Appetites: Why Women Want
by Caroline Knapp
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Read in December, 2007
this book is really stunning. it took me a little time to get into it, but once I did I was really impressed with the intricate job Knapp does of weaving so much truth into this - about appetite in the largest sense of the word, and how culture shapes it. I loved this passage in particular:
"Sorrow is stubbornly resistant to insight. I can put together the puzzle pieces of anxiety and guilt and self-hatred, I can draw neat lines between culture and alienation from body and self, I can trac...more
"Sorrow is stubbornly resistant to insight. I can put together the puzzle pieces of anxiety and guilt and self-hatred, I can draw neat lines between culture and alienation from body and self, I can trac...more
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Read in May, 2008
This was a terrific read, especially coming after the terribly disappointing "Composing a Life". Knapp's "Drinking: A Love Story" was one of my favorite books back in the 1990s, and reading "Appetites" was like sitting down with an old friend and having a great talk. I was a little wary because I have finally become a teeny bit tired of "anorexia memoirs"--a term I think is really insulting and depressing at the same time--. But this book really delves de...more
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Read in September, 2005
recommends it for:
women who would like a little bit of self-perspective
my mind wizard recommended this to me and i was suspect, as i am not and have never been anorexic. this book blew me away - it's not so much about anorexia but about what women do to themselves to fill the emptiness that permeates their lives. the theme of hunger is not just about food but about the insatiable needs of love, understanding, respect, good relationships, meaningful work. you might starve yourself, gorge yourself, shop until you're drowning in debt, chainsmoke, be promiscuous, de...more
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Read in August, 2008
recommends it for:
All Women
In this book Knapp discusses the multiple ways in which women are left wanting and hungering in their daily lives. She discusses where the hungers come from (or at least possibilities) and how women deal with these appetites. This is the first true feminist book I've ever read and I was amazed at how emotional I got. This book will strike a chord with any woman who reads this. We have all wanted and hungered in our lives and we have all felt that ache of being left unsatisfied. I recommend this...more
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Read in April, 2008
I'm still not sure after reading this why women want, but it was still a very good read. The author incorporates her own story about her struggle with anorexia with stories from other women, psychologists, theorists, etc. regarding addictions to shopping, food, alcohol, sex, etc. Discusses the impact of modern societal pressures on women and how such demands can leave women with a deep sense of loss and sadness. Pretty insightful book. Not a lot of solutions, but brings up a lot of good points-
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Read in March, 2006
I went into this book hoping that it would be a passionate tale of Knapp's struggle with anorexia. Instead the prose was disjointed and difficult to follow. There was no clear apparent thesis and it was difficult to follow what she was getting at. There are moments of clarity when Knapp discusses why women behave the way they do. These themes expanded would have made for a much better read.
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Read in January, 2002
this is a fairly brilliant book. i have to read it again to give it five stars, but honestly, anything by this author is worth picking up.
this book talks about the story of one woman's struggle with eating and appetites, and also the cultural phenomenons that play into women not being "fed". it has been said before, but it is said eloquently and beautifully in this book. i am so sad caroline knapp passed away - she was such a great writer (and person).
this book talks about the story of one woman's struggle with eating and appetites, and also the cultural phenomenons that play into women not being "fed". it has been said before, but it is said eloquently and beautifully in this book. i am so sad caroline knapp passed away - she was such a great writer (and person).
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Read in December, 2005
recommends it for:
ladies! gentlemen! human beings
Reading this book helped me take the first steps to recover from my eating disorder. I was in the thick of it this year, and at the end I found Caroline Knapp, and read this book, and thought, I don't want to kill myself this way; what can I do to recover? How to I learn to love my body when it's always been my number-one enemy?
Thinking of her death makes me cry. I'm not recovered, but I got to a much better state than I was when I read this book two years ago.
Thinking of her death makes me cry. I'm not recovered, but I got to a much better state than I was when I read this book two years ago.
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smarter than hornbacher's "wasted," and less histrionic (+/-, depending who you are). if you just want to hear about her cottage cheese consumption and exercise routine, you're going to be bored for most of the book. this is a posthumously published social j'accuse that happens to be written by a woman who spent much of her life with an eating disorder. while not revolutionary, it is refreshingly intelligent, and definitely worth a few hours of your time.
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I'm only on pg 10 & can already tell that in addition to being an aweseome writer, Knapp is speaking to a grand issue common among women - the IDEA of "appetites" as defined in a broad way. It's universal: "a suspicion among many women that hungers themselves are somehow invalid or wrong, that indulgences must be earned and paid for, that the satisfaction of appetites comes with a bill."
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When I read this several years ago, I thought it was the most insightful analysis of women's body image issues and also how cravings/addictions can manifest themselves in a variety of ways that I had ever read. If you haven't read her book on her battle with alcoholism, I really recommend it. Sadly this book on Appetites came out after Knapp died from lung cancer at a young age.
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Read in September, 2007
A intense yet uplifting read. Being textbook in style, it wasn't exactly a page turner, but rather a book that took me some effort to get through. I am glad I did. There's so much in the book that gave me answers, yet so many answers that raised more questions. My checkmarks and stars in the margins became several pages of scribbled thoughts as I continued through the book.
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Read in November, 2005
Fantastically written - I could identify with so much of what she wrote - I probably underlined half the book! Unlike other anorexia memoirs I've read, she focused less on her history, and more on her feelings and interpretations for reasoning behind the disease. I should probably read it again....as should anyone who's interested in exactly what's going on in my head.
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Read in July, 2008
I read Drinking: A Love Story by the same author. I find her writing to be lyrical and realistic at the same time. Her struggle is what so many women struggle with.. and she puts substance to it. I am so very sad that she died at age 42. This was her last book.
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
Everyone.
At first this seemed like an intimate look into the world of eating disorders, but as I pressed on I found an amazing exploration of what it means to be a woman today. The subliminal and overt pressures to uphold a standard that isn't humanly possible are everywhere.
I have to credit my guru for discussing the book along the way with me.
I have to credit my guru for discussing the book along the way with me.
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Read in June, 2007
This was an amazing book - One that every woman - and brave man - should read. The author deals with her own struggle with anorexia, but it is a struggle that anyone can relate to. Our want to be thinner, richer, younger, happier, smarter, fuller, sexier - it deals with all of that. Excellent, excellent, excellent. Yes, that is three "excellents".
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Read in September, 2004
recommends it for:
survivors, loved ones of those with eating disorders
Wow. This memoir was the best description that I've found of how and why eating disorders develop. While it's Knapp's personal story, a lot of her writing can be used to describe the causes and effects of anorexia and bulemia for many women. Finally, a book that recognizes that eating disorders aren't about food; this book shows the bigger picture.
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Read in July, 2008
remarkable is right. every woman i know is in this book, in one way or another, and i want to make it required reading for every woman i know. a very important book. deeply meaningful, stirring and affecting.
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Excellent. Less a whiny "woe-is-little-anorexic-me" memoir than sociological study of why women deny their needs or that they even have the right to have any. Rhythm of language can get a little annoying, somewhat repetitive. But that's from a poet's perspective, maybe you won't notice.
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I read this book after her first book (I think?) 'Drinking: A Love Story'. The first seemed more of a memoir where this seemed more of a social commentary on the subject. I found some parts difficult to read, but her thoughts on the subject were definitely worth reading.
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