I wrote this as an essay report for a class. It's long and not all that well written, but it gets across the impact this book had on me. If you havent read the book, but plan on reading it, I should warn you this might be considered a "spoiler". “Conversations with the fat girl” by Liza Palmer is a novel about a woman named Maggie and her struggle to overcome her worst fear . . . herself. Maggie is an artist, she is accomplished, educated and beautiful. So naturally one might ask, “Why is she working in a coffee shop at 27 years old?” “Why does she put up with everyone’s crap?” and “why is she afraid to talk to that amazingly hot guy she works with?” As a child she became friends with a girl named Olivia, their friendship was formed through a connection that they had . . . they were both fat, and alone. That is, until Olivia got gastric bypass surgery, and a fiancée (package deal, of course). While Maggie is hit with reality, Olivia is trying to re build her life into the glamorous, popularity ridden “mean girl” high school dream. This book is about Maggies journey from doormat to queen (at least that my totally bias opinion) to the strong, independent, courageous women she is deep down inside. Palmer tells Maggie’s story with humor, using a voice that is all too real. While reading I got the opportunity to watch Maggie growth, and as a fellow “fat girl” I got to grow with her. The connection I made with this character is one I will NEVER forget. I picked up this book totally unaware of the impact it would have on my attitude toward myself (some negative and some positive), and the new perspective on life it would give me. It wasn’t until the middle of the book when I realized how much Maggie and I are alike, The self-loathing and the ability to change but the complete fear of success stopping us. This book helped me open my eyes, it forced me realize I am the only thing that stands in my way, and that I deserve a lot more happiness and respect than I allow myself to have. I have been picked on and teased about my size. I think everyone has been the victim of a cruel kid’s taunts, those taunts don’t even slightly compare to being the butt-end of your own jokes. Throughout this book Maggie makes jokes about her size, The funniest one is when she’s thinking back to shopping for a prom dress and she says “I’m a fat fuck, mom. Just wrap me in a tarp put some lipstick on me, and roll me in the direction of The John Sheridan.” These jokes made me laugh at first. Then about halfway through the book, I broke down in tears. I realized that I make these same jokes, I am my own bully. It’s like I’ve subconsciously come up with the idea that if I tease myself before anyone else does, it will hurt less. Well that’s not the case, it hurts a million and ten times more. I have kept myself from doing so many things because of my size. The clothes I wear . . . the things I say . . . and the things I do, in my head everything makes me a target. SO . . . I stay quiet and I wear dark clothing; I try my hardest to blend into the wallpaper. Maggie’s story taught me that life is worth living, no matter your size.At a certain point in the book Maggie is at a taco truck where she orders her food and a large drink. The cook comes out and asks “Who ordered the large, and who ordered the small?” the woman who took Maggie’s order says “El grande es para la gordita”. Maggie knows this woman just called her fat. At first she walks away without saying anything. She convinces herself that it’s okay, because the woman is right . . . she is the fat one. Then she realizes it’s not okay. She makes an excuse to go back to the taco truck and she tells the girl off. This, to me, is one of the best parts of the book, because Maggie has never stood up for herself. she’s always allowed people to disrespect her, and not just strangers, but her so-called “friends” as well. Her doormat personality flaw matched mine. I guess we both felt like, not being noticed, or alone in the world was worth being abused, and disrespected. This was the first step she made toward changing her life, and giving herself the respect and happiness she deserves. Liza Palmer has written a book that a lot of people can identify with, a book that I identified with. Maggie doesn’t just get surgery, or make herself skinny, instead she makes a long term plan to not just overcome her weight, but to also build her confidence, self esteem and body image. She learns how to no longer let her look define who she is. This book was real, and it helped me confront things about myself, I never even knew existed. I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever had a problem with appearances.“The risk it takes to remain tight inside the bud is more painful the risk it takes to blossom.” – Anais Nin Palmer started this book off with this quote, a quote that I have forever written on the walls of my mind.
I read Conversations with the Fat Girl by Liza Palmer, and it was one of those books that touched me in a lot of ways. I found myself identifying with the main character, Maggie, in so many ways and recognizing myself in many of her thoughts. The basic gist is Maggie is 27, single, overweight, and working a lousy job while waiting for the right one to come by. Her best friend, Olivia, had gastric bypass surgery a number of years ago and is now getting married, but since Olivia has found the Land of the Size Twos, things are completely different between the two girls. Olivia is now getting married, with Maggie as the Maid of Honor, and Maggie is learning the hard way how things have changed. The story line itself is pretty predictable, but in a good way. It was the writing itself, the actual words, that resonated with me. There were times when Maggie said things and I thought, "that's exactly what I felt". The lonliness that set in for me personally around age 28 mirrors Maggie's pretty sharply, although at the time, I was an unhealthy size 4 -- misery then meant not eating. When Maggie moved into her new house, I remembered moving into MY first house, the first one I bought and didn't rent. I sat in this adorable, tiny, 1940's cottage and looked around at the mostly-empty rooms and wondered how in the world I was ever going to make it alone. One of my favorite bits from the book: "I really don't want to look like those women -- the price is too high." And it is! I was thinking about how many hours it took out of my day to be a size 4. Way too many. I was in the gym two and three hours a day, five to six days a week. I'd go in right after work, hit the weights, ride the bike, then go teach an aerobics class. Who has time for that now? I have a husband, a child, friends, a business. I'm reasonably healthy, very happy, so who really cares if I'm not tiny? The other thing this book reminded me of is it's about ATTITUDE, not size. A girl I know who is thin and (proud of it!) has the nastiest personality known to man. Just snotty, catty, a terrible person. In the book, same thing -- the wedding party of Skinny Minnies was definitely not a group I'd want to hang around with. I probably haven't done much to explain why this book was so good, so you'll just have to READ it. It's a quick read, you'll find yourself laughing out loud at lots of spots -- go get it.
