In between working for BOOM magazine, maintaining her marriage to her unhealthy husband, and dealing with her cranky mother-in-law and should-be-flown-from-the-nest-but-aren't kids, Rochelle Fabrikant tells us about her friendship with her rock of Gibraltar, Gertrude, who one day suddenly rejects her lifelong role of "the fat friend". 

          From the traumatic teen years to cresting the hill of middle age, Shell could always rely on who she was when she was with Tru.  But now that Tru is redefining the lines of who she is, Shell learns that there is truth in the old idea that to have a friend one must be a friend.

            This book gave me a lot to ponder about the place of women in the western world, and though it could have come across as preachy I felt that for the most part the messages were well couched within the story.   

            The dynamics of the relationship between Shell and Tru, and how much they relied on Tru's weight, were fascinating.   As her weight changed, their relationship changed, and Shell was forced to reevaluate her thoughts about her friend. (Which, in all honesty, is only sensible.  No one should freeze frame their angst-ridden preteen mindset, not even toward their dearest friends.)

            At the risk of gushing, I must say I just loved the ending, bittersweet though it was.

             I had to agree with Shell when she queried Tru as to how she had all the details in the stories she related about various people.  And with her pattern of speech, she sounded every bit as much the writer as Shell! (Some of those conversational vignettes seemed like they would work well in a stage play.)

             The womyn's retreat, "Even Song," seemed like something right out of a Margaret Atwood or Marion Zimmer Bradley story.  Very intense, to say the least.

              I'm not sure if I am just sensitive to the subject because of my personal history or the fact that I have read several stories along similar lines in the last year was lodged in my subconscious mind, but I figured out long before Shell what was really happening with her dear friend.   What I am not so sure of is whether or not I was meant to do so.

Warning: there are some coarse words, weight loss, and sexual references in this book. (Don't let the weight loss piece put you off, though.)

If you liked "The Fat Friend" you might also enjoy "Love at Large", "All of Me", "Inappropriate Men", "The Saving Graces", "Sisterhood Situation", "Circle of Friends", "Tara Road", "Princess Charming", "Fast Women", "The High Price of a Good Man", "Good in Bed", "Jemima J.", "Etta Mae's Little Theory", or the "Odelia Grey" series.