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A review by meghan_plethoraofpages
Supper Club by Lara Williams
4.0
3.5 rounded up
Supper Club is one of the more interesting books I’ve read this year; I loved parts of it and cringed at others. I feel muddled.
This book is about Roberta, following her through two different times of her life - in her university years and ten-ish years later in her late twenties. She and her first close friend Stevie start a secret society that hosts Supper Club, where women come together to eat with abandon, untethered by societal constructs about politeness; they eat to satisfy cravings both literal and figurative, and to thwart their perceived expectations that men have for them. They eat to grow, to take up space.
There were so many parts of this book I loved. There are profound quotes aplenty. I think messaging about female apologizing, appetite, loneliness, expectations, and female friendships was well done. While some of the millennial issues that Roberta, Stevie and others were experiencing were somewhat cliche, I still felt like the writing was clear and I felt connected to the anxiety and despair they were feeling, for the most part. I loved the descriptions of cooking & food, the art and meaning of it; this author needs a side hustle working for a food magazine or something because she’s absolutely fantastic at it.
I felt like the whole Supper Club evolved into something less positive and more self indulgent. I was frustrated by Roberta’s choices at times. The conclusion was unsatisfactory; yes we are all a work in progress, but I really didn’t see how the other women in the Club faced fears. I didn’t see enough to be attached to their stories or see their growth. They were uninhibited and took drugs and threw food around, but, so what? I appreciate that Roberta was able to begin to heal from the trauma she endured, but everything else felt unresolved.
I would actually recommend this book, but I don’t think everyone would enjoy it.
[Trigger warnings for rape and self harm]
Supper Club is one of the more interesting books I’ve read this year; I loved parts of it and cringed at others. I feel muddled.
This book is about Roberta, following her through two different times of her life - in her university years and ten-ish years later in her late twenties. She and her first close friend Stevie start a secret society that hosts Supper Club, where women come together to eat with abandon, untethered by societal constructs about politeness; they eat to satisfy cravings both literal and figurative, and to thwart their perceived expectations that men have for them. They eat to grow, to take up space.
There were so many parts of this book I loved. There are profound quotes aplenty. I think messaging about female apologizing, appetite, loneliness, expectations, and female friendships was well done. While some of the millennial issues that Roberta, Stevie and others were experiencing were somewhat cliche, I still felt like the writing was clear and I felt connected to the anxiety and despair they were feeling, for the most part. I loved the descriptions of cooking & food, the art and meaning of it; this author needs a side hustle working for a food magazine or something because she’s absolutely fantastic at it.
I felt like the whole Supper Club evolved into something less positive and more self indulgent. I was frustrated by Roberta’s choices at times. The conclusion was unsatisfactory; yes we are all a work in progress, but I really didn’t see how the other women in the Club faced fears. I didn’t see enough to be attached to their stories or see their growth. They were uninhibited and took drugs and threw food around, but, so what? I appreciate that Roberta was able to begin to heal from the trauma she endured, but everything else felt unresolved.
I would actually recommend this book, but I don’t think everyone would enjoy it.
[Trigger warnings for rape and self harm]