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August 07, 2006
"Thinner Than Thou" by Kit Reed
As the selector for women's studies and issues of body image, I was eager to read this book when I spotted it on the shelf. It's a not-too-distant future depiction of what the world would be like if our current devotion to fitness and appearance were taken to the next level and turned into a religion. Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting through the book. It just didn't engage me. There are several parallel plot lines that run through the entire novel - a girl gets taken by nuns of a new, food-related order so they can "reform" her; her twins and ex-boyfriend travel the country trying to rescue her; their mother sets out on her own trek to find them all; and a completely unrelated man pays a fortune to attend the main headquarters of the religion and be "purified." The various stories twine in and out, but the fabric they create is only sufficient and not the engaging work I was hoping for. Still, if you've ever wondered what life might be like if fitness and youth became and actual religion rather than a de facto one, this is certainly one possible view of that future.
ISBN: 0-765-30762-6
Jennifer, reference
Posted by jnardine at August 7, 2006 09:31 AM