'Supper Club is outrageously good - an exploration of female appetites and friendships that is dark, funny, and joyful. From the first page to the last, it's a delight'
Sophie Mackintosh, author of The Water Cure
‘A radical retake on the notion that women must starve themselves to meet society's demands... Written with total glee and rollocking sense of unlimited possibility, Lara Williams is one to watch’
Stylist
Pub Date: 16 July 2020
‘Sophisticated, attentive, visceral, sensual.... Following in the footsteps of Elena Ferrante and Sally Rooney, Williams explores the shifting dynamics of female friendships’
Times Literary Supplement
‘Exquisite. Wise and generous, subtle and superbly attentive... The food in this book eats you, imparting a depth of flavour that resurfaces stylishly when you least expect it’
The New York Times
‘Cool and knowing, jam-packed with cultural references, not to mention mouthwatering recipes...Kicks back against the degradations and appetite shaming strictures of a notionally feminist age’
Metro
Twenty-nine year old Roberta has spent her whole life hungry - until the day she invents Supper Club. Supper Club is a secret society for hungry women. Women who are sick of bad men and bad sex, of hinted expectations to be thinner, smile more, talk less. So they gather at night to feast and drink and dance, seeking the answer to a simple question: if you feed a starving woman, what will she grow into? This is a story about the hunger that never goes away. It is a story about friendship, food and female rage. Above all, it is about the people who make us who we are – who lead us astray and ultimately save us.
My Thoughts:
Supper Club is the debut novel of Lara Williams, and it seems that first novel hiccups are not present here. Supper Club is a multitude of things that I will get on to in a moment but if I was to summarise I would say that it is exuberant, riotous and a complete carnival of good fun and good times. A celebration of what it is to be female and an exploration of feminism for millenials.
Supper Club is a gathering of women that takes place, a gathering of friends but more importantly a gathering of women. Women who are jaded, women who want more and women that want to feel free. Supper Club is a party, a carnival and a celebration. Roberta cooks meals that the women eat with abandon and swap stories. There are delightful recipes littered through this book.
Supper Club, for all its parties and hedonism has serious notes that are handled deftly and with intelligence. Flashbacks to Roberta's earlier years and the time she spent at university stick out and were quite difficult to read in places.
This book is intelligent, thought provoking and above all else relatable and memorable. I think we all could do with freedom from our constraints sometimes, to stand out and feel empowered. I feel that the author also tackled the theme of body image in a meaningful way.
Gripping stuff. I would love to read more of this authors work in the future she writes with real flair and insight and great depth.
About the Author:
Lara Williams is the author of the short story collection Treats, which was shortlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize, the Edinburgh First Book Award and the Saboteur Awards and longlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize. Her debut novel Supper Club has been translated into five languages, won the Guardian 'Not the Booker' Prize and was listed as a Book of the Year 2019 by TIME, Vogue and other publications. Lara Williams lives in Manchester and is a contributor to the Guardian, Independent, Times Literary Supplement, Vice, Dazed and others.
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