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Evan Brettell

very psychological and literary

Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2015

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"You Too Can Have A Body Like Mine" was much more literary than I expected it to be. From the review I'd read, I had thought it would be a fairly silly, action-oriented sort-of-scifi. Instead it is very much inside the narrator's head, which is not always a fun place to be. Kleeman does an amazing job of not only describing the narrator's weird, disoriented mental state, but of temporarily putting the reader in that state. There's some social commentary and some goofiness, but mainly it seems to be about the experience of unraveling. The plot gets strange towards the end, but not as strange as I had expected it to. Without giving too much away, I will say that I think the novel is great for where it -doesn't- go as much as for where it does go. Not as light a read as one might think, very thought-provoking. I did enjoy it.

David Zimmerle

Some beautiful lines of prose here

Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2016

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Some beautiful lines of prose here, but I felt like this would have been a more powerful short story. It dragged on and on. Kleeman juggled many tropes--body image issues, irreverence within the food industry, eating disorders, failed relationships, unhealthy obsessions, deceitful marketing campaigns / practices within TV culture, sex--but it just got to the point before midway where I was bored and didn't feel like much was happening. Did she bite off more than she could chew? Yes. Was that the point? Maybe. If so, it tended to feel less authentic and more self-absorbed. I also wanted to see a character like A become empowered to make a startling change for the better--be someone I wanted to champion after all that time with the text. We need stronger female characters in literature. Final Grade = C-.

David Nestor

I really wished the first two sections were shorter and the last third was more fleshed out because that's where it gets good. T

Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2016

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This book is a weird one. It's clearly a feminist piece of literature that delves into familiar topic with new and strange twists. But some of the characters are just insufferably flat, which may be purposeful as a it relates to the themes of the novel, but it doesn't make for a compelling read. I really wished the first two sections were shorter and the last third was more fleshed out because that's where it gets good.

That being said the writing is amazing on the sentence level and I enjoyed the weirdness in the text.

Hannahz

Important message

Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2021

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It is a super interesting book but I honestly felt there was no plot until the end when I realized the ‘big picture’. Interesting read, just not my taste

Ladybug

I really liked reading this

Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2016

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I really liked reading this. Seems (based on a skimming of reviews) that it's pretty divisive. I like George Saunders, Miranda July, Lorrie Moore, Amy Bender, Mary Gaitskill...so if you like those folks, maybe you'll like this. If you read a lot of Nicholas Sparks or whatever, prob not. I think Kleeman will only get better. Other books in this vein: Green Girl by Kate Zambreno and Eileen be Otessa Moshfegh.

Angie

Immature and Heavy-handed.

Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2015

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I wish this book were half as surreal and strange and wonderful as the reviews promised. I'm a big fan of Pynchon and Delillo, and I came to this book with high expectations. I've never felt so let-down by reviews before. I was sorely disappointed, and wish I could get back the 12.99 I spent on it. The best way I can describe this book is simply immature. The writing is self-conscious, overwrought, and painful to read.

Where Delillo is absurd and funny, but also subtle and smart about his use of surrealism, Kleeman is just flat-out not funny, and her injection of surrealism into her book is painfully transparent. The surreal moments are sophomoric and heavy-handed allegories about modern-day society, but delivered as if they were never-before-thought-of insights. The main character is irritating, the story slow, and the writing unredemptive.

The author has potential, but the book reads like an undergraduate's workshop piece.

Please, I implore you, don't believe the hype. It's both painful and boring to read. Do not buy this book.

BloodyGoodGal

This book is nuts and will stick with you. Excellent.

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2017

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I preordered this book because it sounded so bizarre I kept rereading the description, and found it irresistible. I've never preordered a book by an unknown author before. I devoured this book in days but unlike the Kandy Kakes, this book left me satisfied. Months later I'm still thinking about it. I'm actually about to buy a second copy because one friend has my original, and I need another for 2 others to read! This book is nuts, but fantastic. And I almost exclusively read books that have won the Pulitzer prize or the Pen Faulkner award.

Sally Carrubba

Too Weird for Words

Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2022

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There was obviously some sort of message in there, but I can tell you I never got it. VERY weird!