Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - Supper Club

Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

Supper Club by Lara Williams

7 reviews

filmnoirz's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

there’s so much to say here and i’m not entirely sure how to put it into words. the author really tries to bring home the ‘feminist’ aspect of the supper club but it falls really flat, and acts as though it’s saying something profound about weight when it’s not. parts of this story really shine and speak to the yearning women have to feel full, but for the most part it’s just kind of insulting and dare i say boring? an interesting premise but poorly executed in my opinion

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angewilliamson's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.25

This books sucks. It sucks so bad that I hope no one ever attempts to read it. If you want to hate someone, Roberta is the perfect character because she has very little redeeming qualities, so little that I can’t even think of something nice to say about her right now. This book has random inserts of sexual thoughts that DO NOT fit in with the previous thought accompanying it. Seriously, Lara Williams must have thought of every negative stereotype that effects women and decided to reinforce them rather than diminish them. These women have so much potential to be utilized in this story and they just aren’t. It makes you wonder what their point even is, which probably just boils down to them being “diversity” points.

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parton4proletariat's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

From a technical standpoint, I enjoyed this book. So much of the writing was just stunning. I also enjoyed the non-linear structure of this story. However, I have a hard time considering Supper Club to be the feminist story it claims to be. The only trans character in the book, who is only briefly mentioned, is misgendered when referred to before her transition. While I don't think the author intended to be transphobic, it is clear that this was not handled with the sensitivity it should have been. it is dangerous to consider any story that mishandles marginalized people in such a way to be "feminist."

I also found the main character, Roberta, to be too unlikeable. Her relationship with Stevie was difficult to read, and I found myself feeling bad for Roberta's boyfriend, Adnan. Unless I missed something, he seemed to be kind and the most normal character in the book. I found myself siding with him at the end.

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vitacat11's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.75

Started off amazing, I devoured the first half. As someone who is in recovery for an ED, the flashbacks felt realistic and too true. However, it's when Roberta and Stevie start gaining weight that I saw this book veer off into fantasy. A book where the main character has lived with an ED, and points out how the point of eating was to reclaim space and be purposeful of it, but no mention of the struggles that come alongside it? The slip ups and self-loathing that come hand in hand with recovery? The lack of that really made this book more surface level on the main theme to me. Then, the misgendering of Sash in her past before she realized she was trans didn't really help it either. Although, the relationship between Stevie and Roberta really feel queerbait-y to me sometimes, so.

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naomiwhit's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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purplemuskogee's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Enjoyable read, but the characters don't seem to... evolve that much, despite the interesting premise of the Supper Club ("women coming together to indulge their hunger and take up space"). The main character and narrator is haunted by a rape she was a victim of, and an abusive relationship with an older man; but the Supper Club idea is not explored as deeply as it could have been. I enjoyed the descriptions of food, and the appetite of these women, but the secondary characters were all fairly interchangeable, and it felt at times that the author tried to cram many topics (clumsily - misgendering one character for example, starting with <i>his</i> childhood to reveal later that surprise! <i>It's a woman now!</i>) without going into too much detail. Interesting comments on bodies though and inhabiting one's body.

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bettydraper's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

this one was a tough read. i honestly don't even know if i enjoyed it but it definitely raised interesting questions for me. i think this is the type of a book that i need to parse out with someone else!

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