*A BookMovement Group Read* **A People Pick for Best New Books** Yara Zgheib’s poetic and poignant debut novel is a haunting portrait of a young woman’s struggle with anorexia on an intimate journey to reclaim her life. The chocolate went first, then the cheese, the fries, the ice cream. The bread was more difficult, but if she could just lose a little more weight, perhaps she would make the … little more weight, perhaps she would make the soloists’ list. Perhaps if she were lighter, danced better, tried harder, she would be good enough. Perhaps if she just ran for one more mile, lost just one more pound.
Anna Roux was a professional dancer who followed the man of her dreams from Paris to Missouri. There, alone with her biggest fears – imperfection, failure, loneliness – she spirals down anorexia and depression till she weighs a mere eighty-eight pounds. Forced to seek treatment, she is admitted as a patient at 17 Swann Street, a peach pink house where pale, fragile women with life-threatening eating disorders live. Women like Emm, the veteran; quiet Valerie; Julia, always hungry. Together, they must fight their diseases and face six meals a day.
Every bite causes anxiety. Every flavor induces guilt. And every step Anna takes toward recovery will require strength, endurance, and the support of the girls at 17 Swann Street.
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Grabbed me from the first page. If you are interested in compelling characters and/or complex issues, this is a must read.
Heartbreaking and beautiful… a brave book, stark in its realism, yet tempered by its lyrical prose.
One of the best books I’ve read. Powerful and poignant…
Written with spare, poetic grace, The Girls at 17 Swann Street is engaging, tragic and ultimately hopeful. It opened my eyes as well as my heart.
The Girls at 17 Swann Street was a captivating and powerful novel! I enjoyed the relationships portrayed by the girls at 17 Swann Street and their journeys during their treatment. I could not stop reading this book and finished it in two days. 17 Swann Street is the home where women stay for treatment of different eating disorders. Anna is married to Matthias. She has things in her past that include loss and disappointment. So much has happened over the years and she finds herself struggling with eating, anorexia, and with her life in general. Anna’s family begs her to get treatment at 17 Swann Street. What she goes through during her treatment at 17 Swann Street is moving. I could just feel what Anna was going through during her days of treatment. Anna’s husband Matthias and her family sound wonderful and supportive. The women at 17 Swann Street all have their own touching stories and their own disorders. The women help each other as best they can. The story was not at all what I expected it to be, but ended up being much more and one that will be hard to forget!
This book gave me some insight into the world of anorexia. It was joyful and sad. It tells of what they go through every day.
Poetic voice telling what it means to have an eating disorder and the everyday challenges of eating.
The story about a girl dealing with the loss of her love of dancing and dealing with anorexia was emotionally difficult to absorb. The back-and-forth story line from Anna’s current time in the 17 Swann Street residential recovery program and her past was well written and flowed smoothly. The relationships Anna develops with other women in the recovery program are healing and allows her to see that others are experiencing the same thing she is. The support of the women is touching and crucial to their recovery.
This is an emotional and heart wrenching exploration into the lives of those battling eating disorders. While I have not personally experienced this, I have known several girls/women who have. It is a difficult journey for them as they learn to overcome their “disease.” Anna is very blessed to have her husband and father to support her. It is definitely something that helps her in her struggles.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
If I had to describe this fantastic book in one word it would be “powerful”.
In this amazingly beautiful and well-crafted story we meet Anna and Matthias Roux. As the story opens, 26 year old, 88 pound Anna, a would-be dancer from France turned American grocery store clerk, is being admitted to a facility for individuals with life-threatening eating disorders. As we come to know her and her housemates, we cheer, cry, encourage, care and grieve for them.
This book is haunting, emotionally taut, raw, and real. This book smashes some pre-conceptions, it certainly did for me, and provides a platform for genuine understanding and empathy. I was openly weeping at some points and crying tears of joy and victory in others. Matthias and Anna’s love for one another is breath-taking.
This book is a work of art and art is meant to be impactful, shared, discussed and appreciated.
Thank you to my GR buddy, Michelle, for loving this book and nudging me toward it!
26 year old Anna was a ballet dancer until her life was taken over by a terrible disease called anorexia. Not only did she lose her appetite, but also her zest for life. As a last ditch effort to regain her life and identity, she and her husband, Matthias, agree that she should check herself into the treatment center at 17 Swann Street. There, she begins the arduous process of relearning how to eat, while attending therapy and finding comfort in the support and camaraderie of her fellow residents.
“Anorexia or Anna. Anorexia or Anna, except… I no longer know how to live without anorexia. I do not know who I am without it.”
