Customer Reviews

Massive

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

MASSIVE deals with 3 generations of women with eating disorders. The Nan is a binge eater; the mother is an extreme anorexic, and the daughter, Carmen (who narrates) has been shaped by her mother to believe thin is beauty, thin is success, thin is everything and after being swept off to Birmingham she starts to believe it might be true.

Personally I really enjoyed this book. I think it's different from anything else I've read about eating disorders and deals with it in a different way. The main focus is on the mother and how it has changed her completely but it also deals with how she can pass these insecurities onto her daughter. She is always calling her fat and forcing her on diets with her, when Carmen has absolutely nothing to worry about.

Something I wasn't sure about was the age of Carmen. I think she's supposed to be 14/15 but at the beginning of the book I think it paints her as younger, for example she doesn't wear a bra although she's supposed to have a large chest and be "meaty" (personally I DO NOT think 8 stone is "meaty") and her mother bushes her hair, nagging her to wear it in plaits. But her friend is nearly "doing it" and when she moves to the city she thrown into sex, drugs and rock and roll.

I think the book can be a little weird in places but I liked that, I thought it made it different. I liked the way you saw anorexia from both the person who deals with it and seeing someone you love deal with it perspectives. It's easy to read and a short one too. It might have made me feel a little guilty for eating so much to begin with but as you see just what the consequences can be for extreme dieting I was very glad at the end that I have a healthy attitude towards food.

If you've ever felt a bit dodgy about your apperence or weight, or know someone who sufferers from an eating disorder, you should read this!

I liked this book and it kept my attention but it ended so abruptly it felt unfinished. Also, this book seemed to target a younger audience rather than adults.

Julia Bell's, Massive, takes place in England. The stressful life that Carmen has is taking its toll and making Carmen weak. Carmen is being pushed by her mother to be thin and stop eating, moving to a brand new place, and peer pressure smacks her in the face. All of this is going on at the same time, and to add to the chaos, Carmen is suffering from and eating disorder.
Bell's, Massive, has an intense and great word description. Every chapter left me wanting to keep reading.
The book never has one happy moment. At times, when you think that everything will be okay, it ends up being worse, or just plain bad.
I would not recommend this book to someone who loves to read books with happy endings, if your willing to read a harsh reality book with sour spots, then Massive is the book for you.

I have read many books on eating disorders and this one was not like any other. At first I didn't like the book, it took half the book before anything really happens to the main character. However- I totally recomend this book to anyone who knows someone dealing with an eating disorder or someone who is eating disordered themself.

"Massive" is about Carmen, a girl who starts out a little chubby. Her mother is severely anorexic and is always trying to get her to diet with her, so she can be thin and pretty. When the pair leave Carmen's father-figure and move to the big city, life changes for Carmen. She gets new friends and ends up dieting to lose some weight. But dieting quickly turns into anorexia and Carmen begins her downward spiral. Lisa, her mother's estranged sister, tries to help the pair, but there's only so much you can do when mother and daughter seem to be in a contest to see who can starve to death the quickest...

Eating disorders are indeed an element of this book. The stress/obsesion with food is constant. I'm not sure if reading / feeling someone elses stress or unhealthy relationship with food will help one establish a healthy relationship of their own.

Perhaps it would be insightful to someone unaware of how food/weight can cause stress. But who doesn't know that already.

Massive was a very touching story. I was very happy that i found it. And it made me not want to do other things i always wanted to read. And it was an easy read

A short read, but the dynamics between the main character and her mother are very real and believable. The characters are developed well, despite the length of the book.

Not a bad book, but not outstanding either. I kept wanting to know more and the ending was predictable and bland. I would tell my fellow ED friends to give it a read, and any parent of a teen with an ED should read it as well, but it is very "junior high" in its language and tone.

The book "Massive" starts off slow and ends somewhat at the same pace, but I really don't know how to describe it. The author Julia Bell really doesn't write like any other authors that I have read before. The main character Carmen starts off completely apathetic to everyone and everything around her. Her mother, at the beginning of the novel, was recovering from an eating disorder and is still completely obsessed with her weight and is constantly dieting and making Carmen diet with her. And all throughout Carmen just doesn't seem to care. She still eats fattening foods and doesn't really seem to care what her mother tells her or calls her (piggy). And suddenly something happens to Carmen that she begins care about her weight and develops an eating disorder of her own. And just like that Carmen begins to change gradually. I really liked this novel and I would recommend it to any female.