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Fat Chance
Meet Zoe and Greg Milton, a married couple who have let themselves go.
Zoe was a stunner in her high school days, but the intervening decades have added seventy pounds, and removed most of her self-esteem.
Greg's rugby-playing days are well and truly behind him, thanks to countless beers and fast food.
When Elise, a radio DJ and Zoe's best friend, tells them about a new competition, it seems like the perfect opportunity to turn their lives around. Fat Chance will pit six hefty couples against one another to see who can collectively lose the most weight and walk away with a large cash prize.
So begins six months of abject misery, tears, and frustration—that just might turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to them—in another laugh-out-loud look at the way we live now from bestselling author Nick Spalding.
Zoe was a stunner in her high school days, but the intervening decades have added seventy pounds, and removed most of her self-esteem.
Greg's rugby-playing days are well and truly behind him, thanks to countless beers and fast food.
When Elise, a radio DJ and Zoe's best friend, tells them about a new competition, it seems like the perfect opportunity to turn their lives around. Fat Chance will pit six hefty couples against one another to see who can collectively lose the most weight and walk away with a large cash prize.
So begins six months of abject misery, tears, and frustration—that just might turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to them—in another laugh-out-loud look at the way we live now from bestselling author Nick Spalding.
288 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 2014
2152 people are currently reading
6912 people want to read
About the author
Nick Spalding
36 books1,387 followersNick Spalding is an author who, try as he might, can't seem to write anything serious.
Before becoming a full-time author, he worked in the communications industry, mainly in media and marketing. As talking rubbish for a living can get tiresome (for anyone other than a politician), he thought he'd have a crack at writing comedy fiction - with a very agreeable level of success so far, it has to be said. Nick is now a multimillion seller. This flabbergasts him every single day.
Nick is now in his fifties - and is rather annoyed at the universe about it, because it gave him no choice in the matter. He's also addicted to Thai food and roast potatoes (not together), loves Batman and Warhammer, and has a dreadful singing voice.
***
Find out more about Nick and his books at www.nickspalding.com
Before becoming a full-time author, he worked in the communications industry, mainly in media and marketing. As talking rubbish for a living can get tiresome (for anyone other than a politician), he thought he'd have a crack at writing comedy fiction - with a very agreeable level of success so far, it has to be said. Nick is now a multimillion seller. This flabbergasts him every single day.
Nick is now in his fifties - and is rather annoyed at the universe about it, because it gave him no choice in the matter. He's also addicted to Thai food and roast potatoes (not together), loves Batman and Warhammer, and has a dreadful singing voice.
***
Find out more about Nick and his books at www.nickspalding.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,252 reviews
May 27, 2015
I bought this book because I wanted something light, easy and funny to read when my concentration was completely destroyed by a two-week bout of illness. It’s not a genre I often read, but I quite like John O’Farrell, Nick Hornby and Helen Fielding, who are good at writing warm but gently satirical domestic comedies, and that was the kind of thing I was looking for. Plus, Fat Chance is about a couple who enter a ‘Biggest Loser’ style weight loss competition, and trust me, I know all about gaining and losing large amounts of weight.
Unfortunately, this book fails for me on just about every level. For a start, the couple at its heart, Zoe and Greg, do nothing at all to make me give a toss about them. All you really need to know about their relationship is that Zoe makes Greg take part in the competition by telling him he’ll never get another blow-job from her if he doesn’t; their marriage really is that much of a cliché. Zoe is the sort of woman who forms friendships over skinny lattes with women she appears to actively dislike and is rude to sales assistants. Greg is a childish buffoon whose biggest fear in life, constantly articulated in his weight loss diary, is appearing ‘effeminate’ or ‘looking like a poof’ in front of his awful rugby club friends – one of which, by the way, is a flash cockney Asian man called Ali who naturally only drinks Tiger beer because haha, Indian people, eh?
Other stereotypes include fellow Fat Chance competitors Lea and Pete, who are working class, and therefore in the world of this book are automatically thick and foul-mouthed, referred to constantly as ‘the chavs’ and have their potential criminality alluded to every time they appear. Zoe’s mother has OCD; naturally this is the subject of much hilarity even though it appears not to manifest itself in any actual symptoms at all. Shop assistants are stupid and sullen. Women who are into fitness are either scrawny, flat-chested and pop-eyed, or hot pneumatic blondes. These stereotypes are predictable and lazy - and most importantly, not funny.
Moreover, so much of this book is just so wildly unrealistic that it fails completely as observational humour. Of course I’m not expecting gritty realism from a comedy, but there does need to be a grain of truth at the heart of comedy that we can recognise if we're to find it funny. But there are endless ludicrous moments that are simply not recognisable as life as we know it. The Fat Chance competition is run by the radio station that Zoe works for, and the presenter is her best friend – yet she is still allowed to enter. There is an entire chapter when Greg becomes properly, full-on stoned by taking an extra dose of ibuprofen. Later, he takes to drinking more coffee than usual, which has such ridiculous, impossible and utterly unrecognisable effects on him (detailed over and over again in a chapter that seems interminably laboured and repetitive) that I was genuinely expecting there to be a punchline in which he’d somehow been eating food laced with speed. Despite half the contestants regularly swearing or saying inappropriate things on live radio every time they attend their weigh-in, they are invited back time and time again. And we’re also expected to believe that taking part in a competition on local radio has people clamouring for your autograph.
Zoe and Greg, while clearly overweight, are not, frankly, anywhere near overweight enough for the endless fat-related humiliations they suffer to be particularly plausible. The book opens with size 18 Zoe getting stuck in a dress at M&S. I’ve been a size 18, and yes, certainly for a woman my height, that’s pretty overweight. But it’s not a size at which you can’t shop on the High Street or maintain a reasonable level of fitness. There are size 18 women who happily run marathons and swim 50 lengths. They don’t get stuck in clothes at M&S because a size 18 isn't even the biggest size that M&S stocks.
The overall message of the book is basically ‘being fit and slim is nice and you can fit into more clothes and not break garden chairs and be laughed at by your friends, for whom you weirdly seem to have zero affection anyway. But remember, everyone! Crash diets are bad for you and you just need to eat less and move more.’ This is fair enough, but hardly groundbreaking stuff, and in the later chapters of the book it’s hammered home in a clunky and patronising way. Moreover, despite the message, losing weight on appalling starvation diets does solve all Greg and Zoe’s problems – Greg gets picked for the first team at his rugby club, Zoe’s fertility problems melt away and her friendship with DJ Elise inexplicably survives despite the fact that Elise is clearly a spiteful cow and she and Zoe have devoted months of their lives to humiliating one another. There’s no real plot here. A couple want to lose weight. They do. Suddenly everything's fine. The end.
I honestly have no idea why I finished this book, as I'd generally give up on a book I hated this much before the end; that's why I give so few entirely negative reviews. I notice that it has a vast number of four and five star ratings on Amazon, too, so clearly Nick Spalding's work is appealing to thousands of people; who am I to say they're wrong? All I can say is that for me, personally, there was no enjoyment to be had from Fat Chance, and I slightly regret the time I spent finishing it.
Unfortunately, this book fails for me on just about every level. For a start, the couple at its heart, Zoe and Greg, do nothing at all to make me give a toss about them. All you really need to know about their relationship is that Zoe makes Greg take part in the competition by telling him he’ll never get another blow-job from her if he doesn’t; their marriage really is that much of a cliché. Zoe is the sort of woman who forms friendships over skinny lattes with women she appears to actively dislike and is rude to sales assistants. Greg is a childish buffoon whose biggest fear in life, constantly articulated in his weight loss diary, is appearing ‘effeminate’ or ‘looking like a poof’ in front of his awful rugby club friends – one of which, by the way, is a flash cockney Asian man called Ali who naturally only drinks Tiger beer because haha, Indian people, eh?
Other stereotypes include fellow Fat Chance competitors Lea and Pete, who are working class, and therefore in the world of this book are automatically thick and foul-mouthed, referred to constantly as ‘the chavs’ and have their potential criminality alluded to every time they appear. Zoe’s mother has OCD; naturally this is the subject of much hilarity even though it appears not to manifest itself in any actual symptoms at all. Shop assistants are stupid and sullen. Women who are into fitness are either scrawny, flat-chested and pop-eyed, or hot pneumatic blondes. These stereotypes are predictable and lazy - and most importantly, not funny.
Moreover, so much of this book is just so wildly unrealistic that it fails completely as observational humour. Of course I’m not expecting gritty realism from a comedy, but there does need to be a grain of truth at the heart of comedy that we can recognise if we're to find it funny. But there are endless ludicrous moments that are simply not recognisable as life as we know it. The Fat Chance competition is run by the radio station that Zoe works for, and the presenter is her best friend – yet she is still allowed to enter. There is an entire chapter when Greg becomes properly, full-on stoned by taking an extra dose of ibuprofen. Later, he takes to drinking more coffee than usual, which has such ridiculous, impossible and utterly unrecognisable effects on him (detailed over and over again in a chapter that seems interminably laboured and repetitive) that I was genuinely expecting there to be a punchline in which he’d somehow been eating food laced with speed. Despite half the contestants regularly swearing or saying inappropriate things on live radio every time they attend their weigh-in, they are invited back time and time again. And we’re also expected to believe that taking part in a competition on local radio has people clamouring for your autograph.
Zoe and Greg, while clearly overweight, are not, frankly, anywhere near overweight enough for the endless fat-related humiliations they suffer to be particularly plausible. The book opens with size 18 Zoe getting stuck in a dress at M&S. I’ve been a size 18, and yes, certainly for a woman my height, that’s pretty overweight. But it’s not a size at which you can’t shop on the High Street or maintain a reasonable level of fitness. There are size 18 women who happily run marathons and swim 50 lengths. They don’t get stuck in clothes at M&S because a size 18 isn't even the biggest size that M&S stocks.
The overall message of the book is basically ‘being fit and slim is nice and you can fit into more clothes and not break garden chairs and be laughed at by your friends, for whom you weirdly seem to have zero affection anyway. But remember, everyone! Crash diets are bad for you and you just need to eat less and move more.’ This is fair enough, but hardly groundbreaking stuff, and in the later chapters of the book it’s hammered home in a clunky and patronising way. Moreover, despite the message, losing weight on appalling starvation diets does solve all Greg and Zoe’s problems – Greg gets picked for the first team at his rugby club, Zoe’s fertility problems melt away and her friendship with DJ Elise inexplicably survives despite the fact that Elise is clearly a spiteful cow and she and Zoe have devoted months of their lives to humiliating one another. There’s no real plot here. A couple want to lose weight. They do. Suddenly everything's fine. The end.
I honestly have no idea why I finished this book, as I'd generally give up on a book I hated this much before the end; that's why I give so few entirely negative reviews. I notice that it has a vast number of four and five star ratings on Amazon, too, so clearly Nick Spalding's work is appealing to thousands of people; who am I to say they're wrong? All I can say is that for me, personally, there was no enjoyment to be had from Fat Chance, and I slightly regret the time I spent finishing it.
October 21, 2014
When Zoe's best friend Elise is heading up a program on the local radio station called "Fat Chance" she gets talked into forcing her husband Greg to join in with her. The grand prize after all is 50,000.
