Novel. 1st person POV. Woman protagonist.

A fun, fast paced story about sex, food, Judaism, and the body. Set in the backdrop of 21st century Los Angeles Hollywood agencies and comedy clubs, this coming of age 20-something novel combines the story of desire for the unattainable with the love of, and coming to terms with, the self. Not a truthful self per se--a work in progress. Also Melissa is a very funny storyteller.

This book is hypnotic--I found myself losing track of time and repeatedly saying "one more chapter", It comes with a major content warning for disordered eating and if someone is sensitive to this, I genuinely would not recommend it. Otherwise, I think this exploration of eating, generational guilt and shame, and Jewish culture is so uniquely involving.

As would be expected from the author of <i>The Pisces</>, this short book is imaginative, uncomfortable, and hilarious. At its heart is the relationship between a mother and her daughter (which is actually about how a woman forms her own identity), but there are also eating disorders, LGBTQ desire, and even Israeli-Palestinian politics. I wished the story continued because I wanted to learn more about the protagonist, who is immensely flawed but also likable. Recommended for all libraries.

I heard about this book on Alma and it seemed like it ticked so many boxes for me. I love Jewish lit, I love stories about women who love women and I hate diet culture. So all signs pointing me to loving this book.

I was pretty disappointed that in the spectrum of the American Jewish canon, this book was much more Philip Roth than Dara Horn. As in, if Philip Roth for some reason wrote a novel about queer neurodivergent women, this might be it. I kept trying to figure out why this book was making me so uncomfortable when I usually I'm all in for a little smut, and then I realized it's because it comes off like it was written by a man for men, even though it obviously wasn't.

Keeping with the tone of 1960s rhetoric with 2020 people, this book is obsessed with Freud to an unsettling degree. It kind of reads like a series of psychoanalysis sessions which mostly led me to the realization that the subconscious might be an interesting concept, but delving into that of the protagonist's is more boring than anything else. In other words, I don't care much for hearing about people's dreams IRL and I still don't care when it's a fictional character, symbolism be damned.

There were some redeeming factors: the romance is sweet, even though it subscribes to the old-fashioned and incorrect assumption that falling in love will "fix" your mental illnesses, as it does for Rachel. I love a good golem parallel. Also, there's a scene towards the end where Rachel (the protagonist) brings up the concept to Miriam's (the love interest) family that maybe their son serving in the IDF isn't without its issues and they basically gaslight her into believing she's a self-hating Jew, and that felt so real. Overall though, I'm disappointed, but maybe I was just hoping for too much. I wanted a queer Jewish Dietland and instead I just got a queer Portnoy's Complaint.

4 stars
This was a bit of a difficult read.
It was a personal delve into the life of Rachel. It was graphic (not in a bad way) about a lot of things. It doesn’t shy away from anything.
It’s raw, it’s true, its unapologetic, it’s human.
I thought it was a great read that doesn’t hold back.

Mommy issues!

This was a difficult read for me. I felt like the hyperfocus on bodies and the fetishization of MIriam's fat body in particular were difficult to read at times. The first half felt gratuitous and while the second half had some beautiful moments it just didn't come together for me.

Broder's writing is so, so good and I generally love weird books, but the graphic elements here actually worked against my ability to connect with the narrator and the story. It took something away from a story I think I would have typically loved.

*I was sent a free ARC of this book by Scribner in exchange for an honest review*

Quick witted and tenacious, Melissa Broder’s Milk Fed follows Rachel, a young Jewish woman working at a talent agency in LA. Rachel is ruled by food rituals and the tumultuous relationship with her mother, until she meets Miriam - an Orthodox Jew who works at the local yogurt shop that Rachel frequents. As their relationship develops, Rachel finds herself having to confront the way she was living and the way she wants to continue on.

This was a very fun read. Smart, sexy, and unexpectedly tender, Broder explores the depths of motherhood and sexuality wrapped in a story that is both deeply queer and uniquely Jewish. While sometimes sour and unlikeable, protagonist Rachel’s story is brought into clear focus by the intimacy of her inner monologue, which often probes the depths of topics that are taboo and uncomfortable. This grounds her in a sympathetic place and makes the result of her journey all the more meaningful. While not exactly the novel I was expecting from Broder, Milk Fed was a joy to read.

Melissa Broder is back with another book that will certainly shock some and delight others. A story of identity, control, and pain, MILK FED follows Rachel as she navigates the world of food, pleasure, and show business. This book was nearly impossible to put down as it is so easy to get wrapped up in the spiral that is Rachel's life and her complicated relationship with Miriam. Altogether unpredictable and fresh, I would recommend giving MILK FED a try next Spring.

