This unusual book’s protagonist is Rachel, a single twenty-something living in LA, working for a talent agency, and navigating her way through life. Even though her family live thousands of miles away, Rachel’s mother has distinct control over her eating habits - evidently, this is significant and impacts hugely on how Rachel lived her life.

Calorie-counting to the extreme is a key part of Rachel’s everyday life - as is frozen yogurt! It’s when she’s at Yo!Good that she meets Miriam, whose family own the store, and she is someone who takes a shine to Rachel. Their backgrounds are quite different, although both are Jewish and have similar experiences.

The relationship that develops between Rachel and Miriam is full-on and fairly explicit, so if reading about female intimacy isn’t for you, you might not enjoy this book.. Rachel is a lesbian but Miriam, despite liking Rachel very much, struggles massively - and eventually it’s familial pressures that drive the girls apart.

At times, ‘Milk Fed’ is very funny; there’s also a certain amount of pathos, from the controlling nature of both girls’ parents, albeit in different ways, to what happens to Rachel at the end. However, at its core is food - in all its wonderfulness. Broder’s sensory details are sublime and show how significant food is to life, whether for good or for bad.

I just reading this book this weekend. If it were not for pandemic stress, I would have torn through it much more quickly. There is just so much to unpack in this novel. Rachel's obsession with food and calorie restriction -- it's all about what we want, what we can't get, and what we want but will not allow ourselves to have. Simply brilliant. I have to add the dialogue, both actual and interior, is top notch. Yes, I guess I will agree with other reviewers in that Miriam could have been developed a little more, but again, how well do we know other people. The Pisces has long been on my neverending TBR list. This book makes me want to get to it sooner than later.

Published by Scribner on February 2, 2021

Milk Fed begins as a light novel about a woman struggling with an eating disorder. It becomes heavier and darker as it transforms into an exploration of sexual and religious identity. Add the eating issue and the novel is about self-acceptance in the face of societal or parental judgment.

Rachel works for a talent agency. She also performs one evening a week at a comedy club. In her dreams she receives wisdom from a rabbi. In her waking hours she sees a therapist to address her mother issues.

To her mother’s displeasure, Rachel indulged her sweet tooth as a young girl and got chubby. At sixteen, she compensated by eating too little and nearly becoming anorexic. Eventually she saw a nutritionist who balanced her so that she ate the right amount of healthy food. Now she counts calories obsessively. She also thinks about food (particularly sweets) obsessively. And she frets about her mother obsessively. Her therapist wants her to detox from her relationship with her mother because it is “emotionally unsafe.” That’s easier said than done.

Also to her mother’s displeasure, Rachel is either bisexual or a lesbian. She’s never had a sexual relationship with either gender that was completely satisfying. Early in the novel, Rachel develops a friendship with Miriam, who works in a yogurt shop. She’s not sure whether Miriam shares her interest in a physical relationship, but she allows Miriam to feed her decadent yogurt sundaes and high-calorie Chinese food. Rachel also consumes Shabbat meals at the home of Miriam’s parents. She thus experiences the pleasure of flavor but the frustration of weight gain, mixed with the pleasure of friendship and the fear of trying to move that friendship to a more intimate level.

Miriam is not by nature averse to having sex with a woman, but she resists her desire because her Orthodox parents will be less than pleased at her choice of partners. The relationship does eventually change. The later chapters are rather graphic in their description of that change, which I report not so much as a warning as an endorsement for readers who might enjoy graphic titillation. But Rachel eventually gets it on with a male client in violation of her employment agreement. That scene also leaves little to the imagination.

Sexual uncertainty might be a lesser conflict in the Rachel/Miriam relationship than religion. Rachel enjoys the time she spends with Miriam’s family, which seems more accepting of her than her own mother, but she also feels the need to avoid their judgment. She does not share their uncritical embrace of Israel and the occupation. When Rachel politely suggests that Palestinians might have legitimate grievances, Rachel’s mother reacts with knee-jerk hostility, accusing Rachel of self-hatred and betrayal. Rachel wonders what it means “to love a version of something that might not really exist — not as you saw it. Does this negate the love?” While she asks that question about Israel, it might also be asked about Rachel’s love of Miriam, a love that must be kept secret to avoid the judgment of Miriam’s mother.

Despite the novel’s exploration of self-image, sexuality, intolerance, and parental judgment, the story doesn’t bear an oppressive weight. This is journey of discovery. Rachel learns about herself by tasting the forbidden flavors of chocolate and sex. She lets down her barriers and becomes less uptight, less fearful of her desires. She doesn’t know if this new feeling is “surrender, freedom, or a total delusion that was ultimately going to hurt me.” It is certainly not without consequences, but experiencing consequences is a necessary condition of growth. The period of Rachel’s life that we see in Milk Fed is one of difficult change, but the Rachel who emerges is more confident and less fearful of the choices she will need to confront in the future.