So starts their journey.
This book is told from two view points in journal form. Zoe and Greg are supposed to document their struggles as they go. I think this couple was done is such an awesome way. I think the romance between them should be the norm in books. They weren't cheesey and they completely adored the other even when they cursed them.
Some people are not going to like this book. They are going to say that fat people are making fun of themselves and being made fun of. Guess what? That happens. When you are overweight you do make jokes about yourself. As Zoe's journal entries document. Sometimes you eat to turn the pain away...then you laugh...and this book is some of the hardest cackles I've had in years. I advise not reading it in public..funny looks will ensue.
You get exposed to Greg um on the treadmill nekkid. Poor postman Wilf. Zoe's experience with the cabbage diet. You get moments when tears form in your eyes. I'm not telling why..you gotta read it.
There was a point in the book that I got sorta pissed off with how the story was going- I thought the book was going to head the Fat Amy way-I kept reading and it evened out.
Now this book for me was extremely personal. My husband and I have fought weight ourselves.
Welcome to personal information sharing time.
That's us. We made fun of ourselves during the time to lose the weight and we cussed each other several times. I still love him.
Has our weight loss continued? Fuck..live came into play and depression hit us both hard. We have reached a middle ground now.
I hope that Zoe and Greg did too.
I received an arc copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
So starts their journey.
This book is told from two view points in journal form. Zoe and Greg are supposed to document their struggles as they go. I think this couple was done is such an awesome way. I think the romance between them should be the norm in books. They weren't cheesey and they completely adored the other even when they cursed them.
Some people are not going to like this book. They are going to say that fat people are making fun of themselves and being made fun of. Guess what? That happens. When you are overweight you do make jokes about yourself. As Zoe's journal entries document. Sometimes you eat to turn the pain away...then you laugh...and this book is some of the hardest cackles I've had in years. I advise not reading it in public..funny looks will ensue.
You get exposed to Greg um on the treadmill nekkid. Poor postman Wilf. Zoe's experience with the cabbage diet. You get moments when tears form in your eyes. I'm not telling why..you gotta read it.
There was a point in the book that I got sorta pissed off with how the story was going- I thought the book was going to head the Fat Amy way-I kept reading and it evened out.
Now this book for me was extremely personal. My husband and I have fought weight ourselves.
Welcome to personal information sharing time.
That's us. We made fun of ourselves during the time to lose the weight and we cussed each other several times. I still love him.
Has our weight loss continued? Fuck..live came into play and depression hit us both hard. We have reached a middle ground now.
I hope that Zoe and Greg did too.
I received an arc copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
March 7, 2018
The husband and I fancied something quite lighthearted to listen to during our six hour car journey home yesterday. This was a great choice, as it had us giggling and chatting about similar things we've done when it's come to trying to lose or maintain our weight.
You see, we're both very different in our approach. I focus on chewing my food well, eating very healthy, rationing chocolate, and walking, but not overdoing it when it comes to exercise, due to having ME/CFS. My husband on the other hand swallows most of his food without chewing it, stuffs his face on eggs, chocolate and anything spicy, farts a lot, but also runs a lot to make up for the calories going into his body.
If you like the sound of the blurb then I highly recommend this. It was recommended to me by my Goodreads friend, Leigh, and I'm so pleased he recommended it to me, otherwise I suspect I'd never have chosen it, and would have missed out on a few hours of entertainment. We enjoyed it so much, we listened to the last hour shortly after we got home.
I borrowed this in audiobook format through Amazon Kindle Unlimited.
You see, we're both very different in our approach. I focus on chewing my food well, eating very healthy, rationing chocolate, and walking, but not overdoing it when it comes to exercise, due to having ME/CFS. My husband on the other hand swallows most of his food without chewing it, stuffs his face on eggs, chocolate and anything spicy, farts a lot, but also runs a lot to make up for the calories going into his body.
If you like the sound of the blurb then I highly recommend this. It was recommended to me by my Goodreads friend, Leigh, and I'm so pleased he recommended it to me, otherwise I suspect I'd never have chosen it, and would have missed out on a few hours of entertainment. We enjoyed it so much, we listened to the last hour shortly after we got home.
I borrowed this in audiobook format through Amazon Kindle Unlimited.
September 3, 2015
While the book does address some important topics - Western society and its fat phobia, as well as institutional classism where healthy foods and exercise opportunities are limited to those with higher incomes - it also falls into "let's make fun of the fat guy because he's fat" cliches.
All of this, however, is completely eclipsed by the in your face sexism, blatant homophobia, and your occasional pinch of racism. It's hard to actually pay attention to anything the author is trying to say or do- be it character growth (if there is one) or a social critique against a classist fat phobic system - when you are confronted page by page with ignorant, heteronormative, sexist statements such as a man claiming that diets are "girly"; because apparently food and the way you choose to intake it can have a gender.
Ugh.
All of this, however, is completely eclipsed by the in your face sexism, blatant homophobia, and your occasional pinch of racism. It's hard to actually pay attention to anything the author is trying to say or do- be it character growth (if there is one) or a social critique against a classist fat phobic system - when you are confronted page by page with ignorant, heteronormative, sexist statements such as a man claiming that diets are "girly"; because apparently food and the way you choose to intake it can have a gender.
Ugh.
July 12, 2017
2.5 - 3 stars, ish.
May 23, 2018
This book was hilarious! I absolutely love Fat Chance.
First off, I will admit that I was very hesitant to dive into this book. I had a feeling it might be another terrible version of Bridge Jones where the main character constantly complains and only talks about herself being fat.. like all the damn time. Turns out, my assumption was completely wrong.
Fat Chance is about a wonderful couple who gets asked to join a competition to lose weight. What do they win? $50,000 dollars. Or was it pounds? Either way they won a large cash prize if they beat the other couples.
Zoe and Greg were a one of a kind relationship. They have loved each other unconditionally and it didn't matter that they were overweight now. Well, I guess until the day they notice their sex lives changed a bit. However, that was quickly changed. I loved their relationship because these two were hilarious. I'm also really happy that it was a dual POV because it definitely made me laugh so many times while getting both sides of their journey to losing weight and becoming healthy.
In the end, they were happier. Of course it sucked major ass to start working out your muscles that haven't done shit in a long ass time. They also tried new work out plans and even the dreaded diet plans. I loved reading their reactions to everything thing they've tried and some of the things they went through almost made me pee my pants from laughing so hard.
For example, "SIGN MY TITS" or the caffeine moment. Oh lord, I laughed so hard at work and I was so happy that I took a chance on this audio and this new author. I already have another book by him and I can' wait to dive into it!
Overall, I enjoyed the heck out of it. Hilarious from start to finish. I loved how everyone basically won at the end of this competition because they all learned how to become healthier and happier with their lives. I also thought that there was going to be a certain reason for her being emotional at the end (not because of her own secret goal) but for something else. Then the book ends on me and I will continue think what I thought happened in my mind. Forever.
Loved the book, characters, and story.
First off, I will admit that I was very hesitant to dive into this book. I had a feeling it might be another terrible version of Bridge Jones where the main character constantly complains and only talks about herself being fat.. like all the damn time. Turns out, my assumption was completely wrong.
Fat Chance is about a wonderful couple who gets asked to join a competition to lose weight. What do they win? $50,000 dollars. Or was it pounds? Either way they won a large cash prize if they beat the other couples.
Zoe and Greg were a one of a kind relationship. They have loved each other unconditionally and it didn't matter that they were overweight now. Well, I guess until the day they notice their sex lives changed a bit. However, that was quickly changed. I loved their relationship because these two were hilarious. I'm also really happy that it was a dual POV because it definitely made me laugh so many times while getting both sides of their journey to losing weight and becoming healthy.
In the end, they were happier. Of course it sucked major ass to start working out your muscles that haven't done shit in a long ass time. They also tried new work out plans and even the dreaded diet plans. I loved reading their reactions to everything thing they've tried and some of the things they went through almost made me pee my pants from laughing so hard.
For example, "SIGN MY TITS" or the caffeine moment. Oh lord, I laughed so hard at work and I was so happy that I took a chance on this audio and this new author. I already have another book by him and I can' wait to dive into it!
Overall, I enjoyed the heck out of it. Hilarious from start to finish. I loved how everyone basically won at the end of this competition because they all learned how to become healthier and happier with their lives. I also thought that there was going to be a certain reason for her being emotional at the end (not because of her own secret goal) but for something else. Then the book ends on me and I will continue think what I thought happened in my mind. Forever.
Loved the book, characters, and story.
March 16, 2018
This was a very fun read. It showed a great deal about the author's understanding about human nature and the struggle that many people have with their weight. Parts of it were hilarious.
September 1, 2020
With most books that I don’t enjoy, I can still appreciate the writing or see why other people might enjoy them - and I just think this isn't for me for one reason or another. But now and then a book will come along that I just think is utter shit, and this is one.
This was a daily deal on audible.com and I think I had heard of it before. So I nabbed it. It’s basically “Carry On Fatty”. Let’s all laugh at fat people. That’s it. And it’s just not that funny. The writing is fairly mediocre, the similes are just non-stop “as busy as a midget in quicksand” or similar, every few pages. Groan. So far, so bad, but then it gets worse. There’s an undercurrent of casual racism, sexism and homophobia. I thought maybe I’m missing the joke, maybe Nick Spalding is actually a fat gay Asian woman. That might put a different slant on things. But no, he’s a slim, straight, white man. I thought it might somehow redeem itself, and slowly switch things around but it just kept getting worse.
“What self-respecting straight man would ever consider going on a diet?”. That’s the line where I thought "What self-respecting reader would finish reading this piece of shit"? Not me.
This was a daily deal on audible.com and I think I had heard of it before. So I nabbed it. It’s basically “Carry On Fatty”. Let’s all laugh at fat people. That’s it. And it’s just not that funny. The writing is fairly mediocre, the similes are just non-stop “as busy as a midget in quicksand” or similar, every few pages. Groan. So far, so bad, but then it gets worse. There’s an undercurrent of casual racism, sexism and homophobia. I thought maybe I’m missing the joke, maybe Nick Spalding is actually a fat gay Asian woman. That might put a different slant on things. But no, he’s a slim, straight, white man. I thought it might somehow redeem itself, and slowly switch things around but it just kept getting worse.
“What self-respecting straight man would ever consider going on a diet?”. That’s the line where I thought "What self-respecting reader would finish reading this piece of shit"? Not me.
October 4, 2016
אחד הספרים המצחיקים ביותר שקראתי. חבל שמידי פעם הסופר לא מתאפק ומנסה לחנך את הקוראים בעקרונות הדיאטה והספורט. ממש חבל, הוא היה צריך להתאפק ולהשאיר את הספר כשני יומנים אוטנטיים. הרי אף אחד לא כותב ביומן האישי שלו מידי פעם על עקרונות הדיאטה והספורט לחיים טובים ונכונים יותר, נכון?
הספר בנוי כשני יומנים של זוג נשואי, זואי וגרג. שניהם שמנים ומשתתפים בתוכנית ראליטי רדיופונית בשם Fat CHance, שבה הם עושים דיאטה והתוכנית עוקבת אחריהם. הזוג המנצח יקבל 50 אלף פאונד.
