How can one describe The Girls at 17 Swann Street? Well for me, it’s easy and one word-WOW!
I will say before going into my review of this amazing book, that there are some trigger warnings that should be heeded. They are the following: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, and suicide. These warnings are needed because they cover the theme of the book, and thus are quite prevalent throughout.
I read this book in a matter of 4 days, I do not normally read books that quickly, but this one just flows and left me wanting to know more. The version of the book I read had 370 pages and includes 10 reading group questions. One of those I will use to hopefully explain why I gave this book a 5-star review on Goodreads.
But first, my honest opinion/reaction to the book.
When I picked the book up I knew that it covered a heavy topic and one that I knew very little about. Sure I have heard of anorexia and bulimia, who hasn’t? Other than basic knowledge, I knew nothing about these disorders. The book is written in an informative manner, without feeling preachy. There is some dialogue, but you do not get bogged down by a lot of it. Nor do you get bogged down by excess details setting the scene, though the descriptions of both the house and the room Anna stays in are quite thorough.
The book is around 370 pages in length and actually contains 91 chapters. But those chapters are extremely short, many are under 4 pages in length. Which helps with the flow and speed with which you can read the book.
The only issue I had along the way was with some of the French/ballet terms as they are completely foreign to me.
I feel as though this is a book that should be read by more people.
Now on to my answer to one of the reading group questions posed at the end of the book: Society has only recently begun to speak out about mental illness. Why are books like The Girls at 17 Swann Street important?
I personally believe books like The Girls at 17 Swann Street are important because they are both informative and entertaining. All books should be entertaining, but to have one that also educates the reader along the way is even better. Not every book I read is one that educates me, or at least not about such hard-hitting topics, but if the information was presented to me in any other manner I may not have found it as impactful.
I have had body image issues the majority of my life, but I never took it to the extremes mentioned in the book. Had I considered, yes but only very briefly. Knowing that there are books like this one out there and available to the general public is fantastic. Are books with characters dealing with a variety of mental and physical disorders important? Of course, they are! Don’t we all wish to see ourselves presented in books, movies, television? And having that representation helps to make it easier to talk about difficult topics, especially mental health.