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thelexingtonbookie's review against another edition
4.0
First off, if you didn’t read the trigger warning, read it now, because this book is one big long trigger.
Okay, now we can discuss.
What I thought was going to be Ritchie’s recount of her sister’s battle with an eating disorder turned out to be a compilation of prose that pieced together a life of four siblings who struggled with their traumatic childhood. In Malnourished, Ritchie doesn’t shy away from examining not only her sister’s childhood traumas, but her own as well, and how the cause created a ripple affect as they aged.
Ritchie explains that much of her sister’s problems with eating started with their stepfather’s abusive behavior towards them, and their mother’s dismissal of nurturing behavior. Add on the societal pressure of appearing thin, and nurtured fear and disgust of fatness, and there you have a tale of two impressionable young women desperately seeking attention and approval. Where the difference lay between them was her personal attempts to be noticed, and the stark contrast of her sister’s attempt to disappear before their eyes.
Malnourished isn’t the most organized selection of prose I’ve read, with excessively repetitive information and a blurry chronological timeline. However, the stark writing and poetic description creates an ethereal trip down memory lane for the reader. Ritchie’s emotional impact is clearly defined, and there is no lack of honesty in her interpretation of events- to the point where I as a reader felt uncomfortable with the rawness of her words.
Overall, Malnourished may not have been what I expected, but it’s absolutely worth reading. Just take heed with your heart on this one, because this book is sure to bruise.
Okay, now we can discuss.
What I thought was going to be Ritchie’s recount of her sister’s battle with an eating disorder turned out to be a compilation of prose that pieced together a life of four siblings who struggled with their traumatic childhood. In Malnourished, Ritchie doesn’t shy away from examining not only her sister’s childhood traumas, but her own as well, and how the cause created a ripple affect as they aged.
Ritchie explains that much of her sister’s problems with eating started with their stepfather’s abusive behavior towards them, and their mother’s dismissal of nurturing behavior. Add on the societal pressure of appearing thin, and nurtured fear and disgust of fatness, and there you have a tale of two impressionable young women desperately seeking attention and approval. Where the difference lay between them was her personal attempts to be noticed, and the stark contrast of her sister’s attempt to disappear before their eyes.
Malnourished isn’t the most organized selection of prose I’ve read, with excessively repetitive information and a blurry chronological timeline. However, the stark writing and poetic description creates an ethereal trip down memory lane for the reader. Ritchie’s emotional impact is clearly defined, and there is no lack of honesty in her interpretation of events- to the point where I as a reader felt uncomfortable with the rawness of her words.
Overall, Malnourished may not have been what I expected, but it’s absolutely worth reading. Just take heed with your heart on this one, because this book is sure to bruise.
liralen's review against another edition
4.0
Memory is a funny thing, isn’t it, how it adds and subtracts, takes something as simple as watching a whale swim along the shore and mixes it up in your mind so that your sister is there beside you, even though she’s been dead for years. Still, this is what you remember: the wind and the smell of the marsh, the silver-blue tint of an Alaska twilight spreading the water, and beyond it all, the small and simple feel of your dead sister’s hand slipping inside of yours.
What else can you possibly do? You tighten your grip. You hold on. (loc. 87)
Partly a story of sisterhood and partly a story of survival. Ritchie's childhood was not an easy one for her or for her sisters, and they all felt the effects. But Ritchie's second-oldest sister didn't make it out, not entirely, and she haunts the edges of this book, along with all the things unsaid and the things they could not change. It's a tight little book, nonlinear, tracing Deena's struggles and decline alongside Ritchie's own attempts to make peace. Grow up, grow apart, find your way, lose your way. Not at all what I'd expected, in a good—but sad—way.
What else can you possibly do? You tighten your grip. You hold on. (loc. 87)
Partly a story of sisterhood and partly a story of survival. Ritchie's childhood was not an easy one for her or for her sisters, and they all felt the effects. But Ritchie's second-oldest sister didn't make it out, not entirely, and she haunts the edges of this book, along with all the things unsaid and the things they could not change. It's a tight little book, nonlinear, tracing Deena's struggles and decline alongside Ritchie's own attempts to make peace. Grow up, grow apart, find your way, lose your way. Not at all what I'd expected, in a good—but sad—way.
leslie_kent's review against another edition
4.0
This book hurt my heart. It was painful to read but beautifully written. I’ll try and come back and write a review later. Even if it’s a small one.
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