מעבר לראיונות ברדיו, צילומי חוצות וקידום מוצרים הזוגות נדרשים לכתוב יומן דיאטה. היומן של זואי קורע מצחוק. היא חדת אבחנה וחדת לשון ויש לה יכולת לתאר סיטואציות הזויות שכולנו מכירים בצורה קורעת מצחוק.
לדוגמא היא מתארת את השפעות דיאטת מרק כרוב. היא כל כך קורעת מצחוק שכמעט נחנקתי כאן מהתיאורים שלה איך היא מסתובבת במשרד ומפליצה את נשמתה לדעת.
הפרקים של גרג קצת יותר שמרניים. הוא יותר איטי מזואי אבל מפרק לפרק הם משתפרים.
הוא מתאר את חוויותיו עם מדריכת כושר דקיקה וקטנה שהוא מניח שהיא עדינה מידי ותתאים לצרכים שלו (טיול בפארק פחות או יותר ) עד שהוא מגלה את הטעות שלו, הוא כבר נמצא באימון כושר לחיילי מארינס. אבל הפרק על הדיאטה הרוסית פשוט הורס. לא הפסקתי לקעקע כאן מצחוק.
אלוהים, הספר הזה מצליח להגחיך בצורות הזויות ומשעשעות עד דמעות את הדיאטות השונות.
צירפתי כאן חלק מהפרק הראשון קורע! לא הפסקתי לבכות מצחוק. אילולי מידי פעם התפלקו לסופר הטפות על החיים הבריאים (לא מדובר בקטעים רבים אבל עדין הם כל כל בולטים שאי אפשר לפספס אותם) הספר היה מקבל 5 כוכבים.
"I am delighted to find I can get the dress on without too much effort. I scarcely have to break a sweat, and spend only thirty seconds grunting and groaning before the hemline is below my knees. Ha ha! Success is mine! . . . Oh bugger, I haven’t zipped the bloody thing up yet, have I? It’s all very well feeling triumphant that I’ve managed to get a size sixteen dress onto my size eighteen frame, but the victory is a hollow and shallow thing unless I can get that zipper all the way up. Luckily, it zips to the side rather than the back, so at least I have a fighting chance. I suck my chest in, mentally cross myself, and pull the zipper up. It gets almost halfway before the laws of physics assert themselves, in no uncertain terms I might add, and refuse to let the sodding thing go any higher. I could cry. Warm, satisfying victory has turned into the cold ashes of failure.
‘Oh, you utter bastard,’ I whisper under my breath. At this point I should just give up the struggle, unzip the dress, remove it from my person, and rush home to eat the rest of the Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food we didn’t get through last night . This is my usual response to such disasters. However, the anger and self-loathing that I’ve managed to keep a lid on since my brief conversation with Little Miss Bony-Arse outside is now taking steps to remove my rationality— and is apparently succeeding extremely well . I now decide to start wrenching the zipper in an upwards motion, in the vain hope that brute force will solve the problem. If ‘solving the problem ’ actually translates as ‘yanking the zipper tab until it breaks off and leaves me trussed up like a Christmas turkey,’ then I have been one hundred percent successful. Incredulously, I hold the tiny broken piece of metal up in front of me. I then try to re-attach it to the rest of the zipper, hoping that I’ve suddenly developed superpowers that allow me to bond metal with metal through sheer force of will.
This is not the case, so I now find myself trapped inside a green dress that’s squeezing my boobs so much I can nearly rest my chin on them. I’m also having to take short, shallow breaths that make me sound like a hyperventilating chipmunk. Panic threatens to set in. Thankfully, the self-loathing has gone into hyper-drive now, which means any other emotions don’t really get a look in. I’m now left in something of a quandary. As far as I can tell, I have three choices open to me. I can call the shop girl to come and help me out of the dress— which is about as likely as Greg arranging a threesome with Bradley Cooper for my next birthday present. I can try to pull the dress down as much as I can on my own, thus relieving the pressure on my ribcage, and allowing me to think about the situation a bit more clearly without the onset of suffocation. Or, I can yank the dress upwards in a swift and decisive motion , in order to free myself as quickly and as effectively as possible from my material prison. A less impulsive person would go with option two,
but then again, a less impulsive woman wouldn’t have tried to squeeze into a dress that’s too small for her in the first place. I take a deep breath, squeeze my eyes shut, grab the straps with both hands, and, with all the strength I can muster, I yank the dress upwards in what I think is the aforementioned swift and decisive manner. Sadly, as I do this, the dress also twists round to the left and the tight corseting constricts around my ample upper body like one of those Chinese finger puzzles. Instead of flying off over my head, the dress becomes wedged at the shoulders, leaving me with my arms flailing above my head and my vision limited to a landscape of green material. Compounding this terrible situation is the fact that I’m bound to be showing my enormous pink and black striped knickers to the world, thanks to the lower half of the dress bunching up and creating an unattractive pool of bulging material around my waist. I’m in proper trouble now. I’ve never been one to suffer from claustrophobia, but I now feel a new and acute appreciation for those who have the condition.
I simply have no idea what to do. I can’t lower my arms thanks to the stiffness of the corseting, so I can’t gain any leverage on the dress to pull it back down. Panic really does set in now , and I start to fight against my impromptu straitjacket, wobbling my body back and forth in an attempt to shake myself free. I haven’t writhed around with my hands in the air this much since I went to a rave back in the mid-nineties. If somebody sticks The Prodigy on over the M& S speaker system, I’ll feel right at home. Of course, in my mild panic, I’ve forgotten about the fact that I’m standing in a small cubicle containing a stool, which is currently adorned with my street clothes. I’m reminded of this fact when I painfully smack my knee into the stool as I whirl around on the spot for the third time, hoping that by building up some centrifugal force it might throw me clear of the dress. ‘Oww! Fuck!’ I wail in muffled frustration. The usual human response to sharp pain is to back away from its cause as swiftly as possible. This makes me stumble into the heavy white curtain that shuts off the cubicle from the outside world. The curtain has seen how much fun the dress is having with me and wants in on the action. In my increasing distress, I twist around sharply as I hit the curtain— which neatly manages to wrap itself around my entire body, thus encasing me in two layers of material. ‘Oh, for crying out loud!’ Now things have reached the level of farce usually reserved for amateur theatrics. If I keep thrashing around as I have been, I’m likely to pull the curtain off its rail and go stumbling out into the shop looking like the most uncoordinated ghost in human history. Small children will run screaming from the bulky, swearing monstrosity. The shop staff will be on the phone to the Ghostbusters before I can say a damn thing in my defence. Time for a cooler head to prevail. I force myself to stand still and take a few deep breaths.
If I can just calm down a bit, I’m sure I can work out a simple and easy way of extricating myself from this double-layered cloth prison with the minimum of further fuss and— ‘Are you alright, madam?’ Oh for God’s sake, it’s Little Miss Bony-Arse. I choose not to respond immediately, feeling that any explanation I try to give will be completely inadequate. ‘Do you need some help?’ the girl eventually says. ‘No love, I’m absolutely fine,’ I reply. The sarcasm manages to get past the curtain and the corset with no problem at all. ‘I often like to wrap a curtain around my head in the middle of a shop. I find it soothing.’ ‘Really?’ Good grief. ‘Yes. If you could go and brew me up a chai tea and pour it through the hole in the top, that’d be just super.’ ‘Ah . . . I think you should probably come out of there.’ ‘Do you think so?’ ‘Yes I do, really. The manager won’t like it.’ ‘Ah well, we wouldn’t want to annoy the manager, now, would we?’ ‘No. Mister Morris is very strict about this kind of thing.’ ‘You get a lot of fat women wrapping themselves up in curtains, do you?’ ‘No, but customers do act up from time to time.’ ‘I see . In that case, perhaps you could pull the thing off me?’ ‘Okay.’ The sales girl successfully manages to unwrap me from the curtain, leaving only the issue of the dress. I can’t see her face, but I know the expression she’s making. ‘Um . . . Do you need any help with the dress?’ she asks tentatively. ‘What? Are you saying I’m not wearing it right?’ ‘No, madam. It shouldn’t be that high up.’ ‘Really? Because I was watching a programme about London Fashion Week recently and you wouldn’t believe how many models were walking down the catwalk with their arms up like someone was pointing a gun at them, showing their Primark knickers to everyone.’ This is met with stony silence.
‘Just pull the bloody thing off my head, will you?’ I ask in a weary voice. With Little Miss Bony-Arse helping out, it takes only two tugs to free me from my bondage. As the dress comes off I can feel it sliding painfully up against the rolls of fat on my arms and back. It reminds me, sickeningly, of how a sausage is made."
Spalding, Nick (2014-10-07). Fat Chance (pp.6 - 11). Lake Union Publishing. Kindle Edition.
הספר בנוי כשני יומנים של זוג נשואי, זואי וגרג. שניהם שמנים ומשתתפים בתוכנית ראליטי רדיופונית בשם Fat CHance, שבה הם עושים דיאטה והתוכנית עוקבת אחריהם. הזוג המנצח יקבל 50 אלף פאונד.
מעבר לראיונות ברדיו, צילומי חוצות וקידום מוצרים הזוגות נדרשים לכתוב יומן דיאטה. היומן של זואי קורע מצחוק. היא חדת אבחנה וחדת לשון ויש לה יכולת לתאר סיטואציות הזויות שכולנו מכירים בצורה קורעת מצחוק.
לדוגמא היא מתארת את השפעות דיאטת מרק כרוב. היא כל כך קורעת מצחוק שכמעט נחנקתי כאן מהתיאורים שלה איך היא מסתובבת במשרד ומפליצה את נשמתה לדעת.
הפרקים של גרג קצת יותר שמרניים. הוא יותר איטי מזואי אבל מפרק לפרק הם משתפרים.
הוא מתאר את חוויותיו עם מדריכת כושר דקיקה וקטנה שהוא מניח שהיא עדינה מידי ותתאים לצרכים שלו (טיול בפארק פחות או יותר ) עד שהוא מגלה את הטעות שלו, הוא כבר נמצא באימון כושר לחיילי מארינס. אבל הפרק על הדיאטה הרוסית פשוט הורס. לא הפסקתי לקעקע כאן מצחוק.
אלוהים, הספר הזה מצליח להגחיך בצורות הזויות ומשעשעות עד דמעות את הדיאטות השונות.
צירפתי כאן חלק מהפרק הראשון קורע! לא הפסקתי לבכות מצחוק. אילולי מידי פעם התפלקו לסופר הטפות על החיים הבריאים (לא מדובר בקטעים רבים אבל עדין הם כל כל בולטים שאי אפשר לפספס אותם) הספר היה מקבל 5 כוכבים.