Will Anna be able to recover physically and emotionally? Will her husband remain supportive? Read this gut wrenching debut inspired by the author’s own experience to find out! This book provided an inside look at the treatment for anorexia, as well as a glimpse into the psyche and thoughts of an anorexic. It’s impossible not to feel empathy for Anna, and I loved how supportive the women were of each other, providing little bits of kindness to each other throughout the painful days of recovery.
Location: St Louis, Missouri
I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Anna started out her life as a young woman with a true hunger for life. She was an aspiring dancer, a newlywed, and a cherished sister and daughter. Living in France, dating and marrying Matthias, and enjoying long walks with her father, Anna was living the blissful calm we all aspire to achieve.
Over time, Anna’s body images completely overtake her mind and her body. Triggered by both her career and memories of a past, demanding boyfriend, Anna devotes her waking hours to controlling her diet. She sticks to apples and popcorn and plummets to under 90 pounds. As her body breaks down, so does her marriage.
We first meet Anna when she introduces herself as a yet another girl living in 17 Swann Street, where she involuntarily seeks treatment for a major eating disorder. The reader learns more about her past and her present, as alternating past/present chapters provide a deep dive into her psychological and physiological breakdown.
I really loved this book. The use of italics instead of quotes threw me off at first, but I got used to it. The use of italics for all past tense chapters was similarly easy to get the hang of.
This book is like Girl, Interrupted meets 28 Days. Anna is sarcastic but vulnerable, hopeless but romantic, lethargic yet motivated. I rooted for her the entire time, feeling like I was rooming right alongside her in the treatment facility. The author’s use of supporting characters was quite effective, as Anna was able to see her past and best case/worst case future selves through her roommates. It was like the ghosts of anorexia’s past and future. Would she struggle and ultimately pass away from her illness, or would she thrive and ultimately live a normal life?
This isn’t a groundbreaking topic; in fact, almost every person can relate to having some sort of food issues. Personally, I was able to grasp onto a lot more of this book’s themes than I care to admit to myself. The beauty of this book and it’s topic IS the commonplace theme and it’s devastating effects. It’s easy to fall right into the plot, as I did, and to find yourself crying tears of joy and sadness along the way. And just like Anna does with her new roommates, I got frustrated with Anna’s poor choices despite knowing I would probably fare no better in her situation.
I really recommend this book to anybody who enjoys a good drama. It doesn’t cut too deep, but it will leave its mark.
All the feels! My goodness.
You never really understand an eating disorder until you live it. Luckily I haven’t. This book is an eye opener. Heartbreaking!
I wish this book had been around when I was in high school. It is raw, poignant and very important for people to read. The Girls at 17 Swann Street by Yara Zgheib is a harrowing and honest look at eating disorders.
Anna is a 26-year-old former ballet dancer from France. Anna’s husband, Matthias, is offered a job in the U.S. which she is happy to support him take. However, when Anna gets settled into Missouri, isolation and loneliness sets in. Her depression and insecurities spiral out of control and thus sets in Anna’s anorexia — she weighs barely 88 pounds.
“The chocolate went first, then the cheese, the fries, the ice cream. The bread was more difficult, but if she could just lose a little more weight, perhaps she would make the soloists’ list. Perhaps if she were lighter, danced better, tried harder, she would be good enough. Perhaps if she just ran for one more mile, lost just one more pound.”
She is then sent to a house on 17 Swann Street, a residential program where women with life-threatening eating disorders go for treatment. There Anna meets other women going through what she is facing. Anna wants to recover, she wants to get back to her life with her husband. But the thought of having to eat so much food becomes numbing. She can’t understand how she can survive when she’s gone so far with out eating. Little by little, Anna becomes aware of how important it is for her to survive and to fight for her marriage. Slowly, Anna accepts her problems and recognises the help she needs.
I didn’t expect this book to bring back such gut-wrenching emotions. It really made me remember a lot of what I went through back in high school. I’m going to be very honest now, I had a serious eating problem back in high school. Like Anna, I also had an ex-boy friend who made me feel insecure about my weight and my eating habits. I would go some days not eating anything while at school and only eating small amounts back at home. It was hard to accept the problem but I had friends who helped. I overcame my eating disorder and started eating healthy and exercising. Like I said, I wish this book was available back when I was in high school, but I’m extremely grateful that it is out there now for people facing the issues that myself and many others face day-to-day.
