I was talking to a friend about controversial book names one and she suggested Milk Fed by Melissa Broder. Not many will understand what’s controversial about that name – you have to come from a seriously desi background to understand why a book named so would be a cause for concern in our households. Especially when the cover not only has a name that would cause raised eyebrows but also a quite obvious boob.

This was the first book I listened to on Scribd, narrated by the author herself. This was my second Melissa Broder book, the first being The Pisces which I didn’t really love. I felt like the book had some underlying message that I was unable to grasp. Maybe it just wasn’t for me.

Milk Fed, on the other hand, with it’s detailed descriptions of food was definitely for me. It is sexy – as in sex is the main focus of the book. Sex and food. But it’s not sexy in the 50 Shades way and neither in the ACOTAR smut way. It’s sexy in the “I’m so hungry for affection but I’m also just plain hungry and now I can’t tell the difference between the two” kind of way.

The book’s main character, Rachel, spends her life counting calories, is starved for maternal affection, and doesn’t seem to have any real friends or acquaintances. She’s my definition of a loner – takes one to know one (lol). And when she meets Miriam, I think she’s just caught off-guard by a woman who refuses to conform to unrealistic beauty standards that Rachel has had drilled into her.

I liked the flow of the book. There were times when I found Rachel insufferable, but then I think Broder didn’t aim to write a character that would be universally loved. There were parts in the book, like The Pisces, that didn’t really gel with me.

I wouldn’t have picked up this book if it hadn’t been suggested to me by a fellow reader. And I think if I’d grabbed a paperback, it would’ve ended up on the DNF pile. It is definitely one of those books that are best in audiobook form.