. She cannot have a future with Rachel, without being rejected by her family. In Miriam’s eyes, she sees the ease in which Rachel can love another woman and wishes that she could be more like Rachel. Miriam sees freedom in Rachel’s life.

In Miriam and Rachel, Broder has create two strong and complex women. Rachel’s journey is inspiring and the story ends on the right note, a realistic note.

There are magical and dream elements in Milk Fed,and many times, I stopped to admire Broder’s vivid descriptions and lush prose. I felt mixed emotions with the love story aspect. I’m a heterosexual, middle-aged married woman who does not have very much experience reading erotica. I may be off-base, but I would define large sections of Milk Fed as erotica. It was steamy. I don’t want to offend Broder with the comparison, but the erotic scenes in Milk Fed, were what I was hyped-up to expect the much milder, Fifty Shades of Grey to be.

To be clear, there are no comparisons at all between these two novels!

That said, I did not find the erotic sections to be very stimulating, but I suspect that comes down to personal taste. I found the romantic moments, where they were testing the waters to be very sensual and sexy. For example, when Rachel first holds Miriam’s hand in a movie theatre or when she helps Miriam put on lipstick. These awkward moments when neither woman can admit to their desire, yet the desire is palpable, were intense. I think this is where I responded because I prefer the intimacy of the indirect, uncertain moments early on, to the blatant erotic images. When I mentioned personal taste above, I’m speaking more to this, rather than the fact that I’m heterosexual. I think think anyone can appreciate and embrace a great love story or sex scene no matter their orientation.

Milk Fed is an original story involving the various things we can long for in our lives, especially relationships, both with others and ourselves. Although, thankfully, I cannot relate to Rachel’s myriad of troubles, I can relate to her quest to live her authentic life. I felt empathy for Rachel and Miriam, ultimately rooting for both of them to choose the life that will bring them happiness.

This was a powerful book and I really enjoyed the first half but I did feel a slight shift in the second half to become a pretty dark story. The main character's obsession with food and her sexuality becomes overwhelming. That being said it was incredibly written and the author made me really uncomfortable (which is a compliment!) Featuring restricted eating, bingeing, Judaism, withholding/smothering attention, mother issues, judgment and self-loathing/acceptance this book won't be for everyone but it was a powerful read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Not what I expected, but still enjoyed it. Thoughtful portrayal of flawed humans figuring out how to be themselves. And, I’m probably only saying this because I’ve been reading a lot of YA lately, but this definitely has adult content.

ARC from publisher but the opinions are my own.

This book was a little weird for me. The main character is extremely weight conscious, meticulously measuring food and forcing herself not to eat.. She is drawn to the overweight girl at the yogurt show she attempts to pursue a relationship with her. As she loses control with this woman, she also loses control of her eating.

A lot of girl on girl action, which doesn't bother me, but I admit I skimmed those parts.

Milk Fed opens with Rachel, a 24-year old bisexual Jewish woman,, describing her elaborate, very specific (and very disordered) eating routine. It is fascinating, disturbing, and even funny at times. And it hooked me in immediately. As the story progresses, Rachel meets Miriam, a plus-sized Orthodox Jewish employee at her favorite frozen yogurt shop, and the two begin an unlikely friendship that soon progresses to something more. Milk Fed is like nothing I've ever read before. It examines eating disorders, relationships, religion, mother/daughter issues, body image, and self-esteem and does it all with sharp writing and an unlikely humor throughout. (It's also very steamy at times!) Despite her (many!) issues, I enjoyed getting to know Rachel so much.

