She's Come Undone
She's Come Undone
Author: Wally Lamb
Amazon info
The story of Dolores Price, her mother, her missing father, and her grandmother. All of whom will die during the story (except for Dolores). But mostly this is the story of Dolores' weight and its impact on her life. The story has some interesting twists and turns and Dolores is an interesting and memorable character, but yet I was not very impressed with the novel.
What I did like was the interaction between the three generations and how the personality traits of one generation impact the next generation. I also enjoyed the healing process through which Dolores is "rebirthed". However, I felt that the author did not truly address the realities that Dolores would face in the world.
At her peak, Dolores weighs over 250 pounds on her 5'5" frame. She manages to lose 150 without any discussion of exercise and only minor (that I recall) references to the drastic changes in eating habits that would be required. I believe that to lose that much weight one's caloric intake would become a central feature of their life for a very significant time. Furthermore, she just seems to keep this weight off - again without exercise. Finally, I don't see how quickly she would get back into the dating world given her history with men, weight, and all her other issues. So that part of the book, which I think is a pretty large part, just didn't work for me.
Recommended: Big fans of "coming of age" stories, people who are perhaps less literal than I am.