Milk Fed
Melissa Broder, the author of The Pisces and So Sad Today, is back with a very Jewish story of Rachel, a 24-year-old struggling comedian living in Los Angeles who obsessively counts calories and has a toxic relationship with her mom. One day, her therapist challenges her to “detox” from communication with her mother — as in not speak to or text her for 90 days. Soon, Rachel meets Miriam, a zaftig (in a positive way) Orthodox Jewish woman who works at a frozen yogurt shop. Miriam slowly gets Rachel to eat, and enjoy, what she’s eating, while Rachel begins to fall for Miriam. There’s also a dreamy subplot about Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the famous rabbi of Prague who made a golem. I really don’t want to give any more away, but I was so wrapped up in the story I didn’t want to stop reading.
In an interview with the Jewish Book Council, Melissa explained, “Our parents are our first gods, and this may be particularly true of mothers. Milk Fed is very much a book that questions certitude: What are we being fed? Who has fed it to us? What were they fed — psychologically, culturally, and spiritually? Like Rachel, I have had moments when I looked at my thoughts and beliefs, and was stunned to discover that they weren’t monolithic truths — they were beliefs. I have had to ask myself: Are these even mine? How would I begin to dismantle them? Do I even want to dismantle them? What’s on the other side? The answers tend to fluctuate, but the questions are very good.”
The backdrop of Jewish LA is also worth noting: We get scenes at Miriam’s family’s Shabbat dinners, kosher Chinese restaurants, a talent management agency, a stand-up comedy night… Every detail is so vivid, and Rachel feels so real. Broder has a true talent for conjuring a broken, yet very relatable, woman.
Rating: ★★★★★
