I just finished reading Mona Awad's first novel "13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl" and I'm left feeling unsatisfied and slightly depressed. I talked to my mom about the book and she told me that I didn't like it because I wanted a happy ending and sometimes there just isn't one. Which is quite possibly true. But there were a few other things about the book that bothered me.
But before I say all the negatives, I do want to go into some of the positives. Mona Awal does a maginificant job of shedding light on how harmful our image obsessed culture really is. She uses the main character Lizzie's experiences and sense of humor to discuss situations that not a lot of people write about. Situations such as going into a clothing store and hearing girls in the dressing room over ask for a size extra small or double zero while Lizzie needs to ask for a size up. When the employee returns she hands the smaller girls their clothes with a smile but hands Lizzie her dress with a smile that says "give it up fat girl."
Another experience Lizzie goes through is the process of losing [weight]. Once she reaches a healthy weight, Lizzie does not stop. Instead she devolves into having a serious eating disorder; one which slowly but surely ruins her marriage, her friendships, and herself. She becomes miserable.
Which brings me to one of the many reasons why I did not like this book. Maybe I just don't understand because I personally have not experienced what it's like to go through life being larger. But I do understand that Lizzie was portrayed as a character who was miserable, who ended up alone, who had many unhealthy sexual relationships in an attempt to cope with the trauma of being fat, who could not have a successful career, and who dropped out of school because she could not bear to go and have people see her.
I hated how Lizzie's character was handled. She could have been an empowered character. She could have been proof that even if you are fat or have an eating disorder you can still overcome it and be successful and have healthy relationships. This is something that Lizzie's character never accomplished.
So maybe I'm just trying to see things through rose colored glasses. Maybe my mom's right and I'm just trying to see a happy ending where there sometimes isn't one. But I don't think so.
If you are dissatisfied with the ending of this article, well that's how you might have felt with the ending of Mona Awad's "13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl."
