This week, on The Easy Chair, I read the conclusion of “The Fat Girl” by Andre Dubus. Louise has graduated college and now weighs less than her goal weight. She has morphed from fat to thin in less than a year, and suddenly, the world opens up to her in ways she never imagined. The gifts within her reach are the spoils of her self-deprivation, and all she has left to do is claim them. This is, after all, the American Woman’s Dream. Or is Louise just a stranger in a strange land? This is an extraordinarily powerful story about female sacrifice, about what we, socially and culturally, value, and the deeper personal truths that steadfastly refuse to allow women like Louise to disappear.

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