false 18639 0684843129 9780684843124 510 50 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167011685m/18639.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18639.Two_Girls_Fat_and_Thin 11214 Mary Gaitskill 4732 734 5 0 false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 20 17:07:42 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 20 17:28:25 -0700 2008
Now, I'm no expert, but the story is centered around a dead writer whose books and individually driven philosophy closely resemble those and that of Ayn Rand. The two central characters (one fat, one thin) have lived lives running strangely parallel, though they were on opposite sides of a similar experience (for example, one girl bullies, one girl is the victim of bullying). Both have been influenced by the fictitious author in some way. All the experiences have led to one unexpected apex of interaction between the two.

Gaitskill seems to be the master of writing about the psychology of women. These women have been victimized, they have been victimizers. They have been at the mercy of fate and likewise made choices that have caused them pain. What's interesting in the story, is that neither beauty nor ugliness has saved either of the women from anything. I think that's really what the story is about. I was amazed by how quickly I read this book - and now I highly recommend you do the same!]]>