Whew, a slim novel packed with prose that will stay with the reader long after the last page is read. The short chapters move the story along making you turn the pages at a quick pace. I very much enjoyed how the author is descriptive not only in her succulent food scenes but in the way she describes the spicy erotica sprinkled throughout. The book deals many relatable topics. Rachel the main character grapples with body image and the restrictions she imposes on herself ( and from others) due to a self centered mother. She has lived thus far with her mother’s idea of worthiness related to the size of your body. She is learning to allow herself to want what she wants even if it’s letting other’s down. Acceptance and the desire to be accepted by those in our lives whom we yearn it from is key to the way she leads her life up to this point. Rachel meets Miriam who is her exact opposite mostly physically and an affair of sorts ensues. Milk Fed is a book that reflects upon poor body image, religion sexuality and food. Go ahead and indulge yourself calorie free. Thank you #NetGalley .All opinions are my own. #MilkFed

I have to be honest: I’ve never been so lost for words when writing a review 😅 Milk Fed was not what I expected, it made my mouth literally drop, and many of the scenes pushed me outside of my comfort zone, but I have to say…I loved it. However, with this love, comes the realization that this book is not for everyone.

🥯 In Milk Fed, Rachel takes a 90-day detox from her mother, a woman who raised her in the tradition of counting calories. This upbringing led Rachel to develop a controlling eating disorder that subsists until she finds solace in the arms of Miriam, an Orthodox Jewish woman. Miriam is a yogurt scooper who literally, spiritually, sexually, and emotionally overfills Rachel’s cup and helps her navigate her complex relationships with her mother, food, sex, religion, and politics. 🥯

A NYT reviewer recently wrote: “If there was ever a novel to defy a one-sentence description, Melissa Broder’s new novel [Milk Fed] would be it.” Literally…this. 🙌🏼

Milk Fed was unlike anything I’ve ever read before and I couldn’t set it down. Quite simply, I devoured Broder’s deadpan humor, self-loathing narration, and explicit details. But I don’t think this book is for everyone. Content warnings include eating disorders, sexual content, body shaming, fatphobia, homophobia, emotional abuse, toxic relationships, and suicidal thoughts. If you pick up Milk Fed, I would proceed with caution and care.

But I still personally took a lot from this book. It had things I didn’t even know I needed. And while it was filled with trauma, it was also a book about body liberation. It made me laugh out loud, physically cringe, and drop my jaw, all while pausing to critically ponder the author’s intentions, the characters’ journeys, and the underlying thematic elements.

If you liked Ottessa Moshfegh’s book “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” then this is the book for you. This book is the story of a woman who has a complicated relationship with food. Trigger warnings for body dysmorphia, eating disorders, and emotional abuse. I thought the voice found in this book was truly excellent. Although a hard read at times, Broder does an excellent job of helping readers step into the shoes of the main character. The pace of the whole book leading up to the ending was great. I felt as though the ending sped things up a bit and left me slightly confused. 3.2/5 stars.

I was really expecting to love this one because I'd heard the characters were hilarious and there was tons of Jewish representation. I did love all of the Judaism, but other than that, the story fell flat for me. It was believable but boring, and it was also a little too wild for me. There were some quotes (especially in reference to sex) that made the narration hard to read and enjoy. I thought the inner mind of a person with an eating disorder was really well depicted, and Rachel's thoughts about food, while sometimes heartbreaking, were my probably my favorite part of the book.

Thanks to NetGally, the publisher, and Broder for the ARC!

I liked Milk Fed! The fantasies were uh, not my thing, but I don't know that the book could have worked without them. I've realized that books that focus more on character than plot ARE my thing, and this is definitely on of those books.

🥠🥠🥠 (3 stars as rated in Miriam and Rachel's fortune cookies at the Golden Dragon)

Relationships for Rachel are... complicated; her relationship with food, her relationship with her mother (which is, incidentally, responsible for her relationship with food), and her now very estranged relationship with Judaism. It is while juggling all of these various complications that Rachel meets Miriam, an young Orthodox Jewish woman who works at her favorite frozen yogurt shop. Miriam, confident and comfortable in all the ways that Rachel is not, is an endless fascination to her. Together, they will explore the lies (and truths) they've been fed and decide, respectively, at what point they must finally say, "I've had enough."

"I could never tell if other people genuinely believed their own bullshit or not. I felt genuinely perplexed about it— especially at work lunches, but frequently in my nonlunch life too. At times like this, I longed to break the fourth wall, to whisper, Hey, just between us: Is this a performance or is it really what you believe?"