RECOMMENDED

It pains me to write this review, especially since I loved Broder's The Pisces.

"A scathingly funny, wildly erotic, and fiercely imaginative story about food, sex, and god" - such misleading claims. I wasn't amused in the least. The sex, which was over-the-top descriptive, was outright off-putting, and there was nothing imaginative, with the exception of a lot of Freudian incestuous masturbatory weird dreaming and fantasizing.

The main character and narrator of this short novel is Rachel, a twenty-four-year-old lapsed Jew, who works in a talent agency in Hollywood. She's not that keen on the job or her colleagues.
Rachel is obsessed with food, how many calories she eats, how often. She also exercises obsessively. She suffers from body dysmorphia and has an overbearing mother.
Out of nowhere, Rachel develops a crush on Miriam, an obese Orthodox Jew young woman, who works in the yoghurt place Rachel frequents for lunch.
The two develop a friendship and sexual relationship. I thought Miriam was under-developed and mostly there as a sex object. In the second half, there's a lot of lesbian sex. It was repetitive and way too descriptive, which felt like a filler.

The ending was anti-climatic as well.

Worst of all, the writing was simplistic and flat. This is no literary masterpiece, if anything, it felt like a first draft. Truthfully, I found almost no redeeming qualities to this novel, unless being a quick read counts for much.

I held off reading Melissa Broder’s first novel, The Pisces, because of all the mixed reviews. People were saying it was weird, but beautifully written. I received an e-arc of her follow-up, Milk Fed, and although I can see the same brand of “weirdness” in this one, it was, indeed, beautifully written while being cohesive and engaging.

*TW for eating disorders, body dysmorphia*

Milk Fed follows Rachel, a 24-year old lapsed Jew who works in a talent agency in Los Angeles. Due to her mom’s restrictive calorie counting, Rachel has developed obsessive food rituals to prevent herself from gaining weight. After her therapist recommends a ninety-day communication detox from her mother as a way to break away from disordered eating, Rachel meets Miriam, an Orthodox Jewish woman working at her favorite froyo shop. Attracted to Miriam, Rachel is pulled into Miriam’s world of faith, family, food as the two spend more time together.

As we spend the novel within Rachel’s head, I felt like Broder did a great job unpacking all of her impulses, desires, and thoughts, no matter how embarrassing or cruel they were. Rachel’s religion is also a big part of the novel, and it was interesting to see how this book connected one’s loss of faith to loss of family/identity, and Rachel’s attempts to regain control of her life through food while turning to Jewish folktales to justify decisions made in the later half of the book. What I can see maybe turning people off was that the descriptions of food or peoples’ bodies were described so sensually, it was almost overkill during certain parts. I also felt like while the ending was what I expected to happen, I felt like the book wrapped up really quickly given how the rest of the book was paced.

Thank you again to Simon & Schuster for providing this arc. I definitely want to read The Pisces now and see how Broder’s writing has changed and evolved.

Milk Fed throws two things at you: eating and sex. I’m not someone who has ever had an eating disorder, or an unhealthy relationship with food, and I found Rachel’s obsession with food and eating (or lack there of) to be exhausting. Which I believe was the point. ⁣
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Broder does not shy from talking about sex. She easily writes about sex like she does about food. She has a very frank way of describing absolutely everything which I really like. You’re most likely going to find yourself in one or two camps: 1) find her depiction of female sex and desire empowering or 2) find her depiction of female sex and desire unnecessary and gratuitous.⁣
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So where does that leave me?⁣
Honestly, I’m still trying to figure that out. I absolutely loved each individual element. I loved reading about Rachel’s relationship with her mother, her relationship with being Jewish, and especially her relationship with Miriam. I was interested in how she viewed food, the golem element, and her relationship with her therapist and even her coworkers. But what I’m still trying to figure out is did I love it all together? I DO NOT KNOW!⁣
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This isn’t a book I’d recommend to everyone but there is definitely an audience for it.

I really like Melissa Broder's writing style and I love how she boldly puts somewhat taboo topics to page, sometimes to the point of discomfort. I think she wrote a very real and sympathetic character in Rachel, who has a crippling eating disorder (TWs everywhere, be warned) and semi-related mommy issues. I did reach a point where I started to feel like it was style over substance. I don't really balk at human body grossness and graphic sex scenes (I mean, check my reading history) but somewhere along the way I started to wish there were fewer sexual fantasy descriptions and more plot movement, especially because the ending felt pretty anticlimactic. I think this is a unique and honest and brazenly tender book that got me too invested in characters whose stories it couldn't deliver on.

