Milk Fed
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-03-14 08:51:35
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Melissa Broder
- ISBN：1408897121
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
A scathingly funny， wildly erotic， and fiercely imaginative story about food， sex， and god from the acclaimed author of The Pisces and So Sad Today。
Rachel is twenty-four， a lapsed Jew who has made calorie restriction her religion。 By day， she maintains an illusion of existential control， by way of obsessive food rituals， while working as an underling at a Los Angeles talent management agency。 At night， she pedals nowhere on the elliptical machine。 Rachel is content to carry on subsisting—until her therapist encourages her to take a ninety-day communication detox from her mother， who raised her in the tradition of calorie counting。
Early in the detox， Rachel meets Miriam， a zaftig young Orthodox Jewish woman who works at her favorite frozen yogurt shop and is intent upon feeding her。 Rachel is suddenly and powerfully entranced by Miriam—by her sundaes and her body， her faith and her family—and as the two grow closer， Rachel embarks on a journey marked by mirrors， mysticism， mothers， milk， and honey。
Pairing superlative emotional insight with unabashed vivid fantasy， Broder tells a tale of appetites: physical hunger， sexual desire， spiritual longing， and the ways that we as humans can compartmentalize these so often interdependent instincts。 Milk Fed is a tender and riotously funny meditation on love， certitude， and the question of what we are all being fed， from one of our major writers on the psyche—both sacred and profane。
Rachel is twenty-four， a lapsed Jew who has made calorie restriction her religion。 By day， she maintains an illusion of existential control， by way of obsessive food rituals， while working as an underling at a Los Angeles talent management agency。 At night， she pedals nowhere on the elliptical machine。 Rachel is content to carry on subsisting—until her therapist encourages her to take a ninety-day communication detox from her mother， who raised her in the tradition of calorie counting。
Early in the detox， Rachel meets Miriam， a zaftig young Orthodox Jewish woman who works at her favorite frozen yogurt shop and is intent upon feeding her。 Rachel is suddenly and powerfully entranced by Miriam—by her sundaes and her body， her faith and her family—and as the two grow closer， Rachel embarks on a journey marked by mirrors， mysticism， mothers， milk， and honey。
Pairing superlative emotional insight with unabashed vivid fantasy， Broder tells a tale of appetites: physical hunger， sexual desire， spiritual longing， and the ways that we as humans can compartmentalize these so often interdependent instincts。 Milk Fed is a tender and riotously funny meditation on love， certitude， and the question of what we are all being fed， from one of our major writers on the psyche—both sacred and profane。
Reviews
Greta Rainbow
，
I liked this book！！！
Morgan
，
WOW。 Well， that was flawless。 A very influential read。 Didn't know it was something I needed until I picked it up and got hooked。 Honestly， what did I not love about it？ Kind of speechless。 Go give this a read。 WOW。 Well， that was flawless。 A very influential read。 Didn't know it was something I needed until I picked it up and got hooked。 Honestly， what did I not love about it？ Kind of speechless。 Go give this a read。 。。。more
josie
，
lol
Leandra Oliphant
，
So obsessed with how triggered this made me
Laila Heard
，
This book was a pretty quick read， but it was hard to get past the first 10 pages because they were pretty boring tbh。 If I could describe this book in 1 word I would use “strange”。 In many chapters we get a very detailed lens into Rachel’s mind and thoughts and Broder writes them in the most descriptive and sometimes graphic way imaginable。 I really didn’t like how the story did not follow any of the main topics discussed in the summary on the back of the book。 There was no discussion on disord This book was a pretty quick read， but it was hard to get past the first 10 pages because they were pretty boring tbh。 If I could describe this book in 1 word I would use “strange”。 In many chapters we get a very detailed lens into Rachel’s mind and thoughts and Broder writes them in the most descriptive and sometimes graphic way imaginable。 I really didn’t like how the story did not follow any of the main topics discussed in the summary on the back of the book。 There was no discussion on disordered eating or Rachel’s toxic relationship with her mother; those were really only mentioned in the first 10 chapters and never again in the other 69。 I think the idea had a lot of potential， but Broder didn’t execute it well imo。 The only part I really enjoyed was the second to last chapter。 The last chapter was unnecessary and made me dislike the ending。 Not my favorite， but it was a decent， quick read with a few silly jokes that I was able to lol at。 。。。more
Bri
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need to scream about this book to someone IMMEDIATELY