"I am delighted to find I can get the dress on without too much effort. I scarcely have to break a sweat, and spend only thirty seconds grunting and groaning before the hemline is below my knees. Ha ha! Success is mine! . . . Oh bugger, I haven’t zipped the bloody thing up yet, have I? It’s all very well feeling triumphant that I’ve managed to get a size sixteen dress onto my size eighteen frame, but the victory is a hollow and shallow thing unless I can get that zipper all the way up. Luckily, it zips to the side rather than the back, so at least I have a fighting chance. I suck my chest in, mentally cross myself, and pull the zipper up. It gets almost halfway before the laws of physics assert themselves, in no uncertain terms I might add, and refuse to let the sodding thing go any higher. I could cry. Warm, satisfying victory has turned into the cold ashes of failure.
‘Oh, you utter bastard,’ I whisper under my breath. At this point I should just give up the struggle, unzip the dress, remove it from my person, and rush home to eat the rest of the Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food we didn’t get through last night . This is my usual response to such disasters. However, the anger and self-loathing that I’ve managed to keep a lid on since my brief conversation with Little Miss Bony-Arse outside is now taking steps to remove my rationality— and is apparently succeeding extremely well . I now decide to start wrenching the zipper in an upwards motion, in the vain hope that brute force will solve the problem. If ‘solving the problem ’ actually translates as ‘yanking the zipper tab until it breaks off and leaves me trussed up like a Christmas turkey,’ then I have been one hundred percent successful. Incredulously, I hold the tiny broken piece of metal up in front of me. I then try to re-attach it to the rest of the zipper, hoping that I’ve suddenly developed superpowers that allow me to bond metal with metal through sheer force of will.
This is not the case, so I now find myself trapped inside a green dress that’s squeezing my boobs so much I can nearly rest my chin on them. I’m also having to take short, shallow breaths that make me sound like a hyperventilating chipmunk. Panic threatens to set in. Thankfully, the self-loathing has gone into hyper-drive now, which means any other emotions don’t really get a look in. I’m now left in something of a quandary. As far as I can tell, I have three choices open to me. I can call the shop girl to come and help me out of the dress— which is about as likely as Greg arranging a threesome with Bradley Cooper for my next birthday present. I can try to pull the dress down as much as I can on my own, thus relieving the pressure on my ribcage, and allowing me to think about the situation a bit more clearly without the onset of suffocation. Or, I can yank the dress upwards in a swift and decisive motion , in order to free myself as quickly and as effectively as possible from my material prison. A less impulsive person would go with option two,
but then again, a less impulsive woman wouldn’t have tried to squeeze into a dress that’s too small for her in the first place. I take a deep breath, squeeze my eyes shut, grab the straps with both hands, and, with all the strength I can muster, I yank the dress upwards in what I think is the aforementioned swift and decisive manner. Sadly, as I do this, the dress also twists round to the left and the tight corseting constricts around my ample upper body like one of those Chinese finger puzzles. Instead of flying off over my head, the dress becomes wedged at the shoulders, leaving me with my arms flailing above my head and my vision limited to a landscape of green material. Compounding this terrible situation is the fact that I’m bound to be showing my enormous pink and black striped knickers to the world, thanks to the lower half of the dress bunching up and creating an unattractive pool of bulging material around my waist. I’m in proper trouble now. I’ve never been one to suffer from claustrophobia, but I now feel a new and acute appreciation for those who have the condition.
I simply have no idea what to do. I can’t lower my arms thanks to the stiffness of the corseting, so I can’t gain any leverage on the dress to pull it back down. Panic really does set in now , and I start to fight against my impromptu straitjacket, wobbling my body back and forth in an attempt to shake myself free. I haven’t writhed around with my hands in the air this much since I went to a rave back in the mid-nineties. If somebody sticks The Prodigy on over the M& S speaker system, I’ll feel right at home. Of course, in my mild panic, I’ve forgotten about the fact that I’m standing in a small cubicle containing a stool, which is currently adorned with my street clothes. I’m reminded of this fact when I painfully smack my knee into the stool as I whirl around on the spot for the third time, hoping that by building up some centrifugal force it might throw me clear of the dress. ‘Oww! Fuck!’ I wail in muffled frustration. The usual human response to sharp pain is to back away from its cause as swiftly as possible. This makes me stumble into the heavy white curtain that shuts off the cubicle from the outside world. The curtain has seen how much fun the dress is having with me and wants in on the action. In my increasing distress, I twist around sharply as I hit the curtain— which neatly manages to wrap itself around my entire body, thus encasing me in two layers of material. ‘Oh, for crying out loud!’ Now things have reached the level of farce usually reserved for amateur theatrics. If I keep thrashing around as I have been, I’m likely to pull the curtain off its rail and go stumbling out into the shop looking like the most uncoordinated ghost in human history. Small children will run screaming from the bulky, swearing monstrosity. The shop staff will be on the phone to the Ghostbusters before I can say a damn thing in my defence. Time for a cooler head to prevail. I force myself to stand still and take a few deep breaths.
If I can just calm down a bit, I’m sure I can work out a simple and easy way of extricating myself from this double-layered cloth prison with the minimum of further fuss and— ‘Are you alright, madam?’ Oh for God’s sake, it’s Little Miss Bony-Arse. I choose not to respond immediately, feeling that any explanation I try to give will be completely inadequate. ‘Do you need some help?’ the girl eventually says. ‘No love, I’m absolutely fine,’ I reply. The sarcasm manages to get past the curtain and the corset with no problem at all. ‘I often like to wrap a curtain around my head in the middle of a shop. I find it soothing.’ ‘Really?’ Good grief. ‘Yes. If you could go and brew me up a chai tea and pour it through the hole in the top, that’d be just super.’ ‘Ah . . . I think you should probably come out of there.’ ‘Do you think so?’ ‘Yes I do, really. The manager won’t like it.’ ‘Ah well, we wouldn’t want to annoy the manager, now, would we?’ ‘No. Mister Morris is very strict about this kind of thing.’ ‘You get a lot of fat women wrapping themselves up in curtains, do you?’ ‘No, but customers do act up from time to time.’ ‘I see . In that case, perhaps you could pull the thing off me?’ ‘Okay.’ The sales girl successfully manages to unwrap me from the curtain, leaving only the issue of the dress. I can’t see her face, but I know the expression she’s making. ‘Um . . . Do you need any help with the dress?’ she asks tentatively. ‘What? Are you saying I’m not wearing it right?’ ‘No, madam. It shouldn’t be that high up.’ ‘Really? Because I was watching a programme about London Fashion Week recently and you wouldn’t believe how many models were walking down the catwalk with their arms up like someone was pointing a gun at them, showing their Primark knickers to everyone.’ This is met with stony silence.
‘Just pull the bloody thing off my head, will you?’ I ask in a weary voice. With Little Miss Bony-Arse helping out, it takes only two tugs to free me from my bondage. As the dress comes off I can feel it sliding painfully up against the rolls of fat on my arms and back. It reminds me, sickeningly, of how a sausage is made."
Spalding, Nick (2014-10-07). Fat Chance (pp.6 - 11). Lake Union Publishing. Kindle Edition.
January 18, 2020
Rodydama bibliotekos knygas minėjau, kad šią pasiėmiau “ant bajerio”. Mačiau kažkas sakė, kad nuobodi ir nebaigė skaityti, tad aš per daug nesitikėjau, nors aprašymas it žadėjo smagią istoriją. Iš tiesų, perskaičiusi, galiu pasakyti, kad tikrai daug juokiausi. Aš įsivaizduoju, kad žmonėms, kurie neturi problemų su svoriu, ši knyga gali pasirodyti perdėta, netikroviška, išpūsta ir visai nejuokinga. Bet tie kiti – storuliai – juoksis kartu su veikėjais, kaip juokiausi ir aš.
Istorija paprasta. Pora nugalėjusi svorio metimo realybės šou gaus daug pinigų. Zoja su Gregu imasi šio šiaudo ir visą laiką rašo dienoraštį, kurį mes ir skaitome. Ir ką galiu pasakyti? Įtikino! Nes ir pati esu pliusinė, niekaip to svorio nenumetanti. Ar teko susidurti su situacija, kai greitosios mados parduotuvėse tiesiog nebėra tavo dydžio? Teko! Į Zaros XL aš net vienos kojos neįkišu. Ar teko besimatuojant rūbą įstrigti per mažoje suknelėje? Teko! Ar teko laikytis kopūstų dietos su visomis pasekmėmis? Teko! O baisėtis savo nuotraukomis? Žinoma! O prisipirkti visokių niekučių, kurie padės greitai suplonėti? Taip! O išgirsti labai nemalonių replikų? O kaip gi! Pažįstama, o kadangi visos situacijos aprašytos su humoru, tai knyga man ir patiko.
Tačiau tai lengvas skaitaliukas su ryškiais minusais. Pvz., tiek Zojos, tiek Grego dienoraščiai man pasirodė vienodi. Ta prasme, juos rašo skirtingi žmonės, kurie, kaip minima, turi nevienodą patirtį teksto kūrime, bet skamba taip, lyg tiek žmonos, tiek vyro pasakojimus būtų rašęs tas pats žmogus. Čia autoriui nepavyko sukurti skirtingų personažų. Pabaiga – savaime suprantama – nuspėjama. Bet man buvo smagu, o ir sukrimtau per du prisėdimus.
Istorija paprasta. Pora nugalėjusi svorio metimo realybės šou gaus daug pinigų. Zoja su Gregu imasi šio šiaudo ir visą laiką rašo dienoraštį, kurį mes ir skaitome. Ir ką galiu pasakyti? Įtikino! Nes ir pati esu pliusinė, niekaip to svorio nenumetanti. Ar teko susidurti su situacija, kai greitosios mados parduotuvėse tiesiog nebėra tavo dydžio? Teko! Į Zaros XL aš net vienos kojos neįkišu. Ar teko besimatuojant rūbą įstrigti per mažoje suknelėje? Teko! Ar teko laikytis kopūstų dietos su visomis pasekmėmis? Teko! O baisėtis savo nuotraukomis? Žinoma! O prisipirkti visokių niekučių, kurie padės greitai suplonėti? Taip! O išgirsti labai nemalonių replikų? O kaip gi! Pažįstama, o kadangi visos situacijos aprašytos su humoru, tai knyga man ir patiko.
Tačiau tai lengvas skaitaliukas su ryškiais minusais. Pvz., tiek Zojos, tiek Grego dienoraščiai man pasirodė vienodi. Ta prasme, juos rašo skirtingi žmonės, kurie, kaip minima, turi nevienodą patirtį teksto kūrime, bet skamba taip, lyg tiek žmonos, tiek vyro pasakojimus būtų rašęs tas pats žmogus. Čia autoriui nepavyko sukurti skirtingų personažų. Pabaiga – savaime suprantama – nuspėjama. Bet man buvo smagu, o ir sukrimtau per du prisėdimus.
November 23, 2017
Massively disappointing. The story is thin and weak, and the similes employed made me groan out loud. The characters are stereotypical yet just not believable.
Admittedly, this wasn't helped by a very poorly voiced audio production, read I believe, by the speaking clock. Or her sister. Mind the gap. And the male voice was a step away from stating ‘cor blimey guv’nor’ at the end of each sentence.
Beep Beep Beep.
Admittedly, this wasn't helped by a very poorly voiced audio production, read I believe, by the speaking clock. Or her sister. Mind the gap. And the male voice was a step away from stating ‘cor blimey guv’nor’ at the end of each sentence.