Yara Zgheib wrote an emotionally compelling book. She made me feel sadness, compassion, and hope all wrapped up in a gut-wrenching novel. The Girls at 17 Swann Street tackles the psychological struggles many women face with eating disorders, the tug-of-war of feeling powerless over it and how to find hope when is seems like there is none. I cannot recommend this book enough and I really feel that this will be sexist, but it must be said — girls, women, mothers, daughters and sisters – you need to read this, and understand what the signs are so you can speak out if you feel the need to. Just remember you can and will overcome this:
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Read my full review here: https://bit.ly/2UhtopC
I received this book from St. Martins Press for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book. The book covers the story of Anna a former professional dancer, an wife who is struggling with anorexia. Anna was not always an anorexic, but trauma from losing her brother and mother, coupled with being told she was too fat as a dancer drives her to anorexia. Anna struggles greatly with the disease to the point where her husband puts her in a treatment center which is at 17 Swann Street. As Anna is at 17 Swann she meets and bonds with other ladies who are also struggling with their own eating disorders. Anna finally starts to realize how her eating disorder is not only affecting her health, but it is affecting her marriage to her husband Matthias, as well as her relationships with her father and sister. The book offers an informative look at eating disorders and does a great job of explaining what people go through when suffering from an eating disorder, not just physically but mentally as well. The only part of the book that somewhat annoyed me was the constant talk of kissing. It’s almost a bit excessive and takes away from the intimate moments. I could’ve done without “he kissed me, I kissed him, he kissed me with greasy lips, she kissed her husband etc..” that was just a bit much but other than that I really liked this book.
Amazing story of recovery involving Anorexia and bulimia. True to life recovery. In depth research and extremely well written. Characters are real. Plot exceptional. Intensely moving and extremely emotional. This book is educational. Understanding of these disorders should be spread by a book such as this.
Highly recommended. A MUST READ.
This is a moving story geared toward anyone who can identify with anorexia and Anna draws attention to this eating disorder with her journey to battle her phobias. Her story is poignant and will have you in her corner. Having moved from another country with her husband and being a ballet dancer, she is devastated when she doesn’t find work as a dancer like when she was back home. This leads to depression and then spirals into anorexia. Her husband who in my books is a hero, gets her the help she needs to battle her condition. I voluntarily agreed to receive an ARC of this story book for an honest review.
*This review is based on an excerpt of the first eight chapters**
I have heard many good things about this book from other reviewers. Going on, I knew the basic principle of the story was anorexia. I did not, however, expect it to be so relatable to my own life experiences. I have not been anorexic, but I have been changed by a disorder, and I really did not notice the changes until they became obvious. Anna talks about how she slowly stopped going out, stopped putting makeup on, stopped answering the phone. Yeah, that is me, too. Anna has been slowly slipping away from her life. Once she realizes it, the damage is done. Now, serious treatment is necessary. I feel so bad for Anna. I understand how it happened to her. It just did. She had no control over it. Everything became so difficult, so she just stopped doing things. In her case, this also includes eating. I hope she recovers.
Powerful, beautiful, and painfully real.
What a book! Sad. Tragic. Compelling. Hopeful. Anna is a former dancer, who follows her husband to America for a job. It seems Anna has always struggled with her weight and dieting but now the problem is too big to ignore. 17 Swann Street is a place where women with eating disorders come to try and take back their lives. Can Anna face her emotions and battle this disease with the help of the other women at 17 Swann Street and supported by the love of her husband and father? An engaging read about a tough subject matter.
So I know it’s only the 8th day of a new year, but The Girls at 17 Swann Street is my absolute favorite read right now and I imagine it will stay at the top for the entire year. I read it in one sitting, it was impossible to put down.
Let’s start with the writing style. The short lines of text, the deliberate spacing, to me, is so reflective of Anna’s struggle to eat. Slowly, in small bites. It’s beautiful and masterful, and I think it’s just an extra level of depth to give the reader the experience of not just Anna’s struggles, but each of the girls in the house.
For as you see, Anna is suffering from Anorexia, and a lot of the girls in the house either suffer from that or Bulimia, and eating is such an absolute chore, and if you haven’t gone through it, as the author tells us through Emm, talking about Anna’s husband, then you don’t really understand the depths of the struggle.
Each of the characters brought a certain something to the table, Emm with her knowing, her strength. Valerie, in her quietness, her notes. I loved each of them. I appreciated the author’s way of telling the story in the present at the house, and then the past with Anna’s relationship with her husband Matthias, who is a beacon of hope for the girls at the house.
The level of detail in the book is superb, from Anna’s case notes, to the routine, to the small details in the dates with Matthias, it makes for a beautiful and lyrical telling of Anna’s struggle. Multiple times I found myself getting emotional right along with Anna, getting emotional at the little things that were new again to Anna. A superb read!