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Milk Fed

Melissa Broder

2021 · 304 pages · Contemporary fiction

funny moodmoderate paceheavy and literary tonebittersweet ending

How it reads

Milk Fed is contemporary fiction (literary coming-of-age fiction, specifically), and its dominant mood is funny. The humour is the point, not garnish. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.

It's set in a big city setting, in the present day, told in the first person by a single narrator. Its central concerns are identity, coming of age and love. In weight it's heavy and literary — denser, more serious, and more demanding of you.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending is bittersweet: it resolves, but at a price. At 304 pages it's a quick read. It's moderately known: read by plenty of people, but not a household name.

Pick it up if…

  • you're in the mood for something funny
  • you want something to chew on
  • you want a complete story in one book

Maybe not if…

  • you need something melancholy, dark or tense

All 15 dimensions

Author gender
female
Author experience
established
Setting: place
big city
Setting: time
contemporary
Mood / feeling
funny
Pace
moderate
Tone / weight
heavy and literary
Length
medium
Narrative style
first person, one narrator
Publication era
recent
Popularity
moderately known
Series vs standalone
standalone
Themes
identity, coming of age, love
Ending style
bittersweet

What these mean: the 15 dimensions of a book.

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