Beep Beep Beep.
March 20, 2018
A nice easy read, at times really funny.Of course you could argue that it is full of silly stereo types but sometimes it is good to just not question, roll your eyes and just move on to the next page. The characters were likeable and the story line fun, after all almost all of us at some stage in our lives had tried to lose weight!
November 1, 2014
This is actually not the first book that I have read with this title - but it is certainly the first book that I have read that is basically a The Biggest Loser-remake. Zoe and Greg have been a couple since college and since then, have let themselves go more than a bit. Together, they join a radio-station-sponsored competition to lose weight. The book is light in tone and pretty funny at times. It is always rather exciting to read something that qualifies as “chick lit” when it has been written by a man (but don’t worry, there are enough phallic references here that readers won’t forget that the mind behind even Zoe’s POV is a masculine one...). Written by a British man, there are a lot of pop culture references that may leave American readers feel like they are missing a punchline or two. But there are still plenty of scenes that readers across both sides of the pond can share a laugh or two over.
It’s a fast-paced and entertaining read that anyone who has ever tried to lose weight will find something here to commiserate with. I like that the book alternates its chapters between the husband and wife and between the two of them, they leave nothing out of every fad or popular way to lose weight. Some readers may find this to be an inspirational read, or just something to giggle over. Overall, it’s a feel-good, light read - though female readers may find themselves rolling their eyes a bit at times.
It’s a fast-paced and entertaining read that anyone who has ever tried to lose weight will find something here to commiserate with. I like that the book alternates its chapters between the husband and wife and between the two of them, they leave nothing out of every fad or popular way to lose weight. Some readers may find this to be an inspirational read, or just something to giggle over. Overall, it’s a feel-good, light read - though female readers may find themselves rolling their eyes a bit at times.
April 12, 2021
Very funny, relatable, sometimes very poignant and encouraging. I listened to the audio-book whilst doing my early-morning exercises and it was a good companion.
August 15, 2015
A funny and entertaining read but it was a bit too sweary and crude for my taste.
July 29, 2020
This is a good book, it’s not amazing but it did keep me entertained. It is pretty funny and I even chuckled out loud occasionally but it is also a bit sad too, I suppose the simple reason being that obesity isn’t funny.
The story itself is a little predictable and quite cheesy but also heartwarming. It’s entertaining but I did find towards the end the writing got a bit lecturey and was stating the obvious; we need to do some exercise and eat a balanced diet to lose weight and stay healthy? You don’t say.
Our protagonists Gareth and Zoe are decent characters, funny people, and I think we can all relate to them in some way, even if we are not as far gone in the health department as they are. The story is written as alternating diary entries from each of them, I think this delivery really worked here.
So if you want a feel good book with a few giggles then this might be the book for you, it's a bit of fun and a light-hearted easy read (which the author does well having also read Dry Hard). A decent 3.5*/5 for me. This is tricky, not sure it deserves 3 or a 4, it really is a dead 3.5*/5 book.I’m going to be nice and round up today, it might just be my hangover making me sympathetic though.
The story itself is a little predictable and quite cheesy but also heartwarming. It’s entertaining but I did find towards the end the writing got a bit lecturey and was stating the obvious; we need to do some exercise and eat a balanced diet to lose weight and stay healthy? You don’t say.
Our protagonists Gareth and Zoe are decent characters, funny people, and I think we can all relate to them in some way, even if we are not as far gone in the health department as they are. The story is written as alternating diary entries from each of them, I think this delivery really worked here.
So if you want a feel good book with a few giggles then this might be the book for you, it's a bit of fun and a light-hearted easy read (which the author does well having also read Dry Hard). A decent 3.5*/5 for me. This is tricky, not sure it deserves 3 or a 4, it really is a dead 3.5*/5 book.I’m going to be nice and round up today, it might just be my hangover making me sympathetic though.
October 3, 2014
This book was...It made me uncomfortable too many times. Not “books are supposed to push our boundaries” uncomfortable. That’s the good kind. Fat Chance was the other kind – the kind that makes you wince a lot, the kind that makes you feel awkward and a little wrong because you know it’s sort of a mean thing you’re witnessing.
The Good:
Plot – the idea is solid. An overweight couple agree to a weight loss contest competition through a local radio station to win big money. Lose weight and win cash? Everybody win. Except no one wins (more on that in a minute).
Writing – The writing is fluid and well structured. We’re taken through the story of Zoe and Greg by alternating diary entrances they’re required to write during the competition.
Story - There are good takeaways here – the fad diets are fads for a reason, long term commitment and a new way of viewing life is really the only way to take weight off safely and keep it off, depending on your partner and being there for him/her through all the ups and downs (numbers on a scale and otherwise). The relationship between Zoe and Greg was stable and they were sweet with one another. Not many books are centered around a solid, anchored couple. It was refreshing to read that part of it.
The Bad
Character/Development – Neither Zoe and Greg come across as very likable people, especially Greg. There’s a lot of denigrating remarks in Greg’s diary entries about effeminate men vs “real” men then seemed like a touch of poorly disguised homophobia and misogyny. Real men play rugby! Real men only work with a female trainer when they have no other option! Real men eat seven kinds of meat in one meal! Real men think about having affairs all the time! Burps and scratches and body hair! YEAH! The casual references to rape? Do we still really need to tell people that’s not ok? Gah.
I wanted to like Zoe more than I did. Instead of developing her into a character we want to pull for, we’re just told we’re supposed to. It feels a little manipulative when a book is telling the reader “feel sorry for this fat girl who can’t have babies strictly because of her weight” within the first quarter of the book. Also? Not true.
The sketch comedy – The parts that were supposed to be funny (I guess?) read like poorly developed comedy sketches meant to do nothing more than poke fun at the fatties that dare to live a normal life. “Laugh at Zoe when she gets stuck in a dress in a fitting room and ends up in her underwear in front of people! Laugh at Greg who can’t sit in a plastic chair without breaking it! Laugh harder when that chair gets stuck on his ass and needs the help of two people to get it off! Fat people can’t run without falling down! Har har har!”
This book is riddled with cliches and jokes that aren’t true to life. It reads like the author watched ‘Shallow Hal’ or some talk show segment with some pretty girl in a fat suit so he thought he knew what it’s like to be heavy. You want to write a book about living obese in a skinny jeans world? Great. Don’t use your characters to the butt of jokes that seem like they’ve been written by immature fourth grade boys and the local middle school’s mean girls.
Here’s the thing: Being overweight does not transform your life into a Chris Farley sketch.
It could’ve been so much better and it’s too bad that it wasn’t.
The Good:
Plot – the idea is solid. An overweight couple agree to a weight loss contest competition through a local radio station to win big money. Lose weight and win cash? Everybody win. Except no one wins (more on that in a minute).
Writing – The writing is fluid and well structured. We’re taken through the story of Zoe and Greg by alternating diary entrances they’re required to write during the competition.
Story - There are good takeaways here – the fad diets are fads for a reason, long term commitment and a new way of viewing life is really the only way to take weight off safely and keep it off, depending on your partner and being there for him/her through all the ups and downs (numbers on a scale and otherwise). The relationship between Zoe and Greg was stable and they were sweet with one another. Not many books are centered around a solid, anchored couple. It was refreshing to read that part of it.
The Bad
Character/Development – Neither Zoe and Greg come across as very likable people, especially Greg. There’s a lot of denigrating remarks in Greg’s diary entries about effeminate men vs “real” men then seemed like a touch of poorly disguised homophobia and misogyny. Real men play rugby! Real men only work with a female trainer when they have no other option! Real men eat seven kinds of meat in one meal! Real men think about having affairs all the time! Burps and scratches and body hair! YEAH! The casual references to rape? Do we still really need to tell people that’s not ok? Gah.
I wanted to like Zoe more than I did. Instead of developing her into a character we want to pull for, we’re just told we’re supposed to. It feels a little manipulative when a book is telling the reader “feel sorry for this fat girl who can’t have babies strictly because of her weight” within the first quarter of the book. Also? Not true.
The sketch comedy – The parts that were supposed to be funny (I guess?) read like poorly developed comedy sketches meant to do nothing more than poke fun at the fatties that dare to live a normal life. “Laugh at Zoe when she gets stuck in a dress in a fitting room and ends up in her underwear in front of people! Laugh at Greg who can’t sit in a plastic chair without breaking it! Laugh harder when that chair gets stuck on his ass and needs the help of two people to get it off! Fat people can’t run without falling down! Har har har!”
This book is riddled with cliches and jokes that aren’t true to life. It reads like the author watched ‘Shallow Hal’ or some talk show segment with some pretty girl in a fat suit so he thought he knew what it’s like to be heavy. You want to write a book about living obese in a skinny jeans world? Great. Don’t use your characters to the butt of jokes that seem like they’ve been written by immature fourth grade boys and the local middle school’s mean girls.
Here’s the thing: Being overweight does not transform your life into a Chris Farley sketch.
It could’ve been so much better and it’s too bad that it wasn’t.
Yes, Dean. We know. We’ll get you some pie.
I received an advanced copy of Fat Chance for review from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing. It is scheduled to be released October 7, 2014.
April 24, 2015
There are one or two very mild spoilers - nothing really gives the plot away though.
I learned sometime ago that relying on the Top Sellers list (for Kindle, on Amazon) is not a good place to look for my next read. I assume that for a short period of time, a book receives some spotlight on the website, and sells lots of copies (relatively speaking) thus explaining a momentary peak in ranking. What keeps it up there, however, are folk like me who assume a book is good because it's being sold often, and therefore elect to add to this count by purchasing the book, post-haste. I have no one to blame but myself... and the people on the website that feel inclined to give the book 5 stars rather than admit to themselves that they have a problem with impulsive book buying.
Indeed, I did not like Fat Chance, but it did read easy. Not one to stop a book halfway, I did finish it and I was glad when it was done. When I had read the first couple of chapters my initial thought was that this was clearly written by a skinny man who had never been on a diet in his life. As if one could just start the cabbage soup diet and keep it up for a full week. As if women tell one another about their vaginal discharge. And I find it quite hard to believe that running on a treadmill feels better when you do it naked. After a brief conversation with the receptionist at my gym, it appears that I won't be able to test the latter out any time soon.
The jokes were all obvious, and the "funny scenarios" were predictable and far too set up. And maybe my heart is just a little too frosty, but I started to get nauseated by all the declarations of love between Zoe and Greg - yes, I get it, they're childhood sweethearts still very much in love. It just didn't feel genuine, everything had to be explicitly stated. In the precious few moments where some typical and predictable scenario wasn't being played out (for these scenarios, think: negative, embarrassing side-effects of various diets; fat people getting stuck or injuring themselves; something related to sex and/or a reproductive organ), the only tactic that was employed to keep up the charade of this being an amusing book was to squeeze in metaphors left, right, and centre! This was as infuriating as a juice-box with a missing straw, but then you finally locate some scissors and cut it open at the top, only to realise that the juice-box is, in fact, out of date. (They were actually worse than this).
I still settled on two stars, because the actual plot idea was fine. In my opinion, of course.
