Milk Fed just goes to show that you can love a book and still be incredibly disappointed in it. After I read the first 30%, I was convinced that this was going to be my favorite book of the year. Ultimately it did lose a bit of steam and I can't help but to mourn for the exceptional book that it could have been, but nevertheless, I still enjoyed this so much and recommend it wholehearted to the right reader.

Milk Fed, Broder's sophomore novel following her sensational debut The Pisces, follows Rachel, a lapsed Jewish woman who works at a talent agency in LA and spends every waking hour of her days counting calories and fixating on her diet. Her therapist recommends a detox from her emotionally abusive mother, who Rachel usually calls every day. Mid-detox, she meets Miriam, an Orthodox woman who works at Rachel's local frozen yogurt place, who Rachel becomes fixated on, leading to a breakdown of her carefully constructed food rituals.

Broder's books are messy, piercing, gritty, and deeply, deeply funny--it's a recipe that works perfectly to my tastes. (Also, if you're familiar with LA and/or into bougie LA culture... her books are such a treat.) Rachel is a character whose head I bizarrely enjoyed inhabiting, in spite of or perhaps because of the sheer level of toxicity. Rachel was so convincing and well-crafted that I felt like I knew her intimately after only a few pages. Melissa Broder really excels at sharp and specific characterization where a lot of books in the 'disaster woman' genre tend to opt for a more 'generic millennial every-woman' approach (which I've certainly seen done well, but which I think I may be a bit burnt out on). Where this book falters is in its introduction of Miriam and her family--the pace slows, the focus shifts, Rachel's behavior becomes slightly less intelligible. Still, while I ultimately felt that Broder could have used a defter hand in editing to get it up to the high standard she set for herself in The Pisces, I honestly loved spending time with this book. It's not for everyone, but if you gravitate toward the slightly fucked up and absurd, you'll probably love this too.

Massive trigger warning for eating disorders. Probably other things too, but that's the big one.

Thanks to Netgalley and Scribner for the advanced copy provided in exchange for an honest review.

This book is not for everyone and will probably cause lots of strong feelings no matter if you liked the book or didn't care for it. However, isn't that what books are supposed to do? Make you feel and generate conversations. Some will love the main character, Rachel, and really empathize with her. Others will find her totally unlikable. This book brought up a lot of emotions and deals with a lot of different subjects, but Broder writes in such a way that it doesn't come off a heavy as she has a very carefree style that I really enjoyed. I also enjoyed the short chapters so you can walk a way if needed. I highly recommend this book and Broder's other novels.

There are books that you know that you will love and you do love them. But there are books where you don't expect to even like, but end up wholeheartedly adoring the book. You have a visceral reaction to them. Milk Fed falls in the latter category.

It is difficult for me to explain why I liked the book. Broder's previous book, The Pisces, is about a girl falling in with a merman(?!) from what I have heard and I skipped reading that book altogether. But from what I have understood of Broder's writing, it borders on weird to prove a point. And I have think I like reading these kinds of books the best. (See my love for Milkman in the previous post).

In Milk Fed, the protagonist suffers from a food disorder and has a difficult relationship with her mother. This is all you need to know while going into the book. And to be fair, there are other things that happen in the book but these two things are the essence of it. The writing in the book is bold and quirky. It also gets super deep and insightful in seconds, shifting the entire mood of the book with just a few sentences.

I also think that this book is not for everyone, but if you do read it, it will evoke instinctive reactions whether they are good or bad. All I know is that I am a fan of Melissa Broder for life now and can't wait to read The Pisces asap.

TW: Food disorder, homophobia

After absolutely loving The Pisces, I had high hopes for Melissa Broder's latest novel. Unfortunately, I couldn't get into the story and I didn't find myself caring for the main character.

Trigger Warning: mental health, disordered eating.

This isn’t the type of book I’m normally drawn to, but wow! I really enjoyed this book. Yes, it’s a bit vulgar and the main character continues to make bad choices. But despite all that, I found Rachel to be quite endearing. She’s a young woman trying to make her way in the world, battling with her relationship with food, getting out from under her mother’s manipulation, and exploring her sexuality. Within the course of the book she really grows up and into more of herself. Really enjoyed her journey.

TW: eating disorder, disordered eating

For me, this was a fast and gripping read. Rachel is a 24-year-old lapsed Jew with a complicated relationship with food and her mother. Milk Fed is honest, hilarious, and sad all at the same time. Rachel's world of calorie counting, control, and obsession over her food intake and rituals really resonated with my younger self. I hope that Rachel becomes a better daughter for herself. I hope the same for myself.

Thank you, Scribner and NetGalley, for the captivating early copy of Milk Fed.

I really enjoyed Broder's last book, "The Pisces," but this one didn't click for me in the same way. Her writing is absolutely fantastic, witty as hell, and that was enough to push me through the book, but I just could not connect with the story in the way I wanted to. I'm still on board for Broder's next book!

