Customer Reviews

Two Weeks Under

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I loved this book. Tadjer creates a marvelously engaging and at times funny novel, taking off from American women's obsession with weight control. Her characters are memorable and the plot twists absorbing. After regretfully closing the final page of the book, I keep recalling certain scenes and situations. It's one of those books you want to recommend to all your good friends!

I was on a plane and finished the book I was reading (Three cups of Tea, which was pretty good) and had nothing to read and a woman handed me this. I was reluctant to as I assumed it was a "chick flick" novel with a diet theme. Boy was I wrong. It was one of the best I've ever read. Ms. Tadjer does a wonderful job of character development (I know these people) and an even better job weaving the mystery. I was enthralled. It is hard to put down. Tadjer has a slightly warped mind which I love. It was creepy and funny. That's a difficult mix that she pulls off flawlessly! Can't wait for the next one.

I really enjoyed reading Rivka's book, and found the subject matter to be both timely (women's fitness and body image) and frightening (vanity comas?). I certainly hope this is not what our future holds! The book is well-writtten and certainly entertaining, perfect for the beach or on a cold winter's day. I look forward to more novels from Rivka.

GREAT book! I finished it in 2 days! The story was gripping, even if it was a little bit unrealistic (vanity comas? An anti-anxiety drug called "Normal?" Although that one did make me chuckle). It was definitely a page turner - last night when I was lying in bed reading, I absolutely did not want to put it down without finding out what happened next, but I had to because it was 11:15 and I was supposed to be up for school in 6 and a half hours. I finished it today between classes, and it definitely left me thinking. I love books that do that. I also really felt that I could relate to the characters (obviously), with their self-loathing, the shame of being just overweight enough to feel less attractive, wanting to go to ANY lengths to lose the weight... I've definitely been there. And if vanity comas existed, and I had $10,000, I can't guarantee that it's not something I would have considered. Isn't that crazy? But I'm sure I'm not the only one. I definitely think people in the same boat as me can relate to that feeling.

The one problem I did have with the story was that both the main character and her sister, whose suicide the main character is investigating, only weighed around 150 lbs, and they were both about 5'5", 5'6", somewhere around there, if memory serves me correctly. Now, I weigh more than 15 lbs over that, and I'm only 5'3", so I would be thrilled to weigh 150, especially if I was (were? I'm never sure) 3 inches taller. I thought maybe Rivka was trying to show the ridiculousness of some women's body issues, but I was never quite sure. I felt the same way reading Bridget Jone's - her "fat days" she only weighed 131!

So that's my only gripe with the book. The villain was shockingly sinister, I found myself holding my breath to see if the protagonists were going to make it, and I just all around loved it.

Imagine a world where changing your physical body is easy. Want bigger perkier breasts? There is a pill for that. It may have a few side effects, but what doesn't? Want to feel better about yourself? Take Normal! Want to lose weight? Go into a medically induced two week coma and wake up 20 pounds lighter.

Rivka Tadjer's Two Weeks Under takes place in a slightly futuristic New York City where all of these things are possible thanks to the Monarch Corporation and the Monarch Spa. Tadjer, a journalism professor at SUNY New Paltz who has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal Interactive, Business Week, and The Washington Post, specializes in the sociological implications of our techno-centric era. She is interested in how our behavior is changing and the effects of this on privacy, security, and identity. "After they started trying to dose the New York press corps with Anthrax, Tadjer started writing novels."

Two Weeks Under is at heart a murder mystery. As more and more women begin to die from "complications" after their vanity comas, and more and more professional women who take Normal start committing suicide, a few journalists and marketers start to wonder why. One of these is Elana Diamond, a 35 year old PR executive whose long lost sister is the latest coma victim and who has just landed the Monarch Corporation account. As she goes through the coma process and meets all of the Monarch players as well as people close to her sister, Elana gets closer to the reason behind all of the deaths and in the process almost gets killed herself.

It is a compelling thriller with enough sci-fi fantasy aspects to please most mystery and sci fi fans. And the wonderful body acceptance message is clear without being overwhelming. Tadjer wrote this book to combat weightism, our society's unhealthy and crazy obsession with being thin. As she says,

"Twenty years ago there was no size zero. Twenty-five years ago there was barely a size 2, and if someone fit in a 2 she was usually what my mother called, in a whisper, "one of those girls with problems." Anorexia and bulimia were just getting popular then among the teenage set. The goal of weight obsessed teens and 20somethings was to fit in a size 4. It was a badge of honor to say you wore a 4. That was bad enough.

Now the badge of honor is to be size zero. How can it sound right to brag about being nothing?"

This is a fast paced enjoyable yet scary commentary on our cultural obsession with weight. The scenarios are believable, which makes them even more terrifying. This book is a wake up call and I hope people listen.

This is a phenomenal book that any woman can relate to. It really makes one think about the price we are willing to pay to be thin along with many other interesting and intriguing plot twists and turns. Honestly, this is one book that may actually be better as a movie with the high paced action. It's definitely a page-turner!

I got completely caught up in this thriller, despite the creepiness of the "vanity coma" idea. It reminded me of the DaVinci Code, because even as my rational mind was telling me that this was all too bizarre to be believable, I felt like I had to read as fast as I could to help the protagonists figure out the mystery before it was too late. The book had some serious things along the way to say about our youth- and thinness-obsessed culture, and brazenly suggests that it doesn't have to be that way.

Rivka Tadjer has re-opened the Hornet's nest of the glass ceiling, the abuse of legalized drugs,unconditional trust in medical expertise, the ridiculous illusion that money can buy health and the relentless pursuit for the perfect body image. Through good research and writing Ms Tadjer has taken us on a very realistic journey of the temptation of a "magical procedure." Her account of the weakness pain and GI distress that the female protaganist was going through post procedure was particularly sensitive and well written as was the emergence of her emotional strength as her physical strength started to fail.

A great book to travel with. It is so compelling Long delays at airports don't seem so bad

This is not only beautifully written suspense novel, it takes on the insidious "legalized" drug culture that promises us it can cure all of our physical and emotional ills, most notably weight loss. Rivka Tadjer's sharply-honed skills as a successful investigative journalist are here transformed into a fast-paced novel with an intriguing plot and a female protaganist we really want to root for. Get the book, fasten your seat belt, and get ready for a thrilling ride into the dark shadow of the legalized drug culture.

Doug Grunther

Host

"The Woodstock Roundtable"

WDST-FM

Woodstock, NY

I lost sleep reading this book! A clever, sophisticated and very original novel, Two Weeks Under had me turning the pages not just to find out who was killing off the women in vanity comas -- but also what would drive a woman to go into a coma to lose weight in the first place. A serial killer thriller that is also biting social commentary, Two Weeks Under is a great read.