Customer Reviews

Larger Than Death: A Novel

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Jo Fuller is a heroine for all of us who wish we had been born when women were supposed to look like women, ample curves were in, and voluptuous was a preferred adjective. Jo, however, has come to terms with herself and her size and is happily enjoying a new job and her new status as a divorcee. She doesn't take put downs from others regarding her size-- the commonest one being a put down/compliment, "You'd be a knock-out IF you lost weight." She has a comeback ready and waiting. The plot thickens(no pun intended)when Jo arrives for a visit with a dear friend and finds that the friend has met a horrible end. Jo's anger fuels her search for answers and despite some rather implausible plot elements--a killer who seems to be preying on fat women, the involvement of a commune, and a child whose existence has been kept secret, the story flows along smoothly. I have to admit I was hooked from the first page and accepted all of these events as being quite plausible while I was involved with the story. Fans of authors Chris Rogers and Virginia Lanier might especially enjoy spending a few hours with Jo. Good plotting and a great heroine.

I admire the feminist politics behind this book. Jo Fuller is plus-sized and not ashamed of it, and when her close friend is found murdered with "Kill the Whales!" scrawled on the mirror, Jo decides to investigate. As any fiction reader can attest, overweight female protagonists are few and far between, and the introduction of such a character should be a refreshing breath of fresh air.

The problem with this book is not that it's heroine weighs over 200 pounds. The problem is that reading it FEELS like reading a book with an agenda, rather than reading a book with a great mystery plot and an interesting heroine. The author is simply too heavy-handed with the message--slim people are depicted as starving, unhappy, and unfailingly rude.

On top of that, Jo's instant (mutual) attraction to her dead friend's lover was repellent to me. You know the old saying about the body not being cold yet? The connection I felt to Jo, with all her wit and charisma, was severed when she gave in to this attraction. And unfortunately, that connection was never regained.

Larger Than Death is an entertaining way to spend a couple night's reading. The femme sleuth, Jo Fuller, is a full-figured woman whose best friend, also full-figured,has just been murdered. Jo vows to find the killer, but along the way several other victims fall prey. They don't fit the profile of previous victims, which now throws Jo for a loop.

A cast of lively secondary characters adds color to the storyline. The one thing that keeps me from a 5-star review is the fact that about 1/2 way through the book, I'd pretty much figured out the culprit. That aside, I've ordered Ms. Murray's second book and am looking forward to reading it.

I bought this book under the mistaken impression that it would be funny with quirky characters and a strong, likeable heroine. I couldn't have been more mistaken! This book rapidly developed into one long, plodding manifesto to the Fat Agenda and Fat Acceptance. It became so annoying that I couldn't even finish the book.

Ok, so the author is a large size woman who is happy with herself and has chosen to write characters she identifies with. Here is the problem; every fat woman in the book is described as being incredibly sexy, desirable to every man she meets, well adjusted, successful, etc., while the slender or average size women are all described as flawed, colorless, miserable, and in one case, homicidal characters. We have the fat heroine lusting after the boyfriend of her dead fat friend, just days after the death, and of course he instantly desires the heroine as well. Tacky, to say the least. All the men in the book, from the lawyer reading the will of the dead woman to the weird, third person speaking computer programmer nerd and including the millionaire owner of a weight loss chain with a beautiful, slender blond girlfriend, are depicted as lusting after our heroine or another fat woman. The only exceptions are the gay men, for obvious reasons. The message is clearly, "Fat women are sexier, more desirable and more together than thin women. Thin women are unhappy, warped and undesirable."

I have nothing against large size women, nor am I personally thin. Be happy with who you are and want to be if that is your choice. But when I buy a mystery, I expect to read a good mystery, not be lectured to on how wonderful it is to be fat and how pathetic and warped thin people are under the guise of a novel. It's obnoxious, tedious and annoying, which removes all the joy and interest in reading this book. The entire premise of this book is ludicrous and unbelievable, plus insulting to the average size population reading it.

LARGER THAN DEATH introduces Josephine Fuller, a full-sized woman who is comfortable with her larger figure. Josephine's long-time friend, Nina, who helped Jo come to terms with her larger size, is murdered, apparently by a serial killer determined to rid the world of heavy-set women. While Jo deals with Nina's funeral arrangements and settles her estate, she also collects clues to the killer's identity. It turns out that during her life Nina was involved with a cult, its randy leader, and a weight-loss guru, all of which interweave throughout the story.

Jo is a great role model for large-size women who want to come to terms with their bodies. In a world where people wanting to be politically correct will refrain from ethnic slurs, it's common for these same people to make fat jokes or obnoxious remarks when they encounter an over-weight person. When insulted by others (who range from inconsiderate to downright phobic), Jo always has a comeback designed to put the person in his/her place. Words are her sword, and she wields them well.

