What’s Eating Gilbert Grape by Peter Hedges is a 1991 Simon & Schuster publication.

This is one of those books that has now made it into the ‘classics’ category- but I’ve heard more about the movie adaptation than the novel. When I saw the book in the KU program, I decided to check it out on a whim and then, after I read it, I planned on watching the movie -which I found on one of my streaming services.

Well, I must tell you, I didn’t get what everyone else saw in this book. By the time I got to that ghastly conclusion, I knew I’d never watch the movie. I couldn’t get this one in the rearview mirror fast enough- and I’d rather just keep Gilbert Grape as a distant memory instead of tormenting myself with the visual saga of this dysfunctional family on steroids- great acting or no.

Overall, I can’t say the book was a disappointment or letdown because I only read it out of curiosity. That said, I struggled with it from the get-go and was tempted to throw in the towel on numerous occasions. I finished it- but was left scratching my head- wondering what on earth it was about this book that captivated so many people.

I could go into the cons of the story- but I don’t think I’ll spend that much of my time on a book I didn't like. You know it’s bad when I’m willing to take the abuse for my one star review.

1 star ( )

5717. What's Eating Gilbert Grape, by Peter Hedges (read 9 Nov 2020) I read this book because the author was born in Iowa and I tend to read Iowa authors when I learn of them. This 1991 work of fiction tells of a weird family which lives in the fictional town of Endora, Iowa. The mother of the children is a widow (the father hung himself) who eats and has grown from a beauty as a young woman into a grossly fat woman who eats as much as the four children who live with her do combined. Gilbert Grape is the 24-year-old son who is the narrator of the book and works in a grocery store and has an adulterous relationship with a woman who taught him in school. There is a retarded 17-year-old son who is a constant source of grief for the family but much beloved nevertheless. The two oldest children live away from home but support their mother's huge food and smoking life by monthly checks. I could not admire any character in the story and thus was not really taken up by the story. I prefer at least one admirable character in a story. ( )

The eponymous narrator is a young grocery clerk in a dead-end town in Iowa. A member of a dysfunctional family, headed by morbidly obese Momma, who never leaves the house (where the floors are collapsing), and spends her days in a dreamy world of endless TV and junk food. Here too are sad, dutiful elder sister, Amy, precocious teenage Ellen and the lumbering, mentally deficient Arnie. All affected by the suicide of their father, all in thrall to endless calorie-laden food (which punctuates every chapter). Gilbert dreams of escape...
I came to this having never seen the movie. It's an OK read, presumably aimed at the YA reader. And it's a brilliant book top read if, like me, you're trying to diet...the food and Momma will make you follow your regime religiously! Not bad, but not great. ( )

If you like your humor dark and cynical you'll like What's Eating Gilbert Grape. The only book I can begin to compare it to is The Catcher in the Rye because of the main character's (post) teen angst, his aversion to all things superficial and phony, and his insecurity in facing the world of adulthood and independence. Bonus: the most dysfunctional family ever put in print. ( )

5 stars: An exceptionally good book

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From the back cover: Just about everything in Endora, Iowa (pop 1091 and dwindling), is eating Gilbert Grape, a 24 year old grocery store clerk who dreams only of leaving. His enormous mother, once the town sweetheart, has been eating nonstop since her husband's suicide and the floor beneath her is threatening to cave in. Gilbert's long suffering older sister Amy, still mourns the death of Elvis and his knockout younger sister has become hooked on makeup, boys and Jesus. But the biggest even on the horizon for all the Grapes is the 18th birthday of Gilbert's younger brother Arnie, who is a living miracle just for having survived so long. As the Grapes gather in Endora, a mysterious beauty glides through town on a bicycle and rides circles around Gilbert, until he begins to see a new vision of his family and himself. With this wry portrait of small town Iowa, the inspiration for the acclaimed feature film starring Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio, Peter Hedges creates a classic novel "charged with sardonic intelligence".

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I read this book over a year and a half ago and have been holding it to give it a review that is worthy of it. I'm giving up; I would need to retype the entire book. Suffice to say, it is much better than the (still very fine) movie. It is much more rich and nuanced. The girl, Becky (I think, its been awhile!) is only a minor character. She is merely a catalyst for some things which Gilbert thinks and does. This book reminded me of some things I experienced in my time in a small town (including my first kiss) and the poignancy of feeling as if you are trapped.

Also, (SPOILER ALERT).... the take home message for me is that while people will try to do the best they can, sometimes they don't, and it doesn't make them bad people. Throughout the book, Gilbert repeats many times "nobody hits Arnie". Well, guess who loses his temper, and does just that...after which Arnie runs away while Gilbert beats himself up thoroughly. I found that reaction, that sense of frustration, to be very real.

"You're the only one, Gilbert, who defies a kind of definition or comprehension. I mean, one doesn't know what you want. You don't travel, you don't read, you don't expand yourself. I arrange for you to fly to Chicago, but you won't get on a plane. You play it safe in all thngs and I've never known if it's because you're scared or if it's because you're lazy. Of course, I love you and don't in any way mean to hurt you. You need to examine your life on a deeper, more honest level. Quite simply--you don't know what you want and it shows. You're a scared little boy."

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the book is that it ends, without saying what happens to Gilbert. You can interpret it in a multitude of ways. ( )