I felt compassion, empathy, and sometimes a little frustration - there is the feeling that Gay's childhood rape was the biggest, most important event in her life, and as such, it eclipses every other good thing that has happened to the author. The book feels less shocking or revelatory than it does meditative. Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you? This is understandable, as the subject matter is dark and personal, but it would have been nice to have a few small moments of levity, if only to introduce another dimension to her speaking voice. That said, there is very little (perhaps zero?) humor in this book. What about Roxane Gay’s performance did you like? These are things I understood before reading her book, but presented as a daily lived struggle, I found a new sense of empathy and compassion for people of size. Roxane Gay details her struggles with flying on airplanes, sitting in certain kinds of chairs, and finding clothing she likes. I was often struck by how difficult it is - practically speaking - for a person of size to simply go through the world. What was one of the most memorable moments of Hunger? That said, Gay's performance probably adds quite a bit to the experience, so I am giving the audio version the edge here. I never know what to do with this question.people tend to read OR listen to a text, but rarely encounter both the print and audio versions. Would you consider the audio edition of Hunger to be better than the print version? Gay's introspective examination, sometimes unflinching and sometimes rightfully flinching, is well worth any reader's time.ĭark, thought provoking, sometimes frustrating This book leaves me feeling a little battered and emotionally bruised, but better for having read it.
And it is a sad thing that so many have combative relationships with their own flesh, that many women battle their bodies (whether because of trauma inflicted or because of societal norms or in an effort to control some aspect of their lives). Especially in her relationship with her body. I fear many women reading this will see themselves in Gay and hear themselves in her narrative, in her hopes and fears. But she also does not spend the entire book berating her body or ignoring that some of what she let her body become was caused by trauma in childhood. She never claims her body is not her responsibility, and she never claims to love her body the way it is or that she does not wish to lose weight. She does not pull punches and does not attempt to lighten the mood when she discusses the indignities her body subjects her to. There is less of her humor here, as the subject is not funny. Her writing, as always, is clean and sharp and evocative. Gay bares herself, turns her pen toward her own vulnerabilities with a raw and brutal honesty, admitting to things she finds humiliating and shameful, sharing how the most brutal event of her life has shaped her and continues to shape her. But it is also a necessary, revealing, and enlightening read. This is a difficult, painful, excruciating read.
HUNGER BY ROXANE GAY PART 1 SUMMARY HOW TO
With the bracing candor, vulnerability, and power that have made her one of the most admired writers of her generation, Roxane explores what it means to learn to take care of yourself: how to feed your hungers for delicious and satisfying food, a smaller and safer body, and a body that can love and be loved - in a time when the bigger you are, the smaller your world becomes.Ĥ.5 stars. In Hunger, she explores her past - including the devastating act of violence that acted as a turning point in her young life - and brings listeners along on her journey to understand and ultimately save herself.
As a woman who describes her own body as "wildly undisciplined", Roxane understands the tension between desire and denial, between self-comfort and self-care.
In her phenomenally popular essays and long-running Tumblr blog, Roxane Gay has written with intimacy and sensitivity about food and body, using her own emotional and psychological struggles as a means of exploring our shared anxieties over pleasure, consumption, appearance, and health. I was trapped in my body, one that I barely recognized or understood, but at least I was safe." I tried to erase every memory of her, but she is still there, somewhere. I buried the girl I was because she ran into all kinds of trouble. "I ate and ate and ate in the hopes that if I made myself big, my body would be safe. From the New York Times best-selling author of Bad Feminist, a searingly honest memoir of food, weight, self-image, and learning how to feed your hunger while taking care of yourself.