For fans of <i>Luster</i> by Raven Leilani - pick up Melissa Broder's new novel, <i>Milk Fed!</i>

*TRIGGER WARNINGS* Eating disorders and body dysmorphia

Rachel is in her early twenties and lives in Los Angeles. “It didn't matter where I worked: one Hollywood bullshit factory was equal to any other. All that mattered was what I ate, when I ate, and how I ate it.” She's obsessed with food. She tracks all the calories in and out of her body and follows eating rituals. She blames her mother for part of the reason for this and when a therapist suggests she takes a 90 day cleanse from her mother, she decides to try it.

This book fell a little short for me; I would not recommend this to someone with an ED because it almost felt like she was making fun of her. This book was a quick read and beautifully written, it's one of those books that you're either going to love or hate.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Scribner for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest opinion!

I’ve never read a book like this before. Just be aware — this isn’t a book for the faint of heart or those who are triggered by the content, which is graphic.

Rachel’s life is empty, and she fills it up by obsessing about food and calories. She has a dysfunctional and unhealthy relationship with her mother, and the communication detox brings her mother issues to the forefront, along with some other issues.

When Rachel encounters Miriam, a Modern Orthodox Jewish woman, she starts a journey of discovery. She starts learning about herself, religion, faith, family, and love. I enjoyed seeing how such different forms of Judaism intersect, and watching Rachel discover different aspects of faith, religion, and spirituality after she had grown so distant from what she had grown up with.

The beginning of the book focuses deeply on Rachel’s disordered eating habits — detailing her eating rituals, her exercise routine, and her emotional connection to these patterns. She deliberately cultivates an empty lifestyle so that nothing interferes with her plans, and rolls happiness and being thin into one concept.

As she detaches from her mother, she begins to see other women as mother figures, yet she has erotic fantasies about them as well. Rachel is incredibly unhappy, and is seeking any kind of acceptance. She was never able to find it from her mother, and tries to find it anywhere that she can, even when it involves contorting herself to be something or someone that she isn’t.

In addition to her unhealthy habits, Rachel quickly develops unhealthy and obsessive patterns of behavior around other people. For the majority of the story, Miriam is the center of Rachel’s focus. I really felt like Miriam really got in over her head and had no idea what she was in for. On the other hand, Rachel’s character led to a variety of cringe-worthy situations over the course of the book. At times, the writing was a bit cringe-worthy at times as well.

I honestly wasn’t sure what to make of the book, although I couldn’t stop reading. It was almost like watching a train crash and being unable to look away. While the majority of the books I’ve read like this were chock-full of characters I couldn’t help but hate, this book was packed with characters that I didn’t hate so much as those that I just felt sorry for. I wanted to see Rachel find a path to happiness and self-acceptance, and to learn how to love herself instead of hoping to find acceptance from someone who just wasn’t able to give it to her.

Melissa Broder is extremely talented. I've enjoyed her twitter and several of the articles she's written. That said - I'm not that much of a fan of her long form/fiction.

This book is an honest and open story of an eating disorder, a dysfunctional family and an emotionally desperate person. At the central core - the story of Rachel is good. There is a lightness in the darkness of the theme and the many issues that Rachel has. There is humor. There is intense honesty. It's well written literary fiction - - - - that I do feel could be rather dangerous if it finds itself on the shelves at Urban Outfitters and then into the hands of an impressionable young woman. It's a guide on how to destroy your body. It's a step by step way into an eating disorder.

But then....Rachel meets someone and develops a deep friendship that helps her grow up. Yes, there is rather graphic and intense sex and sexually imagery - but what Melissa Broder book wouldn't be.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I fell head over heals in love with this book and its characters. I am far away from when I first read it but still think often of Rachel and the lives she was moving away from, growing into, wishing to create.

Slightly complicated, funny book. I really enjoyed the character dive into Rachel's difficult relationship with her mother, journey in therapy, and relationships. The author made her all at once unrelatable and familiar.
Though their addition made the story and characters feel more open and raw, especially among Rachel's seeming female Oedipus complex, the sex scenes felt a bit contrived and seemed to take away from the other parts of the story, which I thought were the best of her writing.
Not sure if all of this novel will stick with me BUT I know for sure the analogy about not going to the hardware store for milk rang so true and won't be soon forgotten!

A significantly entertaining novel that perfectly articulates the experience of someone with an eating disorder, not quite anorexia and not bulimia but still sharp, including calorie counting and portion control and body dysmorphia... fun stuff that affects how the protagonist, Rachel, loves herself and therefore how she might be able to love anyone else... and therein lies the point... this is a story about not being controlled (in Rachel's case, by her mother) and giving up control (of food) in order to find self-love. There is also an extraordinary amount of sex. For some readers, it might be the main event.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion- so here goes....For me this novel was a struggle to read and to finish. I was constantly looking to see how much I had to go to finish.
Some could find this book funny while exploring body image, religion and intimacy. I found it sad. I enjoy reading to be entertained not to feel sorry and sad for the characters.

OMG! What a book! And what a talent! Melissa Broder is fearless. I guarantee you will not read a funnier or more erotic book this year. Her book 'The Pisces' is one of my all-time favorites (and is being made into a movie!) and I could not wait to see what Ms. Broder would write next.