I learned sometime ago that relying on the Top Sellers list (for Kindle, on Amazon) is not a good place to look for my next read. I assume that for a short period of time, a book receives some spotlight on the website, and sells lots of copies (relatively speaking) thus explaining a momentary peak in ranking. What keeps it up there, however, are folk like me who assume a book is good because it's being sold often, and therefore elect to add to this count by purchasing the book, post-haste. I have no one to blame but myself... and the people on the website that feel inclined to give the book 5 stars rather than admit to themselves that they have a problem with impulsive book buying.
Indeed, I did not like Fat Chance, but it did read easy. Not one to stop a book halfway, I did finish it and I was glad when it was done. When I had read the first couple of chapters my initial thought was that this was clearly written by a skinny man who had never been on a diet in his life. As if one could just start the cabbage soup diet and keep it up for a full week. As if women tell one another about their vaginal discharge. And I find it quite hard to believe that running on a treadmill feels better when you do it naked. After a brief conversation with the receptionist at my gym, it appears that I won't be able to test the latter out any time soon.
The jokes were all obvious, and the "funny scenarios" were predictable and far too set up. And maybe my heart is just a little too frosty, but I started to get nauseated by all the declarations of love between Zoe and Greg - yes, I get it, they're childhood sweethearts still very much in love. It just didn't feel genuine, everything had to be explicitly stated. In the precious few moments where some typical and predictable scenario wasn't being played out (for these scenarios, think: negative, embarrassing side-effects of various diets; fat people getting stuck or injuring themselves; something related to sex and/or a reproductive organ), the only tactic that was employed to keep up the charade of this being an amusing book was to squeeze in metaphors left, right, and centre! This was as infuriating as a juice-box with a missing straw, but then you finally locate some scissors and cut it open at the top, only to realise that the juice-box is, in fact, out of date. (They were actually worse than this).
I still settled on two stars, because the actual plot idea was fine. In my opinion, of course.
April 27, 2019
Rated 3.5 stars
I enjoyed this book and understand all they were going through. We all try to get into shape and look good for ourselves but of course there's also the issues with all those miracle quick fix diets.
Zoe and Greg went into a contest to win by trying their best to be the couple that lost the most weight but is that really the most important reason to try and get healthy will for all the couples that was their aim but I believe we're all winners when we see how great we look with all the hard work.
I enjoyed this book and understand all they were going through. We all try to get into shape and look good for ourselves but of course there's also the issues with all those miracle quick fix diets.
Zoe and Greg went into a contest to win by trying their best to be the couple that lost the most weight but is that really the most important reason to try and get healthy will for all the couples that was their aim but I believe we're all winners when we see how great we look with all the hard work.
September 23, 2014
Nick Spalding’s FAT CHANCE is definitely a funny, irreverent, and politically incorrect look at being fat in the 21st century. Zoe and Greg Milton are an overweight thirty-something couple who agree to participate in a radio show’s weight loss competition – they will go up against five other couples to see which one can lose the highest percentage of body weight in a six month period. The story is told in a series of alternating diary entries, so we get both Zoe and Greg’s take on being fat, dieting, exercising, and living in a world that makes fat people feel like pathetic alien creatures in need of extermination.
While there is a lot to laugh at in this novel, I never quite believed these characters and their experiences. Zoe weighs 203 pounds when she begins the weight loss competition, and she wears a size 18. That’s large, but not huge, and some of the stories she tells (such as getting literally stuck in a dress she’s trying on at a department store) sound like something skinny people think would happen to a woman who wears a size 18. It’s the same with Greg – he starts the competition at 282 pounds, which isn’t quite large enough to get stuck in a chair so that two men have to wrench the thing from his butt in front of a crowd of party guests. Yes, it’s funny (and I did laugh while I was reading it), but it felt a little too much like all the fat jokes you hear and all the fat characters in comedy films that get their laughs by playing on the audience’s repulsion for blubber.
What works the best in FAT CHANCE is the way Spalding satirizes weight-loss gimmicks and exercise fads. Zoe and Greg try a number of ridiculous diets (including a gas-inducing cabbage diet and something called the Russian Air Force Diet), all of which are more like intense torture than any form of sensible eating. They also go crazy with exercise, causing no end of grotesquely funny problems as a result. They are forced to run until they literally drop, compete on exercise bikes until their muscles give out, and wear awful t-shirts that say things like “Fat but Fabulous.” Zoe is particularly incensed about the t-shirts, since she argues that a person should be able to be “Fat AND Fabulous.” She does have a point, but it’s not one that gets much play here.
Is it really hysterically funny being overweight in today’s world? Maybe. But all the time I was reading this I felt that Spalding has no clue what it’s really like to be fat. He portrays Zoe and Greg as a couple whose life has been undermined by their weight gain – she can’t get pregnant because she’s fat, and they don’t have sex very often because they don’t have much of a sex drive. As demeaning and insulting as the weight loss competition is (and much of the humor is focused on Zoe and Greg being demeaned and insulted), Spalding goes for an upbeat ending celebrating a new Zoe and Greg. So while they can’t exactly be “Fat AND Fabulous,” I guess they can be “Thinner and Fabulous.”
Honestly, I found FAT CHANCE to be a bit of a grind to get through. And I really thought the story sounded right up my alley. I was overweight for most of my life (much more overweight than Zoe is in this book), and I tried my share of diets and exercise gimmicks. And I wanted to identify with Zoe, who was so irreverent and outrageous and funny, even when people were making her feel so horrible and uncomfortable. But in the end, I do believe a person can be “Fat AND Fabulous,” and I don’t believe fat women have no sex drive and can’t get pregnant (I certainly could!). I did end up losing weight myself (through sensible eating and walking two miles each morning), so I’m not suggesting it doesn’t matter how much people weigh. It does matter, but not because you’ll look better and can wear a smaller size. I guess I just grew weary of all the fat jokes in this book. But that’s what it is – a collection of skits, all of them centered on being fat and ending up the butt of the joke because of it. If you like that sort of thing, you’ll like FAT CHANCE more than I did. I grew tired of it fairly quickly.
[Please note: I was provided a copy of this novel for review; the opinions expressed here are my own.]
While there is a lot to laugh at in this novel, I never quite believed these characters and their experiences. Zoe weighs 203 pounds when she begins the weight loss competition, and she wears a size 18. That’s large, but not huge, and some of the stories she tells (such as getting literally stuck in a dress she’s trying on at a department store) sound like something skinny people think would happen to a woman who wears a size 18. It’s the same with Greg – he starts the competition at 282 pounds, which isn’t quite large enough to get stuck in a chair so that two men have to wrench the thing from his butt in front of a crowd of party guests. Yes, it’s funny (and I did laugh while I was reading it), but it felt a little too much like all the fat jokes you hear and all the fat characters in comedy films that get their laughs by playing on the audience’s repulsion for blubber.
What works the best in FAT CHANCE is the way Spalding satirizes weight-loss gimmicks and exercise fads. Zoe and Greg try a number of ridiculous diets (including a gas-inducing cabbage diet and something called the Russian Air Force Diet), all of which are more like intense torture than any form of sensible eating. They also go crazy with exercise, causing no end of grotesquely funny problems as a result. They are forced to run until they literally drop, compete on exercise bikes until their muscles give out, and wear awful t-shirts that say things like “Fat but Fabulous.” Zoe is particularly incensed about the t-shirts, since she argues that a person should be able to be “Fat AND Fabulous.” She does have a point, but it’s not one that gets much play here.
Is it really hysterically funny being overweight in today’s world? Maybe. But all the time I was reading this I felt that Spalding has no clue what it’s really like to be fat. He portrays Zoe and Greg as a couple whose life has been undermined by their weight gain – she can’t get pregnant because she’s fat, and they don’t have sex very often because they don’t have much of a sex drive. As demeaning and insulting as the weight loss competition is (and much of the humor is focused on Zoe and Greg being demeaned and insulted), Spalding goes for an upbeat ending celebrating a new Zoe and Greg. So while they can’t exactly be “Fat AND Fabulous,” I guess they can be “Thinner and Fabulous.”
Honestly, I found FAT CHANCE to be a bit of a grind to get through. And I really thought the story sounded right up my alley. I was overweight for most of my life (much more overweight than Zoe is in this book), and I tried my share of diets and exercise gimmicks. And I wanted to identify with Zoe, who was so irreverent and outrageous and funny, even when people were making her feel so horrible and uncomfortable. But in the end, I do believe a person can be “Fat AND Fabulous,” and I don’t believe fat women have no sex drive and can’t get pregnant (I certainly could!). I did end up losing weight myself (through sensible eating and walking two miles each morning), so I’m not suggesting it doesn’t matter how much people weigh. It does matter, but not because you’ll look better and can wear a smaller size. I guess I just grew weary of all the fat jokes in this book. But that’s what it is – a collection of skits, all of them centered on being fat and ending up the butt of the joke because of it. If you like that sort of thing, you’ll like FAT CHANCE more than I did. I grew tired of it fairly quickly.
[Please note: I was provided a copy of this novel for review; the opinions expressed here are my own.]
March 1, 2017
I am a little shocked with how well this one turned out to be. Yeah that sounds so horribly condescending but in my defence I was having a really terrible luck at randomly picking up books.
Fat chance totally blew my socks off. Not literally because you know it's hot now and I don't think my sweaty and smelly feet would be a rage at all. But you get my point right?
The book has got fantastic humour and a really sweet romance. It isn't a romance primarily but whatever little it had, pleased my book loving soul a lot. The author is also amazingly sensitive to the characters' issues and lives. It's always difficult to treat the subject of obesity. I was getting really bored with the books that had nothing to offer other than the embrace your curves slogan. That is fabulous! but that's not all that is there right? Some one might wish to reduce their weight or someone might feel like a slump but decides to control other things in their life and take charge for their own happiness. Life never goes in just one way. And that's how this book goes. It is respectful, funny and reeeeally good.
Fat chance totally blew my socks off. Not literally because you know it's hot now and I don't think my sweaty and smelly feet would be a rage at all. But you get my point right?
The book has got fantastic humour and a really sweet romance. It isn't a romance primarily but whatever little it had, pleased my book loving soul a lot. The author is also amazingly sensitive to the characters' issues and lives. It's always difficult to treat the subject of obesity. I was getting really bored with the books that had nothing to offer other than the embrace your curves slogan. That is fabulous! but that's not all that is there right? Some one might wish to reduce their weight or someone might feel like a slump but decides to control other things in their life and take charge for their own happiness. Life never goes in just one way. And that's how this book goes. It is respectful, funny and reeeeally good.
September 16, 2015
This is a 2.5
I liked the idea of the plot and most of the writing but found the mention of forced sex in a comedy sense offensive. When did it become the norm for that to be funny?
Despite this I will read more books from this author
Thanks goes to net galley and the publishers for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
I liked the idea of the plot and most of the writing but found the mention of forced sex in a comedy sense offensive. When did it become the norm for that to be funny?
Despite this I will read more books from this author
Thanks goes to net galley and the publishers for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
August 21, 2016
Hilarious, laugh-out-loud moments in this novel. And two main characters to care for. Huge fun.
January 6, 2019
Truly awful and fatphobic but part of me was gripped to the plot and I ended up reading it in just two instalments.
