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Speed Shrinking (2009)

by Susan Shapiro(Favorite Author)

2.98 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0312581564 (ISBN13: 9780312581565)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Thomas Dunne Books

review 1: Speed Shrinking is the story of self-help author Julia Goodman. Julia's addictive personality is under control until her best friend gets married and moves away, her therapist also moves away, and her husband goes out of town for an extended period for work. Julia falls apart and goes on several cupcake binges. Now she might look fat when she goes on tour for her latest book, which is about overcoming food addiction. Julia decides she needs a new therapist to fix her up.I read this book for my book club. The woman in my book club who picked it chose it because it had several blurbs on the back promising that it was a "laugh-out-loud delight" and "hilarious". None of us in book club found this book even mildly amusing, let alone laugh-out-loud funny. Julia is so self-absorb... moreed and obsessive that she is completely unlikeable. Her interactions with her therapists are repetitive and get her (and the reader) nowhere. She never really learns to dig deeper and end her superficial obsession with the numbers on the scale.This book is the first work of fiction by Susan Shapiro, who has written several self-help books herself. It reads like a memoir and I have a sneaking suspicion that it's autobiographical. If that's the case, I wish the author would have just written a memoir instead of trying to present this book as a lighthearted, funny chick-lit book. Cause that it ain't.
review 2: Susan Shapiro brings us self-help "guru" Julia Goodman, who seems to have lost all she holds as stable and steady in her life when both her best friend and her psychoanalyst/editor/sounding board/obsession move away from her. Although Julia at times comes off as self-centered and myopic, I found myself rooting for her to "speed shrink" her way to a thin physique and a healthier outlook on life. Any woman who has ever felt conflicted about food will identify with Julia's tendencies towards the occasional all-out cupcake icing binge. I love the way Susan Shapiro brings Julia's therapy sessions to life with quick, realistic therapy dialogue. As someone who has visited her share of "shrinks," I felt right at home in the offices of Dr. Ness and the handsome Dr. Cigar. In true-to-life fashion, not every relationship Julia tends ends up as fulfilling as she'd hoped, but it sure is a fun ride along the way. less

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