Tsundoku reviewed Hungry Ghost by Victoria Ying
Reading this after Aubrey Gordon's latest book made for an interesting combination
4 stars
Content warning CW: Eating Disorders, Anti-fat Bias, death of a parent
Okay. Confession: With comics, I don't always read what they're about, sometimes I just look at the art + title and go "I'm reading that"
That's what I did here.
I had learned about "Hungry Ghosts" / 餓鬼 èguǐ from a Cast of Wonders Story ( Episode 451: Unnamed; linked here: www.castofwonders.org/2021/04/cast-of-wonders-451-unnamed/ ) and thought maybe it would be about that concept.
Yes and no.
Basically, while Unnamed is a story about losing your name / identity and becoming something that may be a Hungry Ghost, this is about an Asian American (I assumed Chinese based on the author's surname, but the Hungry Ghost concept is part of Buddhism as well as Chinese traditional religion so that is why I am being non-specific here) girl, Val, getting ready to go to college, has always struggled regarding food. Her mother stressed about her weight (and other relatives will make comments) and she was given special portion sizes and had comments like to cut the fatty part off her servings.
To be clear, not that it should matter either way, Val is not fat. She doesn't eat a lot, and then she quietly sneaks away to purge it (if you have issues regarding vomit, I didn't really notice any in the book). Her best friend Jordan IS fat, and Val's mother will make comments about her to Val, like fatness is contagious.
After having to leave a language trip to Paris early because her father dies unexpectedly, things get worse. She blows up at her friend Jordan, and it becomes clear that Val believes being fat makes you inherently unloveable.
This book is about Val getting help and taking the first STEPS towards recovery.
It's ultimately hopeful, and admittedly while I have struggled more with binge / emotional eating than anorexia or bulimia, I felt it was pretty realistic about it. Like "your mom is probably always going to make these comments, she loves you she just doesn't know how to help" that sort of thing. It didn't feel like, optimistic because it was TOLD to end optimistically or something like I have suspected is the case with some books.
The author, Victoria Ying, says she didn't feel feel "fully recovered from (her) eating disorder until (her) early-thirties".
The book includes further reading at the end, and also included Content Warnings in the front. I appreciated that.
the book is a tough, but fairly quick read