July 27, 2020
Fun story about a weight loss challenge. I could completely relate to the M&S changing room scene!
December 6, 2014
Zoe and Greg are an overweight couple who join a radio show weight-loss competition in hopes of getting back down to their college-years' weight and in winning the 50,000 pound (this book is set in the UK) prize. The story is told in the form of diary entries from Zoe and Greg, with each alternating chapters.
I didn't care for this book, but from reading other reviews it appears I could be alone in that. While it was a light story and a pretty easy read, I found the characters and parts of the book way too far-fetched and ridiculous to enjoy, the characters mostly unlikable, the story boring, and the diary tool way overplayed.
First, the whole diary-writing aspect didn't make sense. We're supposed to be reading diary entries that Zoe and Greg have to write for the radio station's blog as part of the weight-loss contest. While they mention a few times that the radio show said they would edit the entries down, Zoe and Greg seem to treat the diaries as personal diaries, not entries that will be read by at least the producers of the radio show, if not thousands or more fans as the entries are edited and posted online. The couple both talk about extremely embarrassing or really personal things that they don't want people to know...yet they're writing about it for the blog.. Hello??! Do you really think they're going to edit all of that out?! Zoe and Greg would basically talk about how they were being exploited for ratings, but then they would share this info in the diary as if it wasn't being given to the people they were complaining about. There was even one really embarrassing story that Zoe is upset she has to share on the radio, so she doesn't share the full, super embarrassing story. But then she recounts that whole story for the diary that is going to be given to the producers of the radio show she is mad at for exploiting her for ratings.
I found Zoe especially to be unlikable, and part of it may have been because I didn't find her voice too believable as a female. The male author of this book came through in Zoe, as her entries painfully reminded me that they were actually written by a man. I also thought Zoe was pretty rude, and she said/wrote a lot of really mean things about other people. She seemed to hate on everyone, especially people who were just trying to be nice and encourage or cheer them on. She was friends with Elise, one of the lead DJs, but had to keep it under wraps during the contest (and of course she spills this detail numerous times in the diary, along with various personal secrets of Elise's). There is some friction in the book between Elise and Zoe as Elise will put Zoe on the spot during radio interviews if an interview with another contestant is going south, or Elise will lead Zoe in a direction Zoe doesn't want the conversation to go to. Zoe is understandably upset, but rather than just keep her mouth shut and decline to comment or discuss things she doesn't want to talk about on the radio, Zoe will talk about it and then complain afterward in the diary about how it's Elise's fault. I hate people who try to blame other people for things that they were in full control of. If Zoe didn't want to talk about something, she didn't have to. But instead she talks and then is extremely rude and mean to Elise, including purposefully sharing information about Elise on the radio or in the diary, and saying inappropriate things on-air that will get Elise in trouble or the radio show fined.
While this weight-lost contest seemed like it was supposed to be like The Biggest Loser but on radio, it wasn't at all believable. The main issue for me was that there weren't any doctors overseeing this extreme weight loss challenge to ensure the contestants' safety. No one was helping contestants come up with an exercise or diet plan, and there seemed to be no one monitoring things to ensure contestants were exercising, dieting, and losing weight in a healthy way that would prevent injury or real harm. Seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen, and in the real world, there would be people on staff to oversee all of that.
Another really frustrating thing was the timeline in the book, as it didn't make sense and was full of inconsistencies. They started in March and ended at the end of August. In one diary entry Zoe says they're a week away from their first weigh-in, but then the date of the diary entry detailing their first weigh-in is 2 weeks later. When they finally do have the first weigh-in, it isn't until sometime in mid-April, but then it mentions there are 9 total weigh-ins... So they waited a month and a half for the first weigh-in, then they plan to squeeze 8 more weigh-ins in over the next 4 months.. But then they only have monthly weigh-ins... Basically, there are inconsistencies all around. It was so hard to follow and keep track of what was happening and when because the timeline kept changing.
Then there were just some super far fetched scenes. Greg takes 3 ibuprofen, and then starts acting drunk. That does not happen on ibuprofen and is just ridiculous. Then at another point, Greg blames blisters on some generic shoes, and not the fact that he went on a long-distance run in brand new shoes that weren't broken in at all.
I don't mean to rag on the book, but it just really frustrated and annoyed me. However, if you look can past the unrealistic story and find the characters likable, and if the premise sounds entertaining, then it's not bad. I've read worse.
I didn't care for this book, but from reading other reviews it appears I could be alone in that. While it was a light story and a pretty easy read, I found the characters and parts of the book way too far-fetched and ridiculous to enjoy, the characters mostly unlikable, the story boring, and the diary tool way overplayed.
First, the whole diary-writing aspect didn't make sense. We're supposed to be reading diary entries that Zoe and Greg have to write for the radio station's blog as part of the weight-loss contest. While they mention a few times that the radio show said they would edit the entries down, Zoe and Greg seem to treat the diaries as personal diaries, not entries that will be read by at least the producers of the radio show, if not thousands or more fans as the entries are edited and posted online. The couple both talk about extremely embarrassing or really personal things that they don't want people to know...yet they're writing about it for the blog.. Hello??! Do you really think they're going to edit all of that out?! Zoe and Greg would basically talk about how they were being exploited for ratings, but then they would share this info in the diary as if it wasn't being given to the people they were complaining about. There was even one really embarrassing story that Zoe is upset she has to share on the radio, so she doesn't share the full, super embarrassing story. But then she recounts that whole story for the diary that is going to be given to the producers of the radio show she is mad at for exploiting her for ratings.
I found Zoe especially to be unlikable, and part of it may have been because I didn't find her voice too believable as a female. The male author of this book came through in Zoe, as her entries painfully reminded me that they were actually written by a man. I also thought Zoe was pretty rude, and she said/wrote a lot of really mean things about other people. She seemed to hate on everyone, especially people who were just trying to be nice and encourage or cheer them on. She was friends with Elise, one of the lead DJs, but had to keep it under wraps during the contest (and of course she spills this detail numerous times in the diary, along with various personal secrets of Elise's). There is some friction in the book between Elise and Zoe as Elise will put Zoe on the spot during radio interviews if an interview with another contestant is going south, or Elise will lead Zoe in a direction Zoe doesn't want the conversation to go to. Zoe is understandably upset, but rather than just keep her mouth shut and decline to comment or discuss things she doesn't want to talk about on the radio, Zoe will talk about it and then complain afterward in the diary about how it's Elise's fault. I hate people who try to blame other people for things that they were in full control of. If Zoe didn't want to talk about something, she didn't have to. But instead she talks and then is extremely rude and mean to Elise, including purposefully sharing information about Elise on the radio or in the diary, and saying inappropriate things on-air that will get Elise in trouble or the radio show fined.
While this weight-lost contest seemed like it was supposed to be like The Biggest Loser but on radio, it wasn't at all believable. The main issue for me was that there weren't any doctors overseeing this extreme weight loss challenge to ensure the contestants' safety. No one was helping contestants come up with an exercise or diet plan, and there seemed to be no one monitoring things to ensure contestants were exercising, dieting, and losing weight in a healthy way that would prevent injury or real harm. Seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen, and in the real world, there would be people on staff to oversee all of that.
Another really frustrating thing was the timeline in the book, as it didn't make sense and was full of inconsistencies. They started in March and ended at the end of August. In one diary entry Zoe says they're a week away from their first weigh-in, but then the date of the diary entry detailing their first weigh-in is 2 weeks later. When they finally do have the first weigh-in, it isn't until sometime in mid-April, but then it mentions there are 9 total weigh-ins... So they waited a month and a half for the first weigh-in, then they plan to squeeze 8 more weigh-ins in over the next 4 months.. But then they only have monthly weigh-ins... Basically, there are inconsistencies all around. It was so hard to follow and keep track of what was happening and when because the timeline kept changing.
Then there were just some super far fetched scenes. Greg takes 3 ibuprofen, and then starts acting drunk. That does not happen on ibuprofen and is just ridiculous. Then at another point, Greg blames blisters on some generic shoes, and not the fact that he went on a long-distance run in brand new shoes that weren't broken in at all.
I don't mean to rag on the book, but it just really frustrated and annoyed me. However, if you look can past the unrealistic story and find the characters likable, and if the premise sounds entertaining, then it's not bad. I've read worse.
October 10, 2014
Last year I read the first of Nick Spalding's "Love" series, Love From Both Sides and I thought it was HILARIOUS. Seriously, seriously, proper funny with one of the most gross out scenes in a book I have ever read (and which, remembering it now, even beats out Greg's foot blisters in this book, yuck and yuckier). So I was really chuffed to see he had a new book due out called Fat Chance, and even happier when I spotted it on Netgalley during August. I downloaded it immediately, loving the blingy-looking cover and the synopsis, and I couldn't wait to get stuck in, and this novel proves that Nick really is one of the funniest writers around.
As I said in my My Week In Books post, I myself am currently dieting. At the time of writing my review (last few days of August) I've lost nearly 5 kilos in the same amount of weeks, so I'm quite interested in books about weight loss, especially true-to-life ones, which show that weight loss is bloody hard. And while Fat Chance does show that losing weight is hard, Zoe and Greg both complain about it massively, I probably would have preferred to have SEEN their weight loss. The diary format is somewhat restrictive of the novel, meaning we hear second-hand tales of their dieting disasters and achievements because it's all being recounted from their memory (even if it is the same day it happened). I'd have preferred a looser storytelling method, especially as there were other couples in the contest to win £50k if they lost the most weight, I would have liked to have seen how the other couples got on, as well as Zoe and Greg.
I must also confess that some of the diary entries were a bit too dry for me. Towards the end, Greg writes an entry on exercise and Zoe does one on diets, and they sounded like the kind of handbooks you get down the Doctor's (excepting Greg's naked exercising plan, which was hilarious). They sounded a teensy bit robotic, which was a shame, but it was only in those last few anecdotes from their dieting diaries. For the most part I loved Greg and Zoe. They're my kinda couple, who love their junk food (sigh, I miss junk food) and just like Zoe, I dread buying clothes, or trying clothes on, because I just know it'll make me sad (although I've never been stuck in a dress before, phew!). The novel really did give me the giggles a few times, even if it was a bit farcical, but who doesn't love a bit of farce? It was fun.
I really, really enjoyed Fat Chance. As a fellow dieter, I could sympathise with Greg and Zoe, and I know what they're going through - it's painful, and hard, and even worse when thousands of people are hearing all about it (although I'd probably enjoy dieting more with a £50k carrot dangling in front of me), making it worth all the shame and embarrassment. The novel made me laugh, as I've come to expect from Nick Spalding, and I just thought it was a spot-on account of dieting. I am also the proud owner of a treadmill, but I will certainly NOT be partaking in nude treadmilling, honestly Greg. A warm and witty novel, I look forward to what Spalding does next, that's for sure.This review was originally posted on Girls Love To Read
As I said in my My Week In Books post, I myself am currently dieting. At the time of writing my review (last few days of August) I've lost nearly 5 kilos in the same amount of weeks, so I'm quite interested in books about weight loss, especially true-to-life ones, which show that weight loss is bloody hard. And while Fat Chance does show that losing weight is hard, Zoe and Greg both complain about it massively, I probably would have preferred to have SEEN their weight loss. The diary format is somewhat restrictive of the novel, meaning we hear second-hand tales of their dieting disasters and achievements because it's all being recounted from their memory (even if it is the same day it happened). I'd have preferred a looser storytelling method, especially as there were other couples in the contest to win £50k if they lost the most weight, I would have liked to have seen how the other couples got on, as well as Zoe and Greg.
