Daily life is pretty dreary for eleven year old Reggie. She's already mastered the art of dumpster diving for scraps of food and being her own parent. Her mother, dangerously close to a full break with sanity, is of little help. Reggie has invented a dream world where she and her best friend, Tough Girl, battle aliens for glory. Life is manageable until new neighbors move in and Reggie's dream world begins to unravel.
Z
ZaftigZaftig:
1. (of a woman) having a pleasantly plump figure.
2. full bodied; well-proportioned
I'm kind of stretching the definition here. Zaftig implies full bodied but Tough Girl takes that a little further. Since Reggie is more or less starving, she sees being heavy as a blessing. She becomes fascinated with her six-hundred pound neighbor even going so far as to break in to take a peak at her naked. The rolls of fat she sees are not grotesque, they excite her. She'd pay anything to be as big as Mrs. Ruiz, to eat as well and as often. She scorns her own skinny body.
This is not a body image problem. Reggie is not judging on the basis of beauty alone. She wants to eat. She is as much obsessed with survival as she is with her neighbor. To Reggie, being as thin as she is is grotesque.
And that is my A - Z challenge.
Doesn't this kinda match the opinion from back in the "olden days"? You know, when they painted all those portraits of naked women who were far from super skinny! Back then, didn't they view voluptuousness as a sign of wealth, because it meant you had plenty to eat?
ReplyDelete(Someone correct me if I'm wrong!)
Is there a male equivalent?
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you found a word like that. Bonus points to you, and well done on tying your story to the alphabet for the entire month. Enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteProof that it's all relative. Congrats on completing the challenge!
ReplyDeleteinteresting word. I wonder if I could use it at scrabble?
ReplyDeleteHA! I love this word! I just saw it on another blog and never heard of it until then. I think it's good not to be too skinny. Gotta find that happy, healthy place! Fabulous getting to know you through the challenge!
ReplyDeleteZaftig is a great word. It was wonderful to learn so much about Reggie & Tough Girl during your AtoZ challenge, Libby. I hope we don't have to wait too long to read it. :)
ReplyDeleteWow--great word choice! I love how you were able to complete the whole challenge with elements of your WIP. Great job--that's SUPER inspiring!
ReplyDeleteGreat "Z" word! I remember fIrst hearing it in a Woody Allen movie. I've enjoyed reading your excerpts from Tough Girl, and I'm so glad we met through A to Z! Julie
ReplyDeleteAwesome word! I believe I'm a bit zaftig myself. Reggie sounds like a fascinating protagonist. Congrats on finishing the Challenge!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on finishing. This was a tough challenge. And I'd never heard of this word before.
ReplyDeleteToday I was sad because I knew there would be no more of Libby's book to read. I've really enjoyed all your excerpts and I look forward to your book.
ReplyDeleteAwww, thanks guys! It was great meeting new people and finally being able to show the novel to the regular visitors!
ReplyDeleteI'd never considered weight from that kind of perspective before. I suppose it's like the old Chinese cultural preference for people who are "zaftig", since it was seen as representing prosperity.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on finishing the A-Z Challenge!
Zaftig sounds better than some of the words we have.
ReplyDeleteI love it! A new way of looking at heaviness and weight. Your book sounds awesome and I've so enjoyed this glimpse into it!
ReplyDeleteReggie really does sounds like an interesting character.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the challenge. Nice finish, good find on that word. I enjoyed hearing about your upcoming book. I can't wait to read the whole thing. Thanks for visiting my blog.
ReplyDeleteI prefer combines plump girl but with the body provided a very thin.
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