Customer Reviews

Hungry

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A beautifully written collection of tales. Joanna Torrey's use of extended metaphor as a funhouse mirror to highlight a character's deepest secrets is amazing. Her wicked wit and deep empathy keep the reader transfixed. "Eyes" says as much about the relationship between women and men, patient and therapist, as any psychology textbook. "Hungry" uses food, gourmet and junk, to explore the contradictions of a woman's feelings for the men in her life. "Backrubs" is a sweet, moving memoir of father and daughter, reclaiming innocence for this relationship. And the novelette, "Me and Mine," should be required reading for anyone who has ever been a secretary, especially at a law firm. Absolutely hysterically funny. Joanna Torrey is unafraid to cut right to the heart of a character's bitterness and fear, and she does it with great humor and compassion. A volume that is endlessly rewarding!

This is a beautiful collection of short stories and a novelette exploring the psyches of modern women. Joanna Torrey's writing style is easy to read, yet dense with meaning and allusion. Ms. Torrey can take a single metaphor and use it to explore every facet of a character. In "Hungry," the title story, she uses food, gourmet and down-home, to delineate a wonderfully funny woman and her relationships with various men and her own sexuality. In "Sweat," exercise and the homeliest of bodily functions become the lens magnifying a life of secret desire. "Back Rubs" is a marvelously innocent account of filial and parental love (none of the usual psychotraumas-of-the-week in this story). "Snoop" and "Parking Lot" teach you more about relationships and imagination than any self-help book on the shelves. The novelette, "Me and Mine," should be required reading for every secretary, legal and otherwise--this is our lives, in excrutiatingly funny detail. Highly recommended! A satisfying and hysterically funny collection.

Hungry is a true feast with the novella, Me and Mine, a deliciously subersive and hilarious centerpiece. Anyone who's ever worked in the corporate world -- especially as a worker bee -- will recognize the Dragon Lady, Peach, Plant Man and especially Mine, Almost Mine and Biggest Mine. And I guarantee you'll never look at a dictaphone the same way again.

But, this is not just a comic writer; her portraits of the disaffected can be wrenching, and Back Rubs just might break your heart.

Joanna Torreys stories are highly erotic, but make you feel cold at the same time. This is really something I have never read before, and I can't wait for the German edition so that all my friends can read it, too!

I loved every word of this book. It was very funny, and very sad. Anybody who's ever worked in a corporation or been in a "supporting" role at work will recognize, empathize, cheer for and hurt for the characters Ms. Torrey creates so beautifully. Definitely worth the read.

I can browse bookstores for hours trying to find a book that holds my attention captive, more often that not I leave disappointed. This book was not one of those times. I read it twice and passed it onto friends to enjoy. Superb writing! Hopefully, she is presently working on her second collection of shorts.