Lost in a Good Book

Published: 1 January 1984 (print)/20 April 2021 (audio)
Publisher: Flux/Everand Publications
Pages: 226/4 hrs and 15 mins
Narrator: Trever Goble
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Young Adult
★   ★   ★ – 3 Stars

Jeff Lyons can’t stand Ellen de Luca, the fat girl in his ceramics class. She’s huge, clumsy, can’t throw a pot to save her life, and stares at Jeff all the time. But he’s a “nice guy” and feels terrible when Ellen overhears his hurtful remarks about her. The “crumbs of kindness” he tosses her way soon turn into advice on weight loss, college, clothes, hair . . . and, to everyone’s surprise, good-looking Jeff actually dumps his pretty girlfriend to be with the fat girl Re-creating Ellen is a labor of love, Jeff thinks. But as her pounds melt away, Jeff resents the happy, independent young woman he has unleashed. Where is the gratitude for all he’s done for her? With this darkly ironic take on the classic Pygmalion tale, Marilyn Sachs offers young readers a candid portrayal of what happens when the intoxicating thrill of control is confused with love.

I know we’re meant to hate Jeff.

I know we are meant to hate Jeff.

I have to keep reminding myself we are meant to hate Jeff.

I don’t know why I chose to read this book. Reverse Pygmalion grabbed my attention. Being a short read grabbed my attention. I was curious. But my god, the willpower it takes to push through the hatred is incredible. Kudos to Sachs for writing someone I wanted to punch more than Holden Caulfield.

Jeff is shallow, he is openly shallow. He is unashamedly shallow. I liked seeing Jeff get called out, his mother thinks he’s selfish, he is petulant and a baby. It’s great when he is called out. But the rest is rough.

Jeff is the kind of guy who would be murdered and there’d be no one to miss him.

Sachs goes hard. Jeff is almost hateful in his treatment towards Ellen (or as he frequently refers to her ‘the fat girl’). He is openly hostile and detests her mere existence, even once saying he was turning her “into a human being.”

It is a short read but it is a fascinating study into people like Jeff. People who feel they are superior to those around them and anyone beneath them needs punishing. That when they have their egos bruised even a tiny bit they retaliate, or worse, when they feel they aren’t being appreciated enough, or praised enough for doing the bare minimum, retaliate.

Ellen is the stereotypical overweight person. She eats too much, she’s clumsy, she bumps into things and Sachs really digs it in deep by mentioning Jeff thinks she smells. Everyone other than Ellen is referred to as ‘normal’, Jeff thinks he is a ‘nice guy’ and blames Ellen for him being mean and not making him a good person. It’s incredible.

We see a lot from Ellen’s side, we see her home life and explore her enjoyment of hobbies but we also see her vulnerabilities. Jeff’s mission is to improve Ellen, and she wants his help, she doesn’t want to be the way she is, but she lets Jeff control her. Even when he’s being nice he’s being horrible. His ego grows and he makes Ellen’s achievements about himself.

You see Jeff’s shift at the halfway point. If it took guilt and fear to change him then that’s a start. The great thing is Sachs doesn’t let him off that easy.

It is a fantastic book about making you aware of people like Jeff. If you come across someone like Jeff, run for your life.

Weirdly I didn’t hate the book, but with Jeff behind the wheel I didn’t like reading it. But Sachs points out people’s flaws well, despite the fast pace and the minimal detail and depth. You get a sense of who these characters are and even though the story rushes through days and events, you can see the characters in their elements succinctly.

We have no idea what is happening with other characters further than Jeff’s observations because he is so up himself.

¾ of the way in you see Ellen’s confidence grow, and my own desire for Ellen to drop kick him increased. I needed Jeff to be dealt with. The only shining light in his whole irredeemable life is she scares him into being a decent human being.

The blurb mentions the confusion of control vs love, and Jeff 100% loves being in control, and controlling Ellen. He patronises her, controls how she looks and acts. He dismisses her opinions and thoughts, he is belittling and tells her what she thinks. He ignores her protests, she begs him not to make her do things but he convinces her to do them.

The worst part is Jeff isn’t an idiot, he knows when he mistreats people, but he doesn’t seem to be bothered by it. It’s interesting to see the similarities between Jeff and his family: emotionally manipulative who get their kicks from degrading others.

The good news is you still get to hate Jeff by the end. I was worried, but no. Ellen and another character Norma escape, and we still get to hate Jeff, doomed forever with his mother and their desires to control other people to becoming the people they think they should be.

I was initially going to give this book 1.5 stars, the .5 because Ellen and Norma were the only sensible people in there. But then I remembered you can’t mark a book down because you dislike a character who is designed to be unlikable. So I had another think through and while I disliked Jeff, Sachs tells him in a way we’re supposed to dislike him, supposed to see he is wrong. Not pity him, certainly not. But we see his flaws, his mother’s flaws, see them trapped by their own making. Be grateful to those who escape it. I had to look at the other characters, not through Jeff’s eyes but through their actions.

Writing wise it’s quick, it’s basic detail, jumping quickly through days, but that isn’t a deal breaker. I’m happy with the three. I liked the story it told, but it a different liking the story than anything I have ever read. I hated the story but I liked what happens. I’m going to be confused about this one for a while.

You can purchase The Fat Girl via the following

QBD | Blackwell’s

 Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible