Supper Club

Watching programs on cannibalism, reading horror stories about lovers devoured, reports of people searching the Internet for someone to eat them, I'd think: I get it. My whole life was the push/pull of appetite: wanting to consume but also to be consumed.

This review can also be found on my blog.

This is one of those books that strikes me as being similar to The Pisces in that it will probably be very divisive. The characters are messy and not necessarily enjoyable to read. But I've grown to love reading about messy women and Supper Club was no exception. I found Lara Williams' writing style enthralling. She writes quite simply, but I felt a great depth of emotion while reading this. She was able to describe the most inane of interactions in a way that made me incredibly anxious. This novel also contains far more character examination than plot; Roberta is really trying to figure out who she is and how to make herself happy.

There is a lot to be said in this book about trauma as well as various forms of abuse or toxicity. The majority of Roberta's relationships contain one or both of these, but it's difficult for her to see that just as it's difficult for many survivors of abuse. I did struggle with trying to figure out whether or not Roberta is queer, as one of her toxic ‘relationships' is with a queer woman, but by the end I was pretty convinced she was straight and that this was just a seriously codependent friendship. There's also a trans woman in this book who is misgendered when the narrator recounts her childhood and her discovery of the lgbtq community, as a heads up to any trans folks who may read this.

Overall, I found this was very much a worthwhile experience for me. I really enjoyed Supper Club and appreciate how Williams was able to write such a chaotic and messy book while still holding my attention fully. I do think a lot of people will dislike the ending, but I found it to be a satisfying finish to the book. Pick this up if you liked The Pisces. Don't pick this up if you hated The Pisces, dislike reading about women who are constantly making poor life choices, and/or can't stand detailed descriptions of food, drink, and emesis.

content warnings: on-page sexual assault; fatphobia; detailed descriptions of food; on-page self-harm; misgendering; emesis

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