maria
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*3。5 since goodreads refuses to give us half stars 🙃
Emily
，
I loved this so much。 Definitely my favorite by Melissa Broder。
Mara Dolan
，
i don't quite know what to think of this - nothing like anything i've read before？ 3。5 stars rounded up。 protagonist felt difficult to connect to - not because of her experiences or way of moving through the world - but I just didn't feel like I had some of the most basic conceptions of her core values， priorities and history to fully understand her and know her。 central strength was the really dynamic writing on *desire* - food， sex， relationships， connection to spirituality - but I think somet i don't quite know what to think of this - nothing like anything i've read before？ 3。5 stars rounded up。 protagonist felt difficult to connect to - not because of her experiences or way of moving through the world - but I just didn't feel like I had some of the most basic conceptions of her core values， priorities and history to fully understand her and know her。 central strength was the really dynamic writing on *desire* - food， sex， relationships， connection to spirituality - but I think something fell flat for me near the end， can't put my finger on what。 。。。more
Riley
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Good ！
Sina
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fascinating exploration into food， sensuality， sexuality， mommy issues， and religion。 also it has a boob on the cover so what's not to like。 fascinating exploration into food， sensuality， sexuality， mommy issues， and religion。 also it has a boob on the cover so what's not to like。 。。。more
Kelli P。
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A beautiful book on becoming。
Nina
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strong 3
Makayla
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This book was pure junk-food and dizzy， erotic delirium。
Samantha Buchheit
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I don't care that some parts of this book are extremely weird。 It spoke to my soul。 I marked so many things because I've never read a book that talked about eating disorders the way Milk Fed did; it felt like I was reading my own diary。 The parts where Rachel struggles with her mom and religion also related to me a lot。 I probably wouldn't recommend this book to anyone because it feels so personal， as well as- like I mentioned- some parts are extremely weird。 But I absolutely loved it and it mad I don't care that some parts of this book are extremely weird。 It spoke to my soul。 I marked so many things because I've never read a book that talked about eating disorders the way Milk Fed did; it felt like I was reading my own diary。 The parts where Rachel struggles with her mom and religion also related to me a lot。 I probably wouldn't recommend this book to anyone because it feels so personal， as well as- like I mentioned- some parts are extremely weird。 But I absolutely loved it and it made me feel like I'm not alone with my past/present disordered eating。 。。。more
Kayleigh
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Initial reaction is five stars， taking it down to four because there are certainly a ton of things to critique here but the question is does the inclusion of those gross and messed up and morally/politically incorrect things in this story successfully satirize them and depict the character truthfully and honestly without moral filters or does it only reinforce the stigma and serve to reinscribe social expectations of morality？ I say it succeeds but I entirely understand why others disagree。
Pelin Gezer
，
the more i think about this book， the more disappointed i get。 oh also， what a hideous audiobook。
Shannon Tinning
，
i have such mixed feelings about this novel。 melissa broder is an insanely talented writer— at moments， it felt as if she had crawled inside my brain and fetched my deepest thoughts and emotions， especially concerning rachel’s （protagonist） eating disorder and immense fear surrounding food。 however， the sex scenes in this novel were often off putting and borderline disturbing。 lots of fatphobia。 assisted in reshaping the way i view my body and the concept of self love but i wish the romance had i have such mixed feelings about this novel。 melissa broder is an insanely talented writer— at moments， it felt as if she had crawled inside my brain and fetched my deepest thoughts and emotions， especially concerning rachel’s （protagonist） eating disorder and immense fear surrounding food。 however， the sex scenes in this novel were often off putting and borderline disturbing。 lots of fatphobia。 assisted in reshaping the way i view my body and the concept of self love but i wish the romance had been more focused upon， rather than just their genitals lol 。。。more
Emer
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i would understand if people didnt get on with this book， but i loved it！ dark， cool， sexy， gross， funny - it had it all
Cat
