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| Book Cover via Amazon.com |
I still remember a couple of years ago, this personal trainer woman broke the internet after she gave birth and her body did what her body was trained to do, and she was skinny again in a couple of weeks. She took a picture of herself in a bikini and instead of “Hey that’s so great” she received criticism. Or, look at Duchess Kate, who gave birth to her third child and sauntered out of the hospital like a day later in high heels only to get a mixed reception of jealousy and snide comments from the press.
Meanwhile, I like most of us here on Earth suffer from body image issues and am part of the group that thinks “Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone was the right weight?” Well, I was part of that group. Was, until this novella.
Gavin Jefferson wrote a novella that is personal to the struggle with body image, on an individual level and on a global level. Not only does this thing strike chords against weight and body shaming, but also it goes into intimacy issues, health and environment issues, and just what it is to feel love.
You guessed it campers, we are going there. Put on your coveralls, set your radiation detectors on full, and whatever you do don’t breathe the fresh air. We are going on a journey of self-discovery with Gavin Jefferson’s “The Surrogate.”
Opinion
Right off the bat folks, Gavin and I talk on Twitter often, and I find him a delightful human being. He gave me an ARC copy of this, and I want you all to know that before you consider my opinion.
Do I like this book? No, it shook me to my core and frightened the ever living hell out of me. However, I do love this book despite not liking it. Ever love something you didn’t enjoy? You know, in the way you love Thanksgiving, but you don’t love that your uncle is coming over every year, and there will be one very uncomfortable discussion about something from him. That’s what I’m talking about with the like/love relationship of this book.
Gavin masterfully painted a world of possibilities and nightmares. A world where you get the win! The world ends up healthy…. Well… sort of healthy… Then the people all are having the same feelings of beauty! A world where everyone gets what they want and is healthy. Can you imagine that?
At first that struck me as a great idea, but as the novella continues, I became horrified and scared.
Like and love, intimacy, and distance. The central theme of this novella is dealing with those four things. Moreover, yes before you ask “Does it discuss issues about sex?” yes. It does, but not in a way that makes you gooey like a fresh baked brownie. This deals with many things, taboo and just uncomfortable issues.
Remember the uncle at Thanksgiving you aren’t so sure you want there, but you know the table looks perfect, and the food is right? Well, this book does to your dreams of health and beauty what the uncle does to a political discussion. If it doesn’t get you riled up and pondering your existence, then you are far more level-headed than I am. I like to think I’m very level-headed, and I had to stop every now and again to get a grip on myself.
Score
This has a beautiful beginning, middle, and end. The story is a full story. The character's that you meet in the book are great, the tale has all the proper elements of a novella and is an easy read. There is one part though, and I will not lie, it drags slightly at the latter half of the book. I don’t know why that dragged for me, it could be that I had information overload, but be aware I found a tiny flaw in an otherwise perfect icebreaker of a book.
I’m going to give this an 88/100 for challenging my perceptions and making me question the Eggo Waffles I ate for breakfast.
Lastly, I want to say this. I know most of the time I encourage people to read a book because I want them to enjoy it. This time I’m inviting you to read this book because I want you challenged. I want to see what you think about it, and I want to see if you walked away with the same feelings of doubt and remorse for the world that I did.
