Olivie Blake is getting better and better. I already love her books, like Alone With You in the Ether and Gifted & Talented. But Girl Dinner might be the strangest and most hypnotic book she is ever written. I just finished it a few days ago, and I am still trying to figure out how something so strange could have gotten me so hooked.
Summary of the Plot
The story is told from two different points of view, each of which shows an important time in a woman’s life. Nina is a college student who really wants to get into a prestigious sorority. She is willing to change herself in any way necessary to be accepted. Sloane, on the other hand, is a mother and the new faculty advisor to the sorority. She is dealing with the guilt and exhaustion of being a mother while also questioning the life she thought she wanted.
As the story goes on, both women realise that they cannot meet society’s standards without hurting themselves or other people. The sorority rituals, which are based on scary traditions, are the perfect setting for Blake’s search for identity, ambition, and rage. Cannibalism is present, but more as a metaphor than a horror: a darkly funny way to show how women are eaten by the world and how they might fight back.
Topics
TopicsGirl Dinner is really about how angry women get, how they get back at people, and how heavy expectations can be. Blake cleverly compares the restless hunger of youth with the storm of motherhood that changes who you are. She shows how both stages of life require impossible sacrifices. The book also looks at sorority culture and the tradwife lifestyle, mixing social satire with real moments of suspense.
What stood out to me the most was how Blake took familiar feminist ideas and made them new. I have read a lot of books on the subject, but here the ideas felt real, alive, and raw. The book asks hard questions, like “What does it mean to be a ‘good woman’?” Is it possible to eliminate womanhood from the equation? And what happens when we do not want to be eaten quietly?
What Worked
What WorkedThe pacing was steady and well-organised, which let the story’s weirdness build up over time. Both Nina and Sloane had full arcs, and even though the characters were messy and often unlikable, that felt like it was on purpose to show how hard it is to live up to impossible standards.
Blake’s description of sorority rituals was so accurate that it was almost like scripture, and it made the story feel even more real. At first, the cannibalism metaphor was shocking, but it was handled with care. It simmered in the background, never going overboard with horror but instead adding to the satire.
Who Might Like This Book
Readers who expect a campy, bloody sorority horror novel may be surprised by this one. Instead, it is a literary and satirical look at feminism, identity, and rage, with a little bit of horror from sorority girls thrown in. People who like Dark Academia, social commentary, and Blake’s other books will love this one. It has a dark, moody, and thought-provoking quality.
A final word
This year, Girl Dinner is one of the weirdest and most eye-opening books I have read. It is strange in the best way possible: unsettling, funny, and hypnotic. Not everyone who reads the book will agree with the points of view presented, but it does make you think and, more importantly, feel. It was more than just a story for me; it was an experience that I will be thinking about for a long time.
It was great to be included in the #TandemCollective x #PanMacMillanSA readalong for this book. Thank you for including me, it was a wonderful experience!
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