Rachel works at a talent agency in Los Angeles and is plagued by an eating disorder. She carefully controls and plans single every morsel of food and she obsesses over food and eating every waking minute. When and what she should eat literally consume her. ("Better to suffer now and have something to anticipate than to leave a big chunk of my day’s food in the rearview mirror. That was a worse kind of suffering.") At the suggestion of her therapist, she breaks off all contact with her overbearing mother, who instilled in Rachel from an early age that thin is better.

Rachel develops a crush on Miriam, who comes from an Orthodox Jewish family. Miriam is the opposite of Rachel: she is "undeniably fat, irrefutably fat. She surpassed plump, eclipsed heavy. She was fat.” Miriam is every one of Rachel's worst fears about her own body.

There are about a zillion incredibly awkward scenes in this book as well as brilliant prose and very sharp wit. I am not sure non-Jews will think this book is as funny as I did but think it is truly one of the most original books I have read in a long time.

I can't even begin to describe the exquisite detail that Ms. Broder uses to describe food and Rachel's eating experiences ("After we sang, we ate and drank. Mrs. Schwebel had cooked an incredible dinner: roast chicken with a crisp and buttery skin on the outside, juicy meat inside. The chicken had been filled with a salty stuffing—crunchy and full of celery. She served some kind of apple compote that tasted like it was its own apple pie. There were braised carrots with cinnamon, a terrine of sweet-and-sour meatballs with raisins in the sauce, and challah with margarine.") Every word of this story was an absolute delight. Sad, funny, tragic and profane - this book covers all the emotions. Highly recommend this one.

Milk Fed follows Rachel as she deals with her obsessive food rituals, work problems, family issues, her religious identity, and a budding but confusing relationship with a woman she meets at a yogurt shop.

There were a lot of things I loved about this book. It felt so real and raw. Rachel really came alive in this story, and I felt myself feeling protective over her, and rooting for her the entire time. She wasn’t exactly likable but I loved Broder’s way of putting it all out there. Her running stream of consciousness was fascinating, and I loved all of the connections she made to themes of mothers, religion, love, and sex.

I also related to Rachel’s struggle with her own identity, finding herself at a constant crossroads with her religion, her sexuality, her career, and her body. It felt like she had no idea what she was doing in life, and in that struggle she held on tighter to her irrational sense of control.

Yes, this book is full of secondhand embarrassment, cringe worthy sexual descriptions, and extremely uncomfortable themes that at times seem gratuitous. I know this will be a very polarizing book, but the more I sit with this book in my mind, the more I like it.

This book follows Rachel a culturally Jewish and eating disordered young woman. Many of her food issues appear to be traced back to her mother, or so her therapist seems to think. When Rachel meets Miriam, future heiress to a froyo empire, her life of rules and calorie counting gets turned upside down.

Broder is a masterful writer, she reminds me a little of Moshfegh. Like Moshfegh (specifically see MYORAR) Broder can write an unlikable and neurotic female character in a way that makes you want to be their BFF. I really loved this aspect of the book. Rachel’s neuroticism is on point and I loved being in her head. However, I got really tired of the sex scenes. I get it, I do. By eating up Miriam Rachel finds freedom from her (food related) eating issues. I did find some of it funny and darkly silly too (e.g. bike seat), but it became repetitive. I found myself skipping through the non stop liquid, gushing, crevices, lapping and licking. I wanted more of Rachel’s outlook, on life than Miriam’s nether regions. With that being said I have bought The Pisces because I want more of Broder’s writing in my life. Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for the copy!

I had to DNF this at 30% because the representation of an eating disorder was too triggering. There has been a lot of fiction lately exploring eating disorders, but I wish this one had had a stronger content warning.

Milk Fed has a lot to unpack. There's concerns over mother/daughter relationships, body dysmorphia and eating disorders, sexuality, and spirituality. Rachel and Miriam are polar opposites in pretty much every single way. When Rachel starts a cleanse from her mother, she's able to see the world from a different perspective. She lets go of a lot of her insecurities. I liked that this was a coming of age story of sorts, albeit a very erotic one. What Rachel truly seeks is unconditional love, which she's never felt from anyone her life. No one truly knows her and no one has loved her the way she longs for. Broder writes with rich symbolism in a way that's shocking yet relatable. I definitely want to go pick up both The Pisces and So Sad Today by Broder.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Trigger warning: eating disorder

Rachel is a 24-year-old non-religious Jewish woman living in LA. She works at a talent management company and sometimes does stand-up, but her main activity is calorie restriction. The opening chapters of this novel dive deep into Rachel's consumption patterns, her exact math of how many calories she eats and how many she burns on the elliptical at night. Rachel's therapist recommends she take a 90 day "detox" from her mom, who taught her calorie restriction as a child and is constantly calling and texting her from New Jersey. Days later, Rachel's patterns are further interrupted when the man who sells her her daily cup of frozen yogurt is replaced by his sister Miriam, who refuses to stick to Rachel's calorie regimens.

Miriam comes from an Orthodox Jewish family and is the catalyst for a sexual, chaotic coming-of-age story all about Rachel uncovering the ties between her relationship with her mother, her eating disorder, her religion and her sexuality. At times it felt like a car crash; I was cringing but also could not look away.