The Strange History of Suzanne LaFleshe : and Other Stories of Women and Fatness (The Women's Stories Project)

Rating:
Summary: Variety and Thought
Review: Great choice of stories, never before gathered in one place. I used this for a women's lit class I teach, and it was the most popular book. Students related to it as a fascinating group of stories, not just as a textbook. I'll share just one of many student comments: from one who starts med school in August, "I know I'll be a better doctor because I read this book."

Rating:
Summary: Acceptance of Reality
Review: I came away from reading these stories vowing to be more sensitively aware of the preciousness of life I see before me as I consider the appearances of myself and of each person I encounter. I vow to simply allow myself to be as I am, and to appreciate us all as we are. This attitude of open appreciation is an authentic acceptance of reality without a presumption that I know, or that you know--what "should be". In my view, living in true acceptance of what actually is, means living in grace. These stories can teach us how to live this way, if we allow them to speak to us as deeply as they are written.

Rating:
Summary: Acceptance of Reality
Review: I came away from reading these stories vowing to be more sensitively aware of the preciousness of life I see before me as I consider the appearances of myself and of each person I encounter. I vow to simply allow myself to be as I am, and to appreciate us all as we are. This attitude of open appreciation is an authentic acceptance of reality without a presumption that I know, or that you know--what "should be". In my view, living in true acceptance of what actually is, means living in grace. These stories can teach us how to live this way, if we allow them to speak to us as deeply as they are written.

Rating:
Summary: Superb Short Story Collection
Review: Susan Koppelman's books preserve short stories that could otherwise be lost, and provide them with new settings that make them even more moving, and interesting than they are alone. This new collection, stories about women's body awareness in our fat-phobic culture, is so discouraging, encouraging, entertaining, and provocative that it should please any woman, fat or thin, satisfied, dissatisfied, or (probably) ambivalent about her body. Organized by theme, the stories build on each other and leave the reader thinking and rethinking each story in light of the ones that came before and after. Some of the stories are very sad; some are very funny. Every one is good fiction, "true to life," suggesting new possibilities and reevaluating old ones. The afterword enriches our understanding of each story and of the cultural pressures on women to hate and to change our bodies. Happily, it also gives us hope and makes us laugh.

Rating:
Summary: Superb Short Story Collection
Review: Susan Koppelman's books preserve short stories that could otherwise be lost, and provide them with new settings that make them even more moving, and interesting than they are alone. This new collection, stories about women's body awareness in our fat-phobic culture, is so discouraging, encouraging, entertaining, and provocative that it should please any woman, fat or thin, satisfied, dissatisfied, or (probably) ambivalent about her body. Organized by theme, the stories build on each other and leave the reader thinking and rethinking each story in light of the ones that came before and after. Some of the stories are very sad; some are very funny. Every one is good fiction, "true to life," suggesting new possibilities and reevaluating old ones. The afterword enriches our understanding of each story and of the cultural pressures on women to hate and to change our bodies. Happily, it also gives us hope and makes us laugh.

Rating:
Summary: Important, thoughtful, though-provoking
Review: This book of short stories is in the best tradition of the feminist movement. It raises consciousness. Few women manage to grow up in our culture oblivious to issues of weight. Most have struggled one way or another with it, some all their lives. Susan Koppelman's collection honors all these women and tells them they are okay. They are not lacking in willpower, or morally corrupt, or selfish, or greedy, or any of the other negative judgments society has visited upon them. They just are who they are and what they are. The net effect of the range of stories is to raise our awareness of the presence in our lives of women who are too often absent in our art and culture. But The Strange History of Suzanne LaFleshe isn't simply a political statement and it certainly isn't just for fat women! It's a wonderful collection that spans decades, giving us a cultural history cooked up in many different literary flavors to savor. And it stays with you. When you read it, you are both satisfied and hungry again -- for more anthologies edited by Susan Koppelman.

Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended
Review: This extraordinary book of short stories, The Strange History of Suzanne LaFleshe, had me thinking about all the ways people are perceived to be different, and think of themselves as different, from their peers. The women in these stories are fat, some hugely and obviously, others only in their own minds. Their stories are funny, smart, infuriating, and courageous. Editor Susan Koppelman selected these 25 stories from 167 written over the last century by women on the subject of fatness. Her encylopedic afterward is an additional bonus, giving readers both a view of fatness in our culture and a condensed history of women's short stories in the U.S. An extensive bibliography provides written and online resources for anyone interested in further research.

Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended
Review: This extraordinary book of short stories, The Strange History of Suzanne LaFleshe, had me thinking about all the ways people are perceived to be different, and think of themselves as different, from their peers. The women in these stories are fat, some hugely and obviously, others only in their own minds. Their stories are funny, smart, infuriating, and courageous. Editor Susan Koppelman selected these 25 stories from 167 written over the last century by women on the subject of fatness. Her encylopedic afterward is an additional bonus, giving readers both a view of fatness in our culture and a condensed history of women's short stories in the U.S. An extensive bibliography provides written and online resources for anyone interested in further research.