Joanne Fluke, quick author review.

So a couple of years ago I discovered a book I found interesting called “Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder”.  It was a reprinting of it I believe.  Well upon skimming I thought this book would be the kind I find interesting so I bought it.  It was a murder mystery starting Hannah Swensen.  I soon found other books in the series and began to buy them, although I hadn’t read them yet.  I just knew I would like to read them.  Fast forward a few years and I finally break out the first book I bought and began to read it.  It was a pretty good book until I got to a certain point that put me off.

At a party scene in the book the main character talked about a full figured woman like she was a circus freak.  Heck, now that I think about it, she described her clothing to look like a circus tent.  This really put me off.  Being a fuller gal I took offense to the author writing about the fuller woman this way.  She passes off her main character to be mostly a sweet person, but I wouldn’t want to surround myself with such a person and this just off-putting to me.  I really like the novel and want to keep getting the rest of them, but not if full women are going to be continued to be insulted and used as jokes in each one.  I thought well maybe this just a one off.  Not so.

At the end of the book, after you finish the main story, there is a novella that the author wrote about a runaway girl.  I decided to read it today and finish the book to move on to the next one in the series I own.  Well I just read another rude comment the main character’s sister made about a full size woman how she shouldn’t wear certain clothing.  So this makes me wonder, is she going to pick on full size women in all her novels?  Does she have a hatred for full size women?  Does she not realize the US alone is over half overweight and that means most of the women, who is her target market, buying her book are either overweight or obese?  Heck, even she is plump herself, so what gives with the rude comments about fuller women?  I could have handled a one off in the first novel, but then in the novella in the same book that was not related to the first story having another “fat joke”, it just rubs me the wrong way.

I was planning to buy some of the books I don’t own yet in the series, but if in the next novel I read she insults full figured women again I don’t think I will.  Honestly, to me, it’s almost as bad as making a racial joke.  It’s insulting and hurtful.  Maybe you feel I am over thinking this, and heck maybe I am.  But it’s kind of like this, you’d think I was mad to hang around a person who constantly makes fat jokes that I get insulted by, so why wouldn’t you think the same about reading an author who makes fat jokes or rude fat comments.  It does nothing to add to the story, it just does more to add to the prejudice against full figured people.  I know that this is just her character’s personality and how she things and was raised, but I don’t know if I can invest time and money into “someone who dislikes me so much based on what size I am”.  Am I making sense with that?  I hope so.  I guess she is just going by what she’s heard all her life growing up, the character not the author, but it just still irks me.  I just really really hope it won’t show up in every novel.  I’m seriously prepared to take money out of my wallet and place it into hers, so I really hope Joanne doesn’t continue to disappoint.  *heavy sigh*  Oh well, I’ve got to get dressed now.  Going to the mall in a few with my sister and mom.  I’ll post more later.  Bye for now.

Loves ya,
Mouse