Journal Entry 1 by goatgrrl from New Westminster, British Columbia Canada on Wednesday, February 25, 2004

I had never heard of this book before picking it up at Value Village for 99 cents. It tells the story of Ella Mae Hopkins, a forty-something woman living in an unidentified small town whose eating -- and size -- has spiralled out of control. As Ella Mae struggles to survive the emotional deprivation of her home life (two rotten sons and a passive aggressive husband whose endless jabs about her weight are always delivered with evil "just kidding" jocularity), we learn more about her past. This is a quick, sad read, which -- for me -- hit very close to the psychological bone.

Fat Woman was shortlisted for the 1980 Governor General's Literary Award and the Books in Canada First Novel Award in 1980, then won the Paperback Novel of the Year Award in 1981. Leon Rooke was born in rural North Carolina in 1934, but now lives in eastern Canada. You can read his author profile (courtesy of Northwest Passages) here.