Alice: The Story of the Fat Chick and the Perfect Man

Catherine E. Andriopoulos
iUniverse (2006)
ISBN 9780595390359
Reviewed by Joanne Benham for Reader Views (1/07)


“Alice” is the story of an overweight woman who has to deal with the issues of fat bashing on a daily basis.  Some of these problems include, but are not limited to, a low-paying job, issues with self-esteem and a lack of romance in her life.  She decides to tackle her non-existent love life first and searches for the perfect man to fulfill all of her desires.  Since she is unwilling to settle for anyone less than someone she perceives as the best, she sets out to snare Parker, a man she met at a local bar.  Tall and handsome, Parker won’t even acknowledge her existence.  After exchanging a series of letters, Parker arranges to meet Alice at the bar.  When he discovers that she’s the ‘fat chick’ he’d been bashing for the past few months, he rejects her in the cruelest possible manner.  Unable to stand any more, Alice attempts to kill herself by running her Yugo into the river and drowning.

It seems Alice can’t even kill herself.  Saved by quick work on the part of emergency personnel, Alice checks into a weight-loss clinic, determined to regain her former figure and her self-respect.  A nice side bonus would be getting Parker and that’s just what happens six months later when a new slender Alice emerges.  Returning to her dead-end job, Alice finds that her new look completely changes the attitude of her old boss.  Where before she had been nothing but a file clerk, copy girl and gofer, Alice is suddenly treated to lunch with her boss Mark, when she learns a lot has happened in the office during her absence.  Due to a sudden increase in clients, Mark has hired a partner who turns out to be Parker, Alice’s dream man.  Of course, further complications ensue as Alice and Parker finally meet their destiny.

The basic storyline in “Alice” is fine, if a little monotonous.  There is nothing new in it, nothing that makes Alice especially likable or makes you want to root for her to get her man.  The ending is especially implausible. Added to those drawbacks is the fact that the entire book is riddled with typos, it’s hard to suggest this as recommended reading.

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