TW: eating disorders

I am truly on the fence about Milk Fed. One the one hand, I loved the story of the main character, Rachel, coming to terms with her toxic relationship with her mom, grappling her eating disorder, and coming into her own. What did not sit right with me was the borderline fetishization of the fat woman who is Rachel's love interest = Miriam. I'm still not sure where I stand on the combination of sexual pleasure and milk, but it's weird and I kind of dig it.

Overall, this book was quite odd. I love a good, quirky book, so this was a good read for me. Like I said above, I am unsure where I sit on the fetishization or just infatuation with Miriam. I do LOVE how Rachel, who identifies as bisexual, grapples with relationships, intimacy, and emotions. Overall - 3.5/5 stars.

I am torn about how to review this book. On the one hand, the story pulled me in immediately, and the main character was beautifully drawn. By the end, I was totally rooting for Rachel to find happiness, peace, and self acceptance. I like to think that in the end she does. My problem, is with the explicit sexual descriptions that permeate the story. I'm no prude, but there was just too much of it for me, and it ultimately spoiled my enjoyment of the book. Because this is an issue for me as a reader, and not a shortcoming of the work, I would encourage those who have no problem with such scenes to read it.

Thanks to Scribner and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Rachel is a woman obsessed with calorie counting and exercising. She loves getting the exact same frozen yogurt each day from the same staff person. When she sees a new staff working at the shop, she becomes a bit obsessed with them.

This book was kind of amusing at first but turned into basically an erotica with not much of a plot. I didn't really want to just read graphic sex scenes with not much else going on, but here we are.

The book started out interesting and I would have enjoyed it more if it hadn't just turned into erotica.

Really enjoyed this and will publish a positive review closer to publication as specified.
One thing to note is that the name “Jace Evans” is the name of an 11 yr old kid on mtv’s Teen Mom 2 franchise. That felt off to me.
Thanks for the ARC!

It's a fairly simple and straightforward queer love story, but I found it really charming and enjoyable. Rachel, the protagonist, is an LA stand-up comic and agency assistant with an eating disorder and lots of mommy issues. When we meet her, she meticulously counts her calorie intake and goes to outrageous lengths to eat as little as possible while still trying to fit in some enjoyment. Then a new employee shows up at her regular low-cal fro-yo spot and starts pushing extra toppings and extra fro-yo on her. She's flustered but finds she can't refuse. She starts falling for this woman, Miriam, who she learns is an Orthodox Jew (Rachel is culturally Jewish but agnostic). Miriam takes her out to a Chinese restaurant and teaches her the pleasures of ordering the pupu platter for 6 and eating it as 2. By being accepted as someone who eats like that and seeing a model of beauty in someone who's not LA-skinny, Rachel begins to loosen her rigid eating restrictions. There is a running image of Miriam being a golem created by Rachel to help herself get better, but this magical, mythical element is faint. Rachel's romance with Miriam also becomes an exploration of various forms of Judaism, both the comfort of its traditions and community and the complications of Zionism. It doesn't stray too much from the structure of a classic rom-com (girl with problems overcomes her problems by falling in love with someone exactly opposite from her), but it's not dumbed-down either. Broder has a softly poetic style that fits in great images and observations along the way. It moves along really quickly, with very short chapters that make it easy to read in stops and starts. I found myself appreciating a light story where problems aren't avoided but they're also not overwhelmingly apocalyptic or heavy. That's the escapism I need.

I picked up this book for two reasons: A- because a friend had raved over The Pisces, and B- I generally enjoy all queer/lesbian storylines. For the first 3/4 of the book I really disliked Rebecca. I found her very crass even while sympathizing with her traumatic relationship with her mother and eating disorder. However, in the final 1/4 of the book, I became even more sympathetic for her and found myself liking her more. I would say that I really liked the story going on in Milk Fed, but the amount of explicit sex in the book bordered along the lines of erotica and seemed a bit unnecessary at times.

I'm not sure what to make of this book. Maybe that's because I saw myself, described through the persona of Rachel, in clear, unvarnished prose doing frequently-unappetizing things, Milk Fed is a portrait of a floundering, aching young woman who is caught between her desire and the "rules"--many of her own making. The tension between those two things is almost unbearable at times, Although Rachel frequently veers deeply into self-loathing and seems hell-bent on blowing herself up, it's hard not to like her and impossible not to root for her. As she becomes more sure of what she wants, the small kernel of selfhood grows and blossoms and so does our respect for her. Is there a happy ending? No, not really...but it's not sad either. It's real. This is a story about love, lust, and ultimately--becoming.

A weird, wonderful queer book with great character development. It is really sensual and sexual and involves a lot of visions of food and women and Judaism and mothers. But it is also about a lapsed Jewish woman figuring herself out and becoming more comfortable in her body while falling for a fat Orthodox Jewish woman. With short chapters and wild imagery, it felt like a fever dream in the best possible way and I couldn't stop reading it.
It opens up important discussions of body dysmorphia, eating disorders, and how ideas about food & our bodies are passed down and internalized. There is also lots of interesting commentary about belonging in a family & a faith. I loved that our MC was an anti-Zionist Jew. The conversations about Israel were some of my favorite parts of the book.
This book somehow managed to be both disconcerting and really comforting. I know this book won't be for everyone, but I think it'll get a ton of love from the right audience. If you like Carmen Maria Machado's fiction, then put this on your radar.

