Milk Fed

Appetites. Melissa Broder’s novel titled, Milk Fed, offers a wide-ranging exploration of appetite. Twenty-four-year-old protagonist Rachel has abandoned the Judaism of her youth to pursue an intense focus on calorie counting. By controlling what goes into her mouth, she believes she has taken charge of her life. Life changes for Rachel after a personnel change at her favorite frozen yogurt shop. The precise small portion that she used to receive changes when the new employee, Miriam, begins to dole out much larger portions. Rachel is attracted to Orthodox plus size Miriam, whose abundance provides the yin to Rachel’s restrictive yang. What follows is the pursuit of desires that will satisfy all kinds of appetites and an examination of how we want to be fed. There are many times to laugh and wince on the pages of this novel, but in Broder’s capable hands, we see the changes in Rachel as she comes to terms with who she is and what she needs. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase Milk Fed from amazon.com.