Who knew that a story of a young woman with a food disorder (past and present) could be funny, heartbreaking, incredibly sexy, and a brave tale of just being human with all flaws bared? Along with great mix of "I can't believe you went there!" to "I'm so glad you went there..." in including us in the mind and days of Rachel, endlessly counting out her daily caloric intake; we witness her growing love of a zoftig woman, her involvement with a B television star, her acceptance of her own body and ultimately of herself through a series of binges, dreams and heart breaks. An honest telling of what the world of eating disorders are really like: calorie by calorie, crumb by crumb.

A wonderful, sensual book. I will definitely buy this for my library and read more books from Broder.

I loved the writing of this book. It was weirdly erotic and absolutely captivating. The portrayal of mother issues, figuring out sexuality, religion, and being ok with yourself was balanced so well. I felt that each of the main themes was balanced in here. I liked watching the relationship go forward and see the outcome. Rachael wasn't the most likable character however, I was still able to empathize with her and her unhappiness in life. I definitely will be recommending this book to people.

I really enjoyed this book, and I actually attended the virtual book launch event Melissa Broder did with Books Are Magic, which gave some great context to the book and characters.

Basically, this book follows Rachel, a non-religious Jewish woman obsessed with restricting her food intake, as she goes on a therapist-suggested 90 day detox from communicating with her problematic mother. During this time, she meets Miriam, an orthodox Jew, who helps to reignite her appetite — both for food and for sex — transforming her relationship with herself and her spirituality.

During her launch event, Broder talked about the inspiration of the book as “being alive and feeling uncomfortable with that,” while also trying to figure out spirituality, ie how to be a human among humans. In the beginning, Rachel doesn’t allow herself to feel any pleasure because she’s disconnected from her spirit and her sense of self. Only as she pushes against the certitudes she’s built her cage from is she able to feel alive again — this book is, at its core, an exploration of this theme.

If the boob on the cover didn’t hint at it enough, this book has a lot of sex, and usually that works against a book in my opinion, but this time I think the sex was instrumental to the plot and helped to illuminate the character’s development as the plot progressed. She goes from fantasizing about being mothered by a woman at her office, to fantasizing about dominating that woman, to having tender experiences with Miriam and more… whatever is going on in Rachel’s spirit is reflected in her sexual experiences. Broder is also really good at writing steamy scenes, so these parts of the book are really easy to get through.

As someone who has struggled with food issues and getting validation from not only my mother, but everyone around me, I really related to Rachel’s voice and character. She’s witty and self-deprecating enough to be funny and relatable without coming off as annoying. There were plenty of moments that made me chuckle, right alongside emotionally impactful revelations, creating a satisfying balance.

I think where this book lost a couple of minor points for me was in the reliance on overplayed archetypes like mother issues leading to finding mothers in other domineering women and using thin vs. fat as shorthand to immediately communicate the differences between Rachel and Miriam. But, like I said, these are minor complaints for an overall wonderful novel.

Broder seems to have a talent for putting often-indescribable inner turmoils into words and making them funny, yet meaningful. I’m definitely interested in reading her other novel, as well as her poetry collections. I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in literary fiction that’s okay with some steaminess in their stories.

Hunger in all its forms are at the forefront of Milk Fed. From physical hunger, to the hunger for attention, friendship, satisfaction, relationships, and most of all...love. Who knew that food could be so incredibly sexual?

Much hyped, I'll admit to not having even read a description of Milk Fed before I started and boy was I drawn right in. Lapsed-Jew Rachel is struggling with an eating disorder and a dysfunctional relationship with her mother across the country. Struggling in LA in a dead end job, her days are measured by the calories she eats and the calories she burns, obsessively counting and then constantly looking forward to her next meal...till she meets Miriam. Miriam, an overweight Orthodox Jewish woman who works in her family's yogurt shop changes Rachel's life, feeding her with not only food but in all the other ways she's so lacking and needing.

Not having read Broder's The Pisces, I didn't know what to expect with Milk Fed. Sharply witty, at some points laugh out loud funny, and at other points, I found myself crying. Rachel was the type of character you want to root for as she struggles in search of way more than her next meal.

Thank you to Scribner Books and NetGalley for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this novel.

I read this in one sitting. Melissa Broder has the ability to cover some triggering and occasionally dark topics (eating disorders, familial relationships, religion, sex, etc.) with humor. While I did not find myself relating to the protagonist necessarily, I was able to identify with this type of prose in an “if you don’t laugh you’ll cry” type of way. The beginning was great but lost steam along the way and I felt as though the ending was slightly rushed, leaving me with some lingering questions. This did not stop me from ending the book on happy note as opposed to some other novels I have read in the past where similar topics are discussed, in turn leaving me feeling a bit down.

