Milk Fed by Melissa Border

 

"I could never tell if other people genuinely believed their own bullshit or not."

Milk Fed was an unusual book club read and raised some delighted banter about frozen yoghurt. Melissa Border has an amazing way with words and the novel begins strongly appealing to the constant battle most women face with counting calories and trying to appease our mothers - or maybe that's just me?

Rachel has a healthy fantasy life which seems a lot healthier than her dietary obsessions. Broder's inner depictions of her heroine's fantasies practically drip off the pages. Rachel genuinely seems lost but constantly seeking reassurance and love in all the wrong places. Her chief desire is the one frozen yoghurt treat she permits herself per week, however her control will be tested when she meets Miriam, who represents freedom from calorie counting, but is herself restricted by religious customs. Rachel's attempts to fit into Miriam's Jewish Orthodox family are painfully awkward. One senses that Miriam is just like a calorie-laden dessert, an overwhelming desire, that once sated quickly loses its appeal.

A speedy and enjoyable read, that perhaps lost my undivided attention about three-quarters through. That's not to say it isn't great, just that it failed to resonate quite so strongly as the plot played out. Ultimately, I wanted more for Rachel than ephemeral lust, but then again, maybe she just epitomises the state of confusion so many of us find ourselves in today - looking for everything in one person, when the statistics suggest that is entirely unlikely.

In any case this book made me equal parts excited and hungry - never a good combination!!

4 out of 5 - get this girl some frozen yoghurt stat!!

4 out of 5