Decadence. Panache. (Or ganache in the case of some of these novels!) These indulgent stories by women writers are a delicious reminder that sometimes, more is more. 

These three books for Pi Day will have you kicking counting calories to the curb, and they might even change your perspective on your body, diet culture, and gendered connotations surrounding food and eating. These novels have their cake and eat it too … or their pie that is.

 

“A Certain Hunger” by Chelsea G. Summers

Ex-food writer and current convict Dorothy Daniels would write a less-than-appreciative review of the food at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, if only someone would ask. Dorothy is a woman with a refined palette, particular appetite and wit — not to mention disdain for those around her. 

One cup grotesque and two tablespoons outrageous, Dorothy painstakingly relays her story from farm-to-table origins to her eventual bust.

With chapters named for Dorothy’s favorite dishes (including recipes made with cuts from her many lovers), the novel’s strength is the keenness of the narrator, who is equal parts pretentious foodie, sexually-ravenous cannibal, and celebrity criminal. 

“A Certain Hunger” satirizes psychopaths and serial killers. The novel reimagines gender through its appropriation of characteristics more frequently attributed to men, especially criminals and deviants. Dorothy is a self-proclaimed “woman psychopath, the white tiger of human psychological deviance,” and she’s hilarious.

What elevates “A Certain Hunger” from campy horror-satire to satire with a dash of really clever cultural commentary is Summer’s subtle irony and smart humor, the insight she proffers into the male-dominated world of high culinary arts through Dorothy’s nose-in-the-air narration and comfort in the kitchen.

It’s about female appetite, both in the kitchen and in the bedroom, and leaves readers wondering what stops them from fulfilling their own certain hunger.

 

“Milk Fed” by Melissa Broder

Miriam keeps over pouring Rachel’s yogurt.

There are two frozen yogurt spots near the talent agency where Rachel works in L.A., Yogurt World and Yo!Good. 

Yo!Good has low-calorie options, making it the obvious choice for Rachel’s obsessive calorie-counting lifestyle. But Yo!Good isn’t self-serve, what a conundrum! 

Then the regular yogurt boy at Yo!Good is gone, and in his place is a gorgeous, voluptuous, giggly, bi-curious Orthodox Jewish woman named Miriam whose attitudes about food will be liberating for Rachel.

Rachel heals her relationship with food while Miriam heals her relationship with sex and sexuality. The surreal experience of reading this book is grounded by the gollum, the fat clay figure Rachel’s therapist has her make to deal with her body insecurities right before Miriam arrives.

It’s a modern, dairy-soaked romance about beauty standards and food. It’s a fun, queer take on diet culture and it’s also just super sexy and tasty. It’s like yogurt and sprinkles.

There’s an abundance of milk and mommies and therapy and wet dreams, but don’t let that deter you.

“Milk Fed” makes you feel good again, and reminds you that you can have, and eat, the things you want. 

It’s a big, delicious, mommylicious romp.

 

“Happy Hour” by Marlowe Granados

If you’re more in the mood for drinks over snacks, give “Happy Hour” a taste. 

Isa and Gala are 21 and surviving on hot dogs from the bodega and the proceeds from the vintage clothing stall they rent at an artist market in Brooklyn. 

Luckily, they are very charming and find themselves out most nights drinking and socializing for free with a variety of friends and dates.

Everyone in New York is obsessed with grinding. They keep asking Isa and Gala what they are trying to accomplish this summer.

Isa and Gala are not trying to accomplish anything. They are accomplishing by enjoying their lives and having experiences and getting people to buy them free oysters and cocktails. Only the girl they are renting the room from at the hostel is overcharging them, so they’re going to have to hunt her down on the beach. 

“Happy Hour” by Marlowe Granados is a wonderful coming-of-age novel for a new era of twenty-somethings. It manages to be intelligent and laugh-out-loud funny as it takes the reader on a boozy New York adventure through a summer with two wild best friends. 

Although there are countless parties and 5 a.m. nights, readers will spend “Happy Hour” thinking Isa and Gala are anything but vapid. Isa is an enchanting narrator and her beer-bottle-wielding best friend is hypnotic.

Readers will wish they had never read “Happy Hour” just so they can read it again for the first time. It’s that kind of book, the kind readers fall in love with and feel part of, like they’re there with Isa and Gala during that transient, passing summer.