Do You like book Conversations With The Fat Girl (2005)?
Review originally posted here: http://www.paperiot.com/2014/02/revie...I’ve done everything but shout my love for Liza Palmer’s writing from the rooftops in an attempt to convince everyone to pick up at least one of her novels. She became one of my all-time favorite authors after reading my first of her books, Nowhere But Home. So, needless to say, my expectations were extremely high when I started reading Conversations with the Fat Girl. One of the (many) reasons that I fell in love with Nowhere But Home was because of Liza’s beautiful writing, and I am happy to say that Conversations with the Fat Girl offers the same vivid descriptions and lyrical phrasing that I have come to adore about her books.The story is told in the first person point-of-view of Maggie, who is a 26-year-old coffee shop waitress with a Master’s degree in art history and museum studies. She and Olivia have been best friends since childhood, when they were always “lumped together” as “one single Fat Entity”—in other words, Maggie and Olivia were social outcasts because of their weight. Now, after having gastric bypass surgery, Olivia is a size 2 and engaged to a gorgeous doctor (albeit a jerk), and she is on a mission to keep any trace of her former obesity completely hidden from her “perfect” fiancé. Maggie and Olivia still claim to be best friends after all this time, but truthfully, their friendship is strained. Olivia is more worried about maintaining her perfect image than cultivating their friendship, while Maggie is still struggling with her weight and its accompanying vulnerabilities. Maggie’s family is an incredible support system, but she is the only person who can learn to conquer her own insecurities. This is a story about Maggie’s personal journey through family, friendship, love, and learning what it means to be a self-respecting adult.So, if it isn’t obvious, I love this book. I seriously just wanted to hug it when I was finished! Liza Palmer has a way of telling a story that makes it seem as if the events are unfolding right before your eyes. She also has a special knack for creating main characters that are extremely relatable. Just as I felt an instant connection to Queenie in Nowhere But Home, I could also understand Maggie’s insecurities about her weight and her fear of putting herself out there to search for a respectable job, to make new friends, and to let a certain coworker know how she feels about him. In my experience, most people have something that makes them feel vulnerable, so I think that most readers will get Maggie’s character.Then there is Maggie’s family. Oh, how I adore them! I have a notebook that I jot notes in while I’m reading, and one of the notes I wrote about Conversations with the Fat Girl says, “Liza Palmer writes kick-ass families.” This is truth, though! I absolutely loved Queenie’s family in Nowhere But Home, and Maggie’s family is just as endearing. Her mom and stepfather are great (her mom has a little bit of a potty mouth, which is so cute), and her sister Kate, brother-in-law and two nieces care so much about her. Kate and Maggie are so close, and it’s so refreshing to see a healthy sister relationship in an adult fiction novel. I’ve noticed that siblings are often a source of contention in adult fiction, so I truly love that Kate is Maggie’s closest friend and biggest fan.Conversations with the Fat Girl obviously had big shoes to fill for me, and I am happy to report that it was up to the task. I will say that it did start out a bit slow at first, but I sunk into Palmer’s writing like a fluffy pillow, getting comfortable until the story started picking up the pace. While I didn’t love it quite as much as Nowhere But Home, it is a new favorite that I plan to revisit again and again. After finishing this one, I immediately got online and ordered the rest of Liza Palmer’s books that I haven’t read yet. I can’t wait to start the next one!________________________________________________________________Once again, Liza Palmer creates a perfectly relatable character in Maggie, and I adore Maggie's family and how supportive they are of her. Loved the ending! Review to come.
—Ellice
I'm not a big chick lit fan but this was my book club's pick for July. I don't think the writing style is particularly great-- I tripped over some of the phrasing and repetitiveness-- but I did end up really enjoying the protagonist in this story. Maggie is fat, and her best friend Olivia is now skinny as the result of gastric bypass surgery. As the dynamic of their friendship changes, Maggie is forced to ask herself some tough questions about what this relationship is worth to her and how much she values herself as a person.Olivia is a little shrill and over the top, but I thought Maggie was a very real character. I loved that this book has a happy ending with some subtlety. Maggie doesn't get skinny, but she becomes more interested in her health and respects herself enough to make some changes. She decides to stop hiding from the world and being ashamed of herself. She opens herself up to love and career change. I liked the ending and I liked Maggie.
—Erin
This book will be on my favorite book list forever. This book spoke to me in ways not a lot of literature can. It actually made me pissed off, laugh out loud until tears ran down my face, smile so big you would have thought it was ME winning in the end, and...it really caused me to step back, and look at my life. Am I doing what I love, or am I afraid to go after what I really want? This book, at the risk of recieving a restraining order from Ms. Palmer, is like a bible to all of the chubby girls who feel less than worthy in today's society. Highly reccomended.
—Brooke Moss