I was able to figure out the killer's identity halfway through the book, and I'm not sure why Jo wasn't able to figure it out at the same time. While I do think Jo is a strong character and a good role model for large-size women, I'm not sure how likeable she is to the average reader. She didn't sparkle or laugh very much in LARGER THAN DEATH, which would have helped the book immensely. I hope Jo has more fun in future books or at least enjoys life a bit.

I am of the firm opinion that a book can be delicious. Enter Larger Than Death, by Lynne Murray.

Not only does the plot enthrall as it unfolds, but Murray provides such a wealth of loving, carefully drawn, at times ironic and wry detail that one can't help grinning even as one enters the world of Seattle and environs of the 1990's, in which murder most obscene has been committed. The killer seems to be targeting women of size and leaves a telltale phrase on mirrors to indicate such. It is also, however, within this world that the ghosts of religious communes still exist and lovely large women discover their own power and beauty, and neighbors still actually *talk* to each other. Even the king/creator of a "Fitness" Establishment is still accessible enough to talk to, although he turns into a controlling crud of the worst caliber.

Although Larger Than Death thrills in its own right as a superb murder mystery, it is also chock full of stunningly conveyed reminders of a time when people of all sizes had so much more "affect" than they do now. And thus it stands as something else, as well - a testament to the complex connections and intertwining threads of lives which end up providing the clues that Jo Fuller, Murray's well-known and loved female protagonist, puts together to solve the crime. There is nothing "thin" about this rich, gorgeously textured, powerful book that somehow manages to combine elements of mystery and history and then weaves them into something more luminous and moving than either alone.

I love the GA McKevitt books and their plus-sized heroine Savannah Reid (who always has a box of Godivas somewhere nearby. A girl needs her strength.) But McKevitt's mysteries are about the characters themselves. Savannah Reid just happens to be full figured, the books aren't about thin vs. fat. Sadly Ms. Murray's book is more about the fat and less about the mystery. Skinny people are depicted as evil and psychotic whereas the "large" folks are all loveable, kind, moral and good. The next book in the Joanne Fuller series rates at least a four, it was funny and interesting, so much so I just ordered the third. :-)

OVERALL: Not a bad read. Definitely DO NOT have to force yourself past the first chapter or two. I look forward to reading the rest of the series. I would recommend this book to a friend.

SPECIFIC: I enjoyed the characters and the presentation of them. The storyline was easy to follow and enjoyable. The "who-dunit" wasn't easily detectible, but surprising. The author did manage to keep my interest with other goodies once it was discovered.

I am not a mystery fan. I found Larger Than Death enjoyable because of the liveliness and clarity of the writing. This book is easy to read, and entertaining. The characters are all a bit odd, which is to say that they are portrayed honestly, and it is their humanity and idiosynchrasies which provide most of the amusement. I appreciated the references to religious cults and body acceptance. The murder mystery kept me guessing, but what kept me reading were the little subcultures: the philanthropy foundation, the apartment house, the religious group, the diet guru and his followers. It wasn't easy keeping track of the characters and plot lines, but it was rewarding.

Josephine Fuller is just getting back on her feet and enjoying her new job. She takes some time off to visit her friend Nina, only to find out that Nina was murdered. Jo is not about to let this case be unsolved and thanks to Nina's will she has names to research. Even the idea of getting killed does not deter her. Jo wants justice for her friend.

Josephine Fuller is full in every way, not only in size but also in character. She is recently divorced and doing her best to move on with her life. She never could picture the tragedy that would strike and she feels guilty. Yet she perseveres and wants to make sure she finds Nina's killer and ensure that he/she does not hurt another woman of size. She also does not look down on anyone no matter what they look like or the size of thier clothes.

My other favorite character is Maxine. She is the manager of the apartment building that Nina lived in. She is also a woman of fullness. She is so sweet and loving to everyone. I could not get over how often she had mood swings, but when you are an emotional person that happens.

There were quite a few plus size character but they didn't let the their size get them down. They loved themselves
for who they were and were confident in it. I appreciated how real the characters were all of them. A couple of examples are Val (a gay man), to Joan (a plus size woman), and Mulligan who was Nina's boyfriend before she was murdered brutally. I really liked Josephine because she made a point of telling whomever she met that she liked the way she looked and was not going to change.

I read this book in one day because I had to see what would happen as Jo went on her many adventures seeking out the truth. She is a true heroine because she did what she thought was right. Now at times, I thought Jo was crazy because there was always the chance of her getting killed but she pursued things in spite of it. Nina had so many friends and I was sad to see that she was killed. You have to be able to accept who you are no matter what you look like and this book depicted that in a real way. It left me really refreshed and wanting to pick up and read the rest of the books in this series.

Reviewed by Krista
For BBW Reviews