I must also confess that some of the diary entries were a bit too dry for me. Towards the end, Greg writes an entry on exercise and Zoe does one on diets, and they sounded like the kind of handbooks you get down the Doctor's (excepting Greg's naked exercising plan, which was hilarious). They sounded a teensy bit robotic, which was a shame, but it was only in those last few anecdotes from their dieting diaries. For the most part I loved Greg and Zoe. They're my kinda couple, who love their junk food (sigh, I miss junk food) and just like Zoe, I dread buying clothes, or trying clothes on, because I just know it'll make me sad (although I've never been stuck in a dress before, phew!). The novel really did give me the giggles a few times, even if it was a bit farcical, but who doesn't love a bit of farce? It was fun.
I really, really enjoyed Fat Chance. As a fellow dieter, I could sympathise with Greg and Zoe, and I know what they're going through - it's painful, and hard, and even worse when thousands of people are hearing all about it (although I'd probably enjoy dieting more with a £50k carrot dangling in front of me), making it worth all the shame and embarrassment. The novel made me laugh, as I've come to expect from Nick Spalding, and I just thought it was a spot-on account of dieting. I am also the proud owner of a treadmill, but I will certainly NOT be partaking in nude treadmilling, honestly Greg. A warm and witty novel, I look forward to what Spalding does next, that's for sure.This review was originally posted on Girls Love To Read
October 29, 2014
Okay, to start with, I have NEVER laughed so hard in my life as I did through the first 71 pages of Fat Chance. Nick Spalding started this book with an overweight couple entered into a radio weight loss contest, and ran with it. Man, I have to say that by the time the book got a little more serious (about page 125) Hubs was going to have me institutionalized due to the fits of spontaneous giggles which erupted quite frequently!
Zoe and Greg are a middle aged, typical couple who have packed on more than their fair share of pounds throughout their 18 year marriage. Greg now enjoys watching rugby a LOT more than playing it. Zoe has a small nervous breakdown attempting to squeeze into "the perfect dress" at a local Marks and Spence. That particular story was meant to highlight how far Zoe has gone from the lithe young lass she once was, but Spalding interjected enough humor that tears were streaming down my face. Hubs was reaching for the straight jacket...
Zoe's best friend and local on-air talent for the radio station they work at talks her into the station's six month Fat Chance contest. Six couples have six months to show the greatest percentage of body weight lost. The winning prize is 50,000.00 pounds. To us Americans, that is about $80,000.00 converted. Yum!
We are taken through Zoe and Greg's competition trials and tribulations through the diary entries they are each required to keep as part of the competition. Zoe starts at 14 stone, 7 pounds American 203 lbs. and Greg starts at 20 stone, 2 pounds American 282 lbs. Their first entries describe why they entered and what has brought them to the point they're at in the narrative. I'll admit, both of their stories resonated strongly with me as a "just hit 40, no I'm not going to tell you how many pounds I am" woman who has eaten more than her fair share of Double Stuff Oreos. Both characters were heart-felt and even with the weight gain, both were extremely in love with each other.
Highlights throughout the book are Greg's misfortune with plastic outdoor furniture, Zoe's farty cabbage diet, and Greg's pursuit of the world's greatest fitness equipment. I giggled and sometimes wailed my way through the entire book. Frighteningly enough, I even own a couple of the pieces of gym equipment Greg writes about. I concur with his assessments of them.
I'm not going to spoil the end, other than to say Spalding delivered a better-than-happy ending to this story. If I could give it more than five stars, I surely would.
Thank you to Goodreads and Nick Spalding for allowing me to read this book through the Goodreads Giveaway program. I haven't enjoyed a book this much in a long time.
Zoe and Greg are a middle aged, typical couple who have packed on more than their fair share of pounds throughout their 18 year marriage. Greg now enjoys watching rugby a LOT more than playing it. Zoe has a small nervous breakdown attempting to squeeze into "the perfect dress" at a local Marks and Spence. That particular story was meant to highlight how far Zoe has gone from the lithe young lass she once was, but Spalding interjected enough humor that tears were streaming down my face. Hubs was reaching for the straight jacket...
Zoe's best friend and local on-air talent for the radio station they work at talks her into the station's six month Fat Chance contest. Six couples have six months to show the greatest percentage of body weight lost. The winning prize is 50,000.00 pounds. To us Americans, that is about $80,000.00 converted. Yum!
We are taken through Zoe and Greg's competition trials and tribulations through the diary entries they are each required to keep as part of the competition. Zoe starts at 14 stone, 7 pounds American 203 lbs. and Greg starts at 20 stone, 2 pounds American 282 lbs. Their first entries describe why they entered and what has brought them to the point they're at in the narrative. I'll admit, both of their stories resonated strongly with me as a "just hit 40, no I'm not going to tell you how many pounds I am" woman who has eaten more than her fair share of Double Stuff Oreos. Both characters were heart-felt and even with the weight gain, both were extremely in love with each other.
Highlights throughout the book are Greg's misfortune with plastic outdoor furniture, Zoe's farty cabbage diet, and Greg's pursuit of the world's greatest fitness equipment. I giggled and sometimes wailed my way through the entire book. Frighteningly enough, I even own a couple of the pieces of gym equipment Greg writes about. I concur with his assessments of them.
I'm not going to spoil the end, other than to say Spalding delivered a better-than-happy ending to this story. If I could give it more than five stars, I surely would.
Thank you to Goodreads and Nick Spalding for allowing me to read this book through the Goodreads Giveaway program. I haven't enjoyed a book this much in a long time.
October 4, 2014
I absolutely loved this book! Zoe and Greg are taking part in a six month long reality radio show called Fat Chance where six overweight couples compete to lose weight with a prize of £50,000 to the couple that loses the most. The story is told by the diaries that Zoe and Greg complete for the radio station over the six months and alternates between each one.
I really liked Zoe and Greg. They are a normal every day couple, albeit one that uses the F word a lot, and very easy to like. We all know a couple like them, or could even be them. We follow them as they battle with diets and exercise, watching them cope with their new found local fame as the competition grabs the imagination of the radio station listeners. Both diaries really flow well and feel very natural with both of them “telling it how it is”. Sometimes you ache for them as they battle against low self image but both have a very witty sense of humour which just made me giggle so many times throughout the read. The one thing that does shine through all of it though is their love for each other. Greg would do anything for Zoe.
It is a really fun, entertaining read that can be a little farcical sometimes and which made me chortle quite a few times over the one liners. As the couple near the end of the competition, there are chapters from each of them which reflect over their time in the competition. Greg puts down his feelings about the expensive exercise equipment and regimes he has followed and Zoe writes about the various diets she tried. Each of them get serious here and talk a lot of sense, without losing their sense of humour. I would say that if you were trying to lose weight, and even if you hated the rest of the book, just these two chapters alone would be worth reading as they really put the whole thing into perspective. I may be only a couple of pounds over my ideal weight, but I even found myself dusting over the cross trainer and considering that it could be more useful than just something to hang my dressing gown on!
As for the ending – well that was just sublime. The perfect way to end this read. Many thanks to the publishers for the review copy.
I really liked Zoe and Greg. They are a normal every day couple, albeit one that uses the F word a lot, and very easy to like. We all know a couple like them, or could even be them. We follow them as they battle with diets and exercise, watching them cope with their new found local fame as the competition grabs the imagination of the radio station listeners. Both diaries really flow well and feel very natural with both of them “telling it how it is”. Sometimes you ache for them as they battle against low self image but both have a very witty sense of humour which just made me giggle so many times throughout the read. The one thing that does shine through all of it though is their love for each other. Greg would do anything for Zoe.
It is a really fun, entertaining read that can be a little farcical sometimes and which made me chortle quite a few times over the one liners. As the couple near the end of the competition, there are chapters from each of them which reflect over their time in the competition. Greg puts down his feelings about the expensive exercise equipment and regimes he has followed and Zoe writes about the various diets she tried. Each of them get serious here and talk a lot of sense, without losing their sense of humour. I would say that if you were trying to lose weight, and even if you hated the rest of the book, just these two chapters alone would be worth reading as they really put the whole thing into perspective. I may be only a couple of pounds over my ideal weight, but I even found myself dusting over the cross trainer and considering that it could be more useful than just something to hang my dressing gown on!
As for the ending – well that was just sublime. The perfect way to end this read. Many thanks to the publishers for the review copy.
November 4, 2017
I was already ignoring the liberal sprinkling of the f-word and the very crude description of Zoe and Greg in a cupboard, but I don't and won't ignore the misuse of the "retarded". More review later when I've simmered down.
Here’s my review from Amazon (added to GR on 4.11.17): So, Fat Chance...
It's not just the use of the word "retarded" (of which more later) I didn't like, to be fair. The second page made crude reference to the main couple having sex in a cupboard at school, and it's liberally sprinkled with the f-word, some people won't mind that, and I try not to judge a story too much in the language used if I think it's promising enough. The concept of an overweight couple going on a weightloss competition on a radio show, the promised humour (there were some funny bits) and wanting to know what happens were enough to keep me going for a time.
I've stopped now though. Zoe and Greg have to take part in a spinning challenge as part of the competition, and when they get to the gym there are massive and unflattering posters of all the contestants. Zoe describes herself as looking like a horse, then says Greg "doesn't come off much better" because his smile makes him look "slightly retarded". The obvious comparison here is retarded=unattractive. It's clearly escaped the author's notice that "retarded" is no longer considered acceptable due to its highly pejorative connotations - it's a word that is never used positively when describing a person, with or without an intellectual disability, and its negative stereotyping and association damages the way people see people with an intellectual disability. Check out [...] for more on this.
Here’s my review from Amazon (added to GR on 4.11.17): So, Fat Chance...
It's not just the use of the word "retarded" (of which more later) I didn't like, to be fair. The second page made crude reference to the main couple having sex in a cupboard at school, and it's liberally sprinkled with the f-word, some people won't mind that, and I try not to judge a story too much in the language used if I think it's promising enough. The concept of an overweight couple going on a weightloss competition on a radio show, the promised humour (there were some funny bits) and wanting to know what happens were enough to keep me going for a time.
I've stopped now though. Zoe and Greg have to take part in a spinning challenge as part of the competition, and when they get to the gym there are massive and unflattering posters of all the contestants. Zoe describes herself as looking like a horse, then says Greg "doesn't come off much better" because his smile makes him look "slightly retarded". The obvious comparison here is retarded=unattractive. It's clearly escaped the author's notice that "retarded" is no longer considered acceptable due to its highly pejorative connotations - it's a word that is never used positively when describing a person, with or without an intellectual disability, and its negative stereotyping and association damages the way people see people with an intellectual disability. Check out [...] for more on this.
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