Thinner Than Thou is Kit Reed’s latest science fiction novel, reviewed on SciFi.com by sf great Pamela Sargent.
Kit Reed’s satirical targets in Thinner Than Thou — eating disorders, obsessions with physical perfection, televangelists, religions in which salvation is based on material success in this world, and hypocrites of all kinds — are rich in possibilities for potshots and savage humor. But along with her penetrating wit, Reed also has a talent for seeing below the surface.
Annie’s self-imposed starvation and Kelly’s gluttony are quests for independence and signs of an oddly admirable discipline as much as they are psychological problems. Danny’s motivation for competitive eating, his desire for glory, and the discipline he brings to what he thinks of as his “training” aren’t unlike those of any world-class athlete. The pornography of this body-worshipping society has a lot more to do with strong taboos involving food and obesity than with sex:
“Inside every thin person there’s a fat one screaming. Millions of brown cells lying in wait. At the right moment these dormant fat cells will expand and the whole huge, suppressed person will spring into shape.
“It makes them feel dirty just thinking about it.”
(Thanks, Mack!)