TW: eating disorders, calorie counting, body dysmorphia

tysm to Scribner and NetGalley for the early e-copy. This comes out in February 2021 and the pre-order bonuses are amazing, so check out Melissa Broder's website and pre-order it from a participating indie like I'll be doing!!!

TW: Eating disorders.

I enjoyed this book, another weird-in-a-good-way novel by Melissa Broder. This book shared many of the characteristics that I really enjoyed about The Pisces - a troubled young woman narrator trying to find her correct place in the world and exploring that through sex and relationships with a twist. This book uses food and attitudes towards eating and indulging (in food, in sex, in life) as the central mechanism rather than a merman, and for this reason, I think that this will be a bit more accessible to certain readers who feel weird about a lil sci fi in their books.

With that said, I loved Broder's commitment to exploring the relationship between these two characters, between women and their bodies, between food and life.

thanks @netgalley and @scribnerbooks for my review copy of Milk Fed. I LOVED THIS GOSH DANG BOOK. This is one of my favorite books I have read this year. I almost DNF'd in the beginning because it had major ED triggers (more TW for body dysmorphia, fat phobia, sex) but I stuck with it and I am so so glad I did. Bookstagrammers @dclazygirl and. @suzyreadsbooks turned me onto this book and made me bump it up on my tbr list. I read Broder's essay collection a few years ago and loved it, but remember it made me uncomfy (in a good way) so I knew I had to be prepared for this one going in. I found it at the perfect time. The chapters are short and choppy and makes you want to keep reading, reading, no sleep, read some more, grab a bottle of wine, eat a shit load of snacks, read, read, read. Broder's prose is like word vomit in the absolute best way. She truly knows how to make your skin crawl in both utmost desire and complete resentment. Melissa Broder's descriptors make you crave your favorite foods and take your food triggers head on. She makes you straight up addicted to peeking deeper and deeper into Rachel, the narrator's head. She bothers you because she is you, but you also want to cuddle her. and lay your head on her soft, supple belly.

This book was so wonderful for me because the main focus of the entire book is a fat woman. I am a fat woman. And the fat woman in the story never ONCE brings up her own fatness. It is fucking great. But, her fatness is not glazed over, ignored, or loved "in spite of" by the narrator. She sees it, notices it, and loves it wholeheartedly. It reminded me that I am a fat goddess.

My favorite scene is probably when the Jewish narrator went on an anti-zionist rampage that mostly consisted of thought provoking questions tot he Jewish head of the household of the fat girl she is secretly loving. She didn't hold firm opposition because she doesn't have all the answers, which I thought was refreshing and reminded me to look more into the occupation of Palestine. The narrator held her ground as the head of the household tried to dominate the conversation and convince Jewish Rachel that she must hate herself if she didn't want Jews to be given their homeland. It was an amazing scene and it made me more than ever want this immediately in a tv series. PLEASE WRITE THIS INTO A TV SCREENPLAY. I am quite literally begging.

As a twenty-something woman raised by a mother who has her own body dysmorphia to grapple with, I never get sick of novels that take on mother/daughter dynamics. I didn't want this story to end. I am now a major Border super fan and am going to skyrocket her first novel up to my tbr list. This book is out in February and you all should preorder this crazy fever dream. LOOK AT THE COVER. Preorder. Preorder. Preorder. Give that designer a raise. "The world will hurt you again and again. You will hurt yourself again and again. And when it does, and when you do, you will remember me again and again. You will drop to your knees. You will hold yourself. You will be your own daughter again." <3

I really really really enjoyed this one. I had no idea what to expect and mostly chose it because of the bold cover. It kind of reminded me of Pizza Girl, both are about women trying to figure out what they want in love and in life. I've been "reading" mostly via audiobooks, but this was the first book book to hold my attention enough in over a month, mostly due to the short chapters which I sped through. Again, I really enjoyed this one and need to read more like it!

Thanks to Netgalley and Scribner for the early ebook. I was a huge fan of The Pisces and was very excited to receive this new one. Originally from New Jersey, Rachel is twenty four and living in Los Angeles. By day she works at a talent agency and at night she’s a fledgling stand up comic. And at all times she is thinking about food and the minimum amount of calories she can consume and still function. This comes from her mother, who she is trying to detox from by not talking to for the next ninety days. When Rachel meets Miriam, a young worker at a yogurt store, a world of foods and sensuality opens up for her. The book is written with such breezy fun, but always the true moments sneak up on you and make you examine your own life through all the laughter.