by Fay Weldon
First published 1996
Esther Wells sits in her basement apartment in Earls Court, surrounded by chocolate cake, tinned fruit, and sweet sherry. She tells the story of how a diet destroyed her marriage. When Esther and her husband decided to lose weight together, cutting out fatty foods changed more than their waistlines. The deprivation gave them both fresh eyes to see each other, and what they saw wasn't pretty. As Esther indulges in high-calorie treats, she recounts the slow collapse of their relationship. Set in the mid-1960s when women were questioning traditional roles, her story captures the fury and upheaval of an era when female self-discovery meant blowing up the old rules. Esther's tale reveals how examining womanhood required dismantling everything that came before.
Genres: literary-fiction, domestic-fiction, 20th-century, feminism, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Earls Court
Period: 1960s
216 pages · Paperback · Reclam
Content warnings: eating-disorder