The story starts in 1930, and the first sentence is : “Neither of the Grimes sisters would have a happy life…” and indeed, this is what the story is all about. Sarah marries at a very young age, is pregnant soon after and brings up her three sons in the American countryside. Her husband is abusive, hits her, and she finds oblivion in alcohol, dying at 47 from liver disease and a curious fall. Emily is the intellectual one, finding a good job in New York but all along, her love life is a disaster. Men don’t seem to want to spend their life with her. In the background, there is also Pookie, their alcoholic mother. A sad story but a really good read.
“Then he said “Do you want to know something, Emily? I hate your body. Oh, I suppose I love it too, at least God knows I try to, but at the same time I hate it. I hate what it put me through last year – what it’s putting me through now. I hate your sensitive little tits. I hate your ass and your hips, the way they move and turn; I hate your thighs, the way they open up. I hate your waist and your belly and your great hairy mound and your clitoris and your whole slippery cunt. I’ll repeat this exact statement to Dr. Goldman tomorrow and he’ll ask me why I said it, and I’ll say ‘Because I had to say it.’ So do you see, Emily? Do you understand? I’m saying this because I have to say it. I hate your body.” His cheeks were quivering. “I hate your body.”