This was wild, in the best possible way.

Our unnamed narrator consumes her twin in the womb, and is born 22 pounds and unable to stop feeding. Her mother, abandons her, overwhelmed, whereas her father is delighted by her size and looks on her as his twin girls.

As she gets older her father cooks delicious food and she continues to eat and grow until she is, as a teenager, mostly bed-bound.

The story took some unexpected turns, and the ending was a what-am-I-reading kind of moment. I liked the twisted revenge narrative, and the commentary on societal beauty standards. The prose was interestingly poetic, and I loved the way it flowed.

This book is one that I'll probably be thinking about for a while.

What an absolutely wild read.

Although it was a weird read (which I’m not complaining about I absolutely love that) it was also heartbreaking in a way. Told from the perspective of a young girl who cannot stop eating and who deems that morbidly obese can no longer describe her. She is unable to move around and is confined to her bedroom. Her Dad believes her body has absorbed her twin in the womb and with this believes she eats for two and encourages her consumption. And although this is the only source of “comfort” and “love” in her life, it’s clear to see the pain and isolation this causes also. As I mentioned, its very WTF vibes but there’s a more complex tone of not being “perfect” and fitting into societies ideas of what’s “normal” when it comes to consumption and beauty.

There were many points in All Flesh that made me gasp, especially when a new character is introduced, the social media elements and THAT ENDING!!!! I don’t want to say too much, it’s one of those you go into and come out the other side wondering what the hell has gone on.