Conversations with the Fat Girl [Paperback]

Liza Palmer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 13, 2005

Everyone seems to be getting on with their lives except Maggie. At 26, she's still serving coffee at The Beanery Coffee House, while her friends are getting married, having babies, and having real careers. Even Olivia, Maggie's best friend from childhood, is getting married to the doctor with whom she lives. Maggie's roommate? Her dog Solo (his name says it all). The man in Maggie's life? Well there isn't one, except the guy she has a crush on, Domenic, who works with her at the coffee shop as a bus boy.Maggie and Olivia have been best friends since they were in grade school. Both fatties, they befriended each other when no one else would. Now grown-up, Maggie is still shopping in the "women's section" while Olivia went and had gastric-bypass surgery in search of the elusive size 2, the holy grail for girls everywhere. So now Olivia's thin and blonde and getting married, and Maggie's the fat bridesmaid. Ain't life grand? In this wonderful debut novel that is sure to remind readers of Jennifer Weiner's Good In Bed, Liza Orr is both witty and wise, giving voice to women everywhere who wish for just once that they could forget about their weight.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Palmer debuts with the latest sprightly entry in the ever-expanding category of light romantic comedies starring plus-sized heroines. Maggie has been best friends with fellow fat girl Olivia since they were 12. Following gastric bypass surgery at 22, however, Olivia grows increasingly unrecognizable. Now 27, she's engaged to Adam, a fat-phobic Ken doll, and although Maggie is to be the maid of honor, she feels less and less a part of Olivia's skinny new life. After Olivia disappoints her old friend again and again, Maggie sets in motion a long-overdue and explosive confrontation and walks into the arms of the colleague—busboy to her barista—whom she's had a crush on for ages. By that time, in true chick-lit style, Maggie is both earnestly at work improving herself and being loved for her true, unimproved self. And though Palmer doesn't moralize, it's when Maggie starts to make her own, more realistic wishes come true—by taking a better job and signing up with a trainer instead of a surgeon—that she sees her love requited. It turns out her instincts were good—as are Palmer's.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Palmer's lighthearted debut traverses territory familiar to chick-lit fans--a young woman lets self-doubt undermine an opportunity for romance. A lifelong battle with her weight, a disastrous dating life, and a going-nowhere job have taken their toll on Maggie's self-esteem. To make matters worse, her best friend, Olivia--once a fellow plus-size shopper--has a new svelte body thanks to gastric bypass surgery and a handsome surgeon fiance to boot. A great boyfriend and the perfect job are within Maggie's reach, but first she has to feel like she deserves them. Palmer's likable characters and snappy dialogue make this novel stand out from the crowd, and it's sure to attract fans of Jennifer Weiner and other authors who offer slightly imperfect heroines. Palmer manages to infuse a message of self--acceptance that isn't heavy-handed or cloying. This quick-witted author is sure to develop a following. Aleksandra Kostovski
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 319 pages
• Publisher: 5 Spot (September 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446693952
• ISBN-13: 978-0446693950
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.9 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #728,362 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Liza Palmer is the internationally bestselling author of Conversations with the Fat Girl which Booklist says, "...manages to infuse a message of self--acceptance that isn't heavy-handed or cloying. This quick-witted author is sure to develop a following." Conversations with the Fat Girl became an international bestseller its first week in publication, being named a Target Breakout book, as well as hitting Number 1 on the Fiction Heatseekers List in the UK the week before the book debuted.

Conversations with the Fat Girl has been optioned for series by HBO by the producers of Rome, Band of Brothers and Generation Kill.

Palmer's second novel is Seeing Me Naked, which Publisher's Weekly says, "consider it haute chick lit; Palmer's prose is sharp, her characters are solid and her narrative is laced with moments of graceful sentiment."

Palmer's third novel, A Field Guide to Burying Your Parents will be published in January 2010.

Palmer currently lives in Los Angeles and is hard at work on her next novel as well as several film and television projects.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Could NOT put it down., November 28, 2005

By 

Ellen (Stillwater, OK USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Conversations with the Fat Girl (Paperback)

I want to have coffee with this, Liza Palmer, because she wrote my life story. I want to know how she knew me before I had ever even heard of her.

This book was incredible, not just because of the subject, but how she writes. It was a conversation (thus the title), you followed every train of thought that "Maggie" had, and Palmer did not skip one detail. I was floored reading this and how accurate it was FOR ME as a person. Shopping in the notorious "women's section" is hard enough, especially when you think you are going through all of these emotions by yourself. How she handles herself was so truthful. I believe that this book has and will continue to break down barriers that overweight individuals set up for themselves.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining...and inspiring, September 19, 2005

By 

Kristin Dreyer Kramer (NightsAndWeekends.com) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Conversations with the Fat Girl (Paperback)

It all starts with a note from Maggie's landlord, announcing that Maggie's little home is about to be bulldozed-and she has 48 hours to move out. The timing couldn't be worse for Maggie, who's preparing to be the maid of honor when her best friend, Olivia, marries a handsome surgeon in a matter of weeks. But the note somehow sparks a chain reaction in Maggie's life.

With her move to her cute new cottage, Maggie begins to face the changes and take charge of her life. That means calling about that internship at the museum and finally doing something about her crush on Domenic, the dishwasher at the café. It also means facing the fact that, Olivia, her Best Friend Forever might not be the best of friends anymore.

Conversations with the Fat Girl is one of those books that you won't want to put down. Palmer's style is relaxed and easy-going-just like a chat with a good friend. Her voice is witty and honest-and, at times, cynical and just plain sad. Maggie is such a loveable and realistic character that you'll instantly get caught up in her story-and you'll be able to relate, no matter what your size. You'll laugh with her, you'll commiserate with her, and you'll cheer her on from the first page to the last. The story may not be entirely original or unpredictable, but it's so truthful and well-written that none of that matters. It's a powerful novel that will make you laugh while challenging you to take a look at your own life, too. It'll inspire you and entertain you.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great book, February 24, 2006

By 

Marika E. Christian - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Conversations with the Fat Girl (Paperback)

Maggie is wonderful - and I have to believe that every chubby girl out there has the same sort of internal dialogue with herself, and I think most overweight girls, have had a skinny friend ( whether or not said friend was fat is a different matter - mine was.) who builds herself by making her chubby friend feel bad.

I disagree with the reviews that say that Maggie's last act with Olivia was vindictive -- and that she should have taken the high road... My first question is WHY should she do that... Olivia was pretty abusive from page one, and why should her behavior go unchecked. People treat you the way you teach them to treat you. It is often said that there are no victims - only volunteers in these situations, and I do not see Maggie's act as vindictive ... I see it first as empowering to herself - and I think she did it not out of a spirit of revenge - but to remind Olivia not only of who she was - not in a physical sense, but in a physical sense. Maggie was reminding her that there was a time when they were really friends - and they really loved each other.

I think that while there is a love interest in this book, it really is a love story between friends - and what it is like to lose that. I also think it is a book about empowerment, and how Maggie took back her life - and discovered it was worth living