Roberta is a lonely girl. She perches on the outer fringes of friendships and relationships and never quite knows how to fit in. That is, until she meets the enigmatic Stevie, a renegade artistic girl who takes Roberta under her wing and teaches her to try to be a little more fearless and to insert herself more confidently into her life. Together, they form the idea for Supper Club - evenings whereby a group of pre-interviewed girls who want to take up more space in the world and make themselves bigger eat large meals themed in different settings, rendering the act of eating into an artistic experiment.
The Supper Club evenings are carefully planned and start out as pretty elaborate affairs. The girls forage for food, cook elaborate feasts, indulge in various stimulants and then gorge on food and dance around, expressing themselves and forming bonds through food and consumption.
It's all a little outlandish, in my opinion, and I can't tell if the uniqueness of this book is brilliantly original or a little much. Lara Williams' writing reminded me a bit of Miranda July and Ottessa Moshfegh in its slightly offbeat theme. Some parts of the books come off as a little disjointed for me, in particular when it comes to Roberta's relationships. There is one with an older professor, which has some questionable moments, as well as an intimate relationship with a former roommate who, while he loves her, doesn't seem to fully embrace her completely and likewise, she to him. They appear to be constantly trying to find their footing with each other. The only time Roberta seems to exert herself fully is at Supper Club meetings, which her boyfriend really hates, as he thinks Stevie is a bad influence. He seems to feel excluded and ignored and though Roberta and her boyfriend seem to share a fairly comfortable existence, it's not always clear why they're together, as they never seem to be fully supportive of each other. Roberta hasn't had many opportunities for solid relationships throughout her life, so perhaps it makes sense that her relationship boundaries don't always feel as clear or seem to make as much sense as they might otherwise.
Another part of the story that didn't sit clearly with me is the relationship between Roberta's estranged father and her. She receives friendly letters from him on a fairly regular basis, and he's open to meeting up with her if ever she feels that's something she wants to do, but ultimately, I don't really see where this storyline was going. She doesn't seem to mind receiving the letters, so I can only presume that this character is included to show yet another area in which she doesn't have many stable males in her life, which perpetuates her apparent tightrope walk when it comes to how she relates to others and their feelings.
Ultimately, this is a novel that is centered around feminism, the power of collective female actions, and about what it means to reject traditional male ideals by consciously not trying to make oneself tiny and quiet and perfect in order to fit in. I'm not sure it necessarily ticked all of the boxes, but it was certainly a unique book.
In the end, I find this book a hard one to rate. I didn't feel entirely engaged with Roberta's story or many of the characters, yet I was always interested to pick up the book and keep reading to find out how the various storylines would play out, so ultimately I'm giving it a middle-of-the-road 3.5/5 stars.
Judge the cover: 4/5
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