“a tale of appetites: physical hunger, sexual desire, spiritual longing…”

thank you to scribner and netgalley. for my gifted copy of “milk fed” by melissa broder.

rachel is a lapsed jew with mommy issues whose new religion is calorie restriction. when instructed to detox from her mother for 90 days, she meets miriam, an orthodox jew who works at her favorite yogurt shop. what ensues is a deep dive into not only the girls’ relationship, but into a relationship with food, sex, and religion.

shamefully, this is my first time reading melissa broder, and i can’t help but wonder why i waited so long. she writes with such a quick-witted and intelligent voice, bringing the characters and scenes to life as if you are watching a tv series rather than reading a book. from describing the look and feel of pubic hair, to the taste of the food—and other things—rachel is shoving into her mouth, even the way miriam carefully eats wontons with chopsticks, i was fully immersed in this story from start to finish.

while i saw the importance of the vidid sex scenes and the sensory experience—and who doesn’t love a good, vidid sex scene?—i felt like the story became a bit too reliant on sex at some point. it seemed like it became less about the actual relationships rachel was fostering and more about the sex she was having.

ironically, by the end, i was left underserved and full of questions. i wanted to explore and understand more about rachel's relationship with her mother, about her illness in regard to food, and even about her experiences with religion.

despite some faults, “milk fed” was a witty, quick read that should not go unread, especially if you like melissa’s previous work. i know i will be reading her others that i missed out on.

Maybe it's just me, but I didn't care for this book at all. I didn't identify with the main character and didn't really care what happened.. I found the constant sexual talk to be monotonous and just not something I wanted to read. I struggled to finish, thinking maybe I would like it more as it went along. Nope.

Milk Fed is a beautifully written, riotously funny, but often touching story about Rachel, a lapsed Jewish girl who is struggling to find her identity. The book  covers some big issues, including, food obsession and body image, sexuality, religion and the huge impact a mother-daughter relationship can have on all of these. Melissa Broder has a wonderful turn of phrase which evokes both humour and poignancy at the same time. I highly recommend this book. Thanks to the author, Scribner Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

I've never read anything like Milk Fed before (including Melissa Broder's first novel, The Pisces) and I bet you haven't either. Milk Fed works with themes that are familiar to Broder's work--desire, self-regard, identity, myth, culture, and sexual orientation and presentation. My favorite element of Broder's fiction is the way she weaves together very human realities (having a body, masturbation, weird therapists) with the surreal or sublime.

Milk Fed is a novel about an eating disordered woman, Rachel, who goes on a detox from her controlling mother at the suggestion of her therapist. Also at the suggestion of her therapist, Rachel does an art therapy project in which she creates a psychedelic woman out of clay that is supposed to help her see her own body dysmorphia. From here, Rachel's journey to self-realization begins--she meets Miriam, a "Rubenesque" yogurt shop employee who changes everything. Milk Fed is ultimately a novel about what it means to find your "spirit aesthetic" but it also absolutely outrageous, erotic, and overall very, very funny.

This will be my favorite read in 2021, mark my words. I identified so much with the protagonist that I read Milk Fed all the way through in one sitting. While I found myself cringing due to some shocking passages, Broder created such an accessible world for those who have struggled with eating disorders, family trauma, and unexpected love. Please see my review for more.

Melissa Broder's writing brilliance is undisputable. She writes about hard subjects (eating disorder, struggles with familial relationships, spirituality, sexual desire, and so much more) in a way that doesn't feel too heavy to read. I didn't walk away from this depressed as I have with books on similar subjects. I was a little disappointed in the ending because I felt like Rachel was "miraculously" over her eating disorder because of Miriam and I don't know how realistic that is.

From the first sentence of this book, I felt like our main character, Rachel, was so relatable. I was highlighting and writing down many memorable quotes in the beginning. Rachel is a reformed, non-practicing Jewish person, food is something she constantly fights, and her relationship with her family, is something that she struggles with. I was personally so entrenched from the beginning. However, the author does take a 180, when we meet Miriam.

Miriam, works at a frozen yogurt shop, and cannot quite understand why Rachel would never want any toppings on her yogurt. She is an Orthodox Jew, who has weight issues, but is entirely not consumed by them. Rachel and Miriam develop a relationship that borderlines on obsession in a comical way.

I loved Melissa Broder’s first novel Pisces, so much, I knew I would have get my hands on this book, and it did not disappoint. While this story is surreal, very sexual, and comical, Broder gives of us a story of woman who is trying to figure out her place in this world. Totally love this book so much.

Thank you NetGalley and Scribner for an Advanced Reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.