An Inside Look
Knapp knows what she's talking about. As a person who largely recovered from anorexia (and who achieved victory over alcoholism), Knapp brings unflinching language to the struggle of starvation. Further, she brings it in a relaxed and seamless prose style that allows the tragic elements of her eating disorder (and those of others) to take center stage.The book's primary contribution is its exploration of the sources of hunger, be it hunger for relationship, food, or shopping sprees. Knapp is thorough in her examination of cultural and family influences, particularly as they affect women. She traces longings to a deep and universal sadness, an undercurrent that motivates women in ways of which they are not aware. And whether the reader has experienced an eating disorder or not, Appetites leads the emotions into the kinds of want that it describes, creating enough proximity to experience it and following up with a surprising and mournful aftertaste.
A Delicate Balance
Those with eating disorders develop a certain ability to mask their desire with contempt for that desire. Appetites is direct in its acknowledgement of the painstaking (and sometimes horrifying) measures that those who struggle employ to avoid feeling a sense of want. At the same time, it does not avoid describing the desires themselves in relentless detail. Knapp shows a willingness to explore sensuality in ways that are not patronizing.
Holding desire and the contempt it spawns in careful proportion, Appetites allows the reader to know the justification a woman feels when starving herself while avoiding the trap of denying the legitimacy of the hunger that torments her. Knapp's examination amplifies the tension and calls us to make our own decision: Longing that can be painful? Or the numbness of deprivation?
Counterpoint
Knapp has been criticized for not addressing the issue of smoking, particularly since lung cancer claimed her life. But the omission is understandable. Smoking does not seem to follow along gender lines, at least not as eating disorders do, and a book written for women seems justified in maintaining a tighter focus. Further, Knapp's apparent blind spot to the addiction that led to her death is a reminder of how addictions become entrenched, even for those who are very self-aware.If there is a part of Appetites that I question, it is Knapp's foray into political commentary. Her points are worthy of consideration: She reminisces about early forms of feminism and longs for something just as strong to focus energy on the struggle of women today. In essence, her desire is to engender and encourage more female desire - an admirable goal. But in doing so, the energy in her language dissipates, diluting (ever so slightly) her examination of want in its basic forms.
Bottom Line
Appetites: Why Women Want is a stunning revelation. Caroline Knapp could have created a book that merely blames or shocks. But she values a sense of intimacy with her readers too much to do so, and we are better for it. Savoring Appetites is a hopeful and engaging experience that lets women with eating disorders know they are not alone, and encourages the rest of us toward a different brand of compassion.
