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November 15, 2007 11:53 AM

BOOK REVIEW: Hungry by Allen Zadoff

As you know, I was attracted to this book because of the fabulous cover and, as it turns out, you can't judge a book by the cover, because Hungry isn't at all the book I was expecting. The back cover describes it as "laugh-out-loud funny" as do many of the reviews on Amazon US.

I found it sad, wise, inspiring and interesting, but not funny (I think I might have smiled once or twice...).

Allen Zadoff was overweight from a young age and was, quite literally, killing himself with food. At 350lbs and just before a McDonalds binge, he decided to get some help. Now this is not a diet book - Zadoff explains what worked for him (cutting out trigger foods, sticking rigidly to three meals a day and therapy), but you won't find eating plans or exercises.

What it is is a memoir of an addiction just as damaging as drug addiction or alcoholism, but not yet recognised as such by society. I'm making it sound quite dry, I know - and while it's certainly not hilarious, it is entertaining. Zadoff is a brutally honest and engaging writer and I flew through the book (stopping at one point to eat an Aero ... sigh).

Zadoff also says Hungry isn't a self-help book, but I imagine it could be of enormous help to someone with an eating disorder or even to a self-diagnosed "problem eater" like myself.

Rating: 4/5

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Posted by Keris on November 15, 2007 in American Authors, Memoirs, New Releases, Non Fiction, Rating: 4/5 | Permalink

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