[.ca] The Strange History of Suzanne LaFleshe: And Other ... (ISBN 1558614508)

Superb Short Story Collection:
Susan Koppelman's books preserve short stories that could otherwise be lost, and provide them with new settings that make them even more moving, and interesting than they are alone. This new collection, stories about women's body awareness in our fat-phobic culture, is so discouraging, encouraging, entertaining, and provocative that it should please any woman, fat or thin, satisfied, dissatisfied, or (probably) ambivalent about her body. Organized by theme, the stories build on each other and leave the reader thinking and rethinking each story in light of the ones that came before and after. Some of the stories are very sad; some are very funny. Every one is good fiction, "true to life," suggesting new possibilities and reevaluating old ones. The afterword enriches our understanding of each story and of the cultural pressures on women to hate and to change our bodies. Happily, it also gives us hope and makes us laugh.

Highly recommended:
This extraordinary book of short stories, The Strange History of Suzanne LaFleshe, had me thinking about all the ways people are perceived to be different, and think of themselves as different, from their peers. The women in these stories are fat, some hugely and obviously, others only in their own minds. Their stories are funny, smart, infuriating, and courageous. Editor Susan Koppelman selected these 25 stories from 167 written over the last century by women on the subject of fatness. Her encylopedic afterward is an additional bonus, giving readers both a view of fatness in our culture and a condensed history of women's short stories in the U.S. An extensive bibliography provides written and online resources for anyone interested in further research.

Acceptance of Reality:
I came away from reading these stories vowing to be more sensitively aware of the preciousness of life I see before me as I consider the appearances of myself and of each person I encounter. I vow to simply allow myself to be as I am, and to appreciate us all as we are. This attitude of open appreciation is an authentic acceptance of reality without a presumption that I know, or that you know--what "should be". In my view, living in true acceptance of what actually is, means living in grace. These stories can teach us how to live this way, if we allow them to speak to us as deeply as they are written.