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A snapshot of one queer， Jewish， eating-disordered woman's life。Broder writes about dysfunctional relationships and mental health issues really well。 Rachel's search for safety and love leads her to Miriam， a fat young woman who represents everything that she most fears becoming。 Throughout the book her terror of putting on weight is undermined by her instant and deep attraction to Miriam。 I found this very interesting but a little simplified in places。As someone with an ED， parts of this were v A snapshot of one queer， Jewish， eating-disordered woman's life。Broder writes about dysfunctional relationships and mental health issues really well。 Rachel's search for safety and love leads her to Miriam， a fat young woman who represents everything that she most fears becoming。 Throughout the book her terror of putting on weight is undermined by her instant and deep attraction to Miriam。 I found this very interesting but a little simplified in places。As someone with an ED， parts of this were very hard to read and i noticed my behaviour and feelings around food were harder to manage while I was ingesting this book。 One line in particular felt distressingly real to me （Rachel wishes to carve herself out of her body） so I'd say to proceed with caution if you're also in recovery。Overall this was a very good， empathetic portrait that I will be thinking about for some time。 。。。more
Joana
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3。5I know the rating isn't that high， but I actually couldn't put this down。 The reason I'm not giving it a 4 is because of how sometimes it felt like the author was almost crossing a line， but never actually crossed it， simply leaving me with a bothered feeling that couldn't be fully justified。 I understand the mixed reviews - this book certainly isn't for everyone。Overall， although I really enjoyed my reading experience， some parts were just a bit too much， and I'm not even talking about the s 3。5I know the rating isn't that high， but I actually couldn't put this down。 The reason I'm not giving it a 4 is because of how sometimes it felt like the author was almost crossing a line， but never actually crossed it， simply leaving me with a bothered feeling that couldn't be fully justified。 I understand the mixed reviews - this book certainly isn't for everyone。Overall， although I really enjoyed my reading experience， some parts were just a bit too much， and I'm not even talking about the smut！ That's all I can say without spoilers。 。。。more
Christine Hopkins
，
"Just because something feels bad doesn't mean it's wrong。" 3 kooky starsBroder knows how to make a reader squirm and laugh。 I had to knock one star off for the inclusion of the Palestine Israel conflict that didn't involve any real opinion or conclusion。 With the two main characters being Jewish， it seems like you either make a solid statement or you just don't mention it。 To be in between is just uncomfortable for everyone。 Other than that， there are funny moments and loads of explicit sexual "Just because something feels bad doesn't mean it's wrong。" 3 kooky starsBroder knows how to make a reader squirm and laugh。 I had to knock one star off for the inclusion of the Palestine Israel conflict that didn't involve any real opinion or conclusion。 With the two main characters being Jewish， it seems like you either make a solid statement or you just don't mention it。 To be in between is just uncomfortable for everyone。 Other than that， there are funny moments and loads of explicit sexual content。 。。。more
Pauline
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This book made me blush a lot 😳
aleya🎩
，
such an interesting and refreshing read！！ broder's writing is insanely entertaining and easy to digest such an interesting and refreshing read！！ broder's writing is insanely entertaining and easy to digest 。。。more
Benedikte
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"They say the perfect is the enemy of the good， that if you strive for perfection you will look overlook the good。 But I did not agree。 I didn't like the good。 The good was just mediocre。 I wanted to go beyond mediocre。 I wanted to be exceptional。"Rachel is een Joodse dame van 24。 Haar geloof heeft ze losgelaten， de focus op calorieën （en hoe ze te beperken） bepalen haar hele leven。 Haar obsessieve eetgedrag staat haaks op dat van Miriam， één van de medewerkers van een Yo！Good， de frozen yoghurt "They say the perfect is the enemy of the good， that if you strive for perfection you will look overlook the good。 But I did not agree。 I didn't like the good。 The good was just mediocre。 I wanted to go beyond mediocre。 I wanted to be exceptional。"Rachel is een Joodse dame van 24。 Haar geloof heeft ze losgelaten， de focus op calorieën （en hoe ze te beperken） bepalen haar hele leven。 Haar obsessieve eetgedrag staat haaks op dat van Miriam， één van de medewerkers van een Yo！Good， de frozen yoghurt-bar in de buurt。 Miriam begint Rachel letterlijk te voeden en maakt daardoor een intens verlangen bij haar los: het verlangen naar hechting， een liefhebbende moeder， een relatie en seks。 