This is a book about boundaries and this is a book about food-based trauma. If you have issues reading about either, I'd recommend giving this book (and review) a pass. Body dysmorphia is no easy subject matter to read about and I can only imagine the toll it must have taken to put this story to paper. Still, I am rather blown away at how casually this story manages to meander from one trauma to another - from fatphobia to Zionism - while never once abandoning the gravity of either. Broder's exploration into how much of body dysmorphia is learned as well as her discussions of Israel (as told from the perspective of a Jewish-American woman), and Rachel and Miriam's respective sexuality, were absolutely brilliantly done. I genuinely felt their pain at so many moments. I only wish I could have experienced a bit more of their joy as well. I think they deserved a bit of it.

The thing about Melissa Broder, is that every sentence she writes feels like it's being pulled out of my own brain. Except, of course, I never thought to put these words together in any way at all similar to what I just read. The dream sequences in and of themselves were so deliciously bizarre that I am not sure anyone but the genius of Broder herself could have ever conceived of them. I think that's what makes her writing - to me, at least, so particularly remarkable. I feel like I'm reading my own life, and yet it's nothing like my life at all. It's more like what my life might have been had I lived this other person's life. I am them, and yet I am still me while I'm reading them. And although story was without a doubt the most uncomfortable book I've read this year (and I can't honestly say if I really enjoyed it all that much) I remain so thoroughly blown away by Broder's skill that I would recommend it (and her prior work, The Pisces) without hesitation.

✨ Rep in this book: Jewish protagonist, queer romance

✨ Content warnings for this book: body dysmorphia, fatphobia, toxic relationship with a parent, eating disorder, homophobia, abuse

This book packs a punch, for sure. The main character's unique voice immediately draws you into her messed up world, ruled by numbers on nutrition labels. It's a book about food, self-image, family relationships, and religion. It's so explicit in the descriptions of the physical and the emotional, every moment is presented with such vivid imagery. I'm definitely going to have to revisit this book.

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. I literally couldn’t put this book down and finished in one reading. Amazing character development and integration. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Maybe I'm just a curmudgeon, but I wanted to like this book--except I just couldn't muster the enthusiasm for counting calories, reading about masturbatory fantasies, and dealing with our 24-year-old's therapy sessions. At times, I'd pick up the book and find it amusing. Then, I'd pick up the book and it felt like I had re-read something , but I hadn't-we were still obsessing about food , sex, and the mother. I think a lot of people will enjoy this novel, but, perhaps not those who have food/sex/mother disorders. That's just a small population of the reading world. For me, I wanted more to happen, and to happen sooner, not later. I'm not only a curmudgeon but impatient. Damn this pandemic.

This book was ok. I didn't love it. I just felt like it went a little off the rails with some of the sexual fantasies. I did feel the descriptions about the eating disorders was very accurate and that was a good part of the book, but I just never really enjoyed the overall story.

Milk Fed is the type of book that will hit different people in vastly different ways.

For me, as a heterosexual, not especially religious white woman, I was reminded of the impact of women’s gazes on each other, particularly what is engrained in early childhood by mothers. It also resonated with me as a book about desire and what we allow ourselves and deprive ourselves from and why.

On top of it all, the writing appeared simple, but was *smart* and the steam level was through the roof (a combo you don’t see too often). The snark/wit was spot on and, at least to this life long East Coaster, it was a deeply LA book.

QUICK TAKE: Melissa Broder is for sure one of the more unique voices writing today. Her last book, THE PISCES (about a woman's relationship with a merman) was one of the stranger books I read in 2018 that I still think about, and her latest, MILK FED, feels similar in tone but is for sure its own unique story. Centered around Rachel, a woman whose toxic relationship with her mother has inflamed an already-existing eating disorder, and Miriam, the frozen yogurt employee who helps her work through her issues. Funny and emotional, while also a thoughtful exploration of difficult subject matter, I really enjoyed this book for the most part. Some of Broder's descriptions straddle the line of entertaining and profane, but overall I was a fan of MILK FED. Warning: do not read while hungry!