Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

Supper Club, by Lara Williams

13 reviews

bxcvi's review against another edition

dark emotional

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Body shaming

Moderate: Alcohol and Drug use

Minor: Vomit and Sexual content

akira_outofthegravity's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is like dark academia with food. 

Honestly the food metaphors are incredible, the subtlety of the food reflecting the story arc is really cool. I loved Roberta, I loved her journey. I loved the imagery and I loved analysing this book. 

I wish we knew what she chose, but I think it’s fairly clear that she chooses Adnan. I also think Stevie is a total controlling bitch, but she has her moments.

I like the themes of nonconformity, of trying to be yourself. Overall this is a really easy read, and a really interesting one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Rape, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, and Vomit

Moderate: Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, and Injury/injury detail

parton4proletariat's review

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

From a technical standpoint, I enjoyed this book. So much of the writing was just stunning. I also enjoyed the non-linear structure of this story. However, I have a hard time considering Supper Club to be the feminist story it claims to be. The only trans character in the book, who is only briefly mentioned, is misgendered when referred to before her transition. While I don't think the author intended to be transphobic, it is clear that this was not handled with the sensitivity it should have been. it is dangerous to consider any story that mishandles marginalized people in such a way to be "feminist."

I also found the main character, Roberta, to be too unlikeable. Her relationship with Stevie was difficult to read, and I found myself feeling bad for Roberta's boyfriend, Adnan. Unless I missed something, he seemed to be kind and the most normal character in the book. I found myself siding with him at the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Sexual assault, and Vomit

Moderate: Transphobia

kateali's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Self harm, and Rape

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Body shaming, and Vomit

Minor: Fatphobia, Drug use, and Adult/minor relationship

mermaidsherbet's review

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, and Self harm

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Misogyny, and Injury/injury detail

Minor: Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Fatphobia, Blood, Bullying, Racism, Infidelity, and Abandonment

xyukoo's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Rape

Moderate: Addiction, Sexism, Self harm, and Drug use

madeleinebay's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Vomit

Minor: Body shaming and Eating disorder

definebookish's review against another edition

adventurous reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

For me, Supper Club hit somewhere between Melissa Broder’s Milk Fed and Daisy Buchanan’s Insatiable – but with less sex than either, and more friendship. I liked both of those, and I liked this even more.

Roberta is in her late twenties, working in a job she’s indifferent to, starting to suspect she’ll never have a proper relationship. What she does have is hunger, a love of cooking, and best friend Stevie, who she’s (mutually) obsessed with. Together they launch an underground supper club where women can take up space and indulge their appetites.

This is a dual-timeline type situation, moving between the sometimes hedonistic present and Roberta’s earlier, more subdued life at university. If anything, I expected more hedonism; the supper clubs see Roberta, Stevie and guests gorging on multiple courses, taking pills, and eventually breaking into venues, but that’s a relatively small amount of the narrative. There’s a lot more time spent on Roberta’s relationships – with Stevie, with her well-intentioned but irritatingly rule-following boyfriend, and with her family – and working through the past experiences that trained her to make herself small.

On a couple of occasions, the transition between timelines did lose me a little – cue me rereading five pages to clarify whether the protagonist was having a flashback or just casually cheating on her boyfriend with an ex. For the most part, though, this one hits the spot. It’s witty and poignant and gloriously messy, and the food descriptions are next-level. Special mention to the passages on spaghetti alla puttanesca.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Vomit, and Self harm

bettydraper's review

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

this one was a tough read. i honestly don't even know if i enjoyed it but it definitely raised interesting questions for me. i think this is the type of a book that i need to parse out with someone else!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Body shaming, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Fatphobia, and Mental illness

Moderate: Transphobia

lilkstew's review

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Meh. This book has such a great cover and premise, but the content falls flat. I thought that the sections that described recipes and dishes in detail were great; they made me so hungry. However, the plot was underwhelming. I didn't like how the theme and purpose were stated so blatantly multiple times throughout the novel. I don't like it when that happens! It's like the authors don't believe that their audience is capable of discerning the point just by reading, which is kind of how books should really work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Vomit, and Drug use