'Milk Fed' wordt door de die hard-fans van Melissa Broder een absolute revelatie genoemd。 Het boek schetst onomwonden wat eetstoornissen， een getroebleerde jeugd， religieuze dogma's en fysiek verlangen met mensen doen。 Rachel is in wezen de perfecte optelsom van al die deeltjes。 Voor zover ze het geloof en een al te bemoeizuchtige moeder uit haar leven weet te weren， is er een andere drang die haar parten speelt。 Bij gebrek aan mentaal en fysiek genot - iets wat ze vooral bij vrouwen vindt - begint ze als gek calorieën te tellen en dagelijks tot het strikte minimum te beperken。 Tot Miriam van Yo！Good dat patroon doorbreekt。De ommezwaai in Rachels eetgedrag en het feit dat ze adviezen van een therapeut naast zich neerlegt， laten haar toe om in een bijzonder passionele relatie te duiken met Miriam， zelf ook Joodse。 Vanaf dat moment ruimt het obsessieve eten plaats voor bijna even obsessieve seks。 Broder zet het proces zonder verbloemen te boek， in korte krachtige hoofdstukken。Je zou 'Milk Fed' om die reden als zeer choquerend kunnen bestempelen。 Maar het opvallende is dat de auteur nooit echt op dat shockeffect uit is。 Ze laat de belevenissen van de personages - al dan niet tussen de lakens - moeiteloos overvloeien in een relaas dat moeder-dochterrelaties， geloofskwesties en de spanningen in het Midden-Oosten tegen het licht houdt。 De intensiteit van al die zaken maakt van dit boek een lust voor het oog van de lezer。 Niet betrokken raken bij de emoties en de fysieke confrontaties is quasi onmogelijk， geen begrip hebben voor de keuzes en standpunten van Rachel en Miriam evenzeer。The Times labelde 'Milk Fed' als 'a riot of carnal pleasures': een spervuur van vleselijke geneugten。 Dat spervuur nodigt uit om verder te lezen en ook verder te denken dan dit boek zelf。 Hoe kijken we naar mensen？ Naar familirelaties？ Naar andere culturen en naar holebirelaties？ Broder confronteert， choqueert en amuseert terwijl ze haar eigenzinnige antwoorden op die vragen formuleert。 Ze weet de honger en de empathie van haar lezers te wekken en tussen al de vleselijkheid ook onvoorwaardelijke vriendschap en genegenheid te portretteren。 'Milk Fed' was mijn eerste kennismaking met Broders oeuvre。 De portie 'pussy， wetness and clits' in het verhaal is behoorlijk impressionant maar doet geen afbreuk aan deze zeer degelijke， eigenzinnige， eigentijdse en - ach ja - feministische literaire hap。 Kinda liked it very much！ 。。。more
Meike
，
listen this book probably isnt for everyone but melissa broder ATE （lol） w this。 queer vulgar & just so good imo
Grace
，
I've been in such a mood for weird reading and this fulfilled ALL of my expectations。 There are obviously a *lot* of trigger warnings for this book， including calorie counting， eating disorders， parental abuse， homophobia， amongst other things。 So， it's definitely not for everyone， and it's certainly not a fluffy or fun read。 But I loved it。 I read it in two sittings， and that was only because I was exhausted and couldn't keep my eyes open any more one evening。 But I picked it up as soon as I wo I've been in such a mood for weird reading and this fulfilled ALL of my expectations。 There are obviously a *lot* of trigger warnings for this book， including calorie counting， eating disorders， parental abuse， homophobia， amongst other things。 So， it's definitely not for everyone， and it's certainly not a fluffy or fun read。 But I loved it。 I read it in two sittings， and that was only because I was exhausted and couldn't keep my eyes open any more one evening。 But I picked it up as soon as I woke up the next morning and didn't stop reading until I was done。 Part of what made this so compelling for me was Rachel。 While I didn't particularly like her， or feel like I had anything in her to root for， I thought she was so real。 Her trains of thought， her descriptions of experiences and dreams and her own analysis of herself。 I really just loved being inside her head。 。。。more
Megan Fisher
，
This is a very good book。 It is also a very tragic book that covers topics ranging from food to God to Palestine to mother-daughter relationships。
Kelly
，
2。5 stars。 This is twisted， complicated， and compelling read。 BIG trigger warnings for disordered eating， fatphobia， etc。 I found it interesting and I think it's well-crafted piece of darkly humorous fiction exploring disordered eating， desire， food， sex。 But I didn't really enjoy it and I don't necessarily recommend it？ 2。5 stars。 This is twisted， complicated， and compelling read。 BIG trigger warnings for disordered eating， fatphobia， etc。 I found it interesting and I think it's well-crafted piece of darkly humorous fiction exploring disordered eating， desire， food， sex。 But I didn't really enjoy it and I don't necessarily recommend it？ 。。。more
Aoibhinn Dixon
，
This book was very different to what I was expecting but it was such an honest and in ways very honest and emotional。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Milk Fed
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Milk Fed&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Milk Fed&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0