Louder than Huner by John Schu is an internal dialogue of a teenage boy as he battles with low self-esteem and an eating disorder. Semi-autobiographical, the novel is written in an authentic voice, that conveys the misery and pain of a teenager desperately hurting.
What Is Louder Than Hunger?
Louder than Hunger is an important book. I wanted to read it, as during my life, I’ve had a complicated relationship with food and suffer with poor body image. Having read Louder than Hunger, I am now aware of how much worse it could be.
The book follows Jake and his journey combating depression and anorexia nervosa. It’s written in the manner of a diary, cataloging Jake’s internal monologue as he moves towards recovery. It also highlights the attacks from Jakes’s internal voice; one that constantly calls him “fat” and tells him not to eat, to exercise, to “Shut Your Mouth.”
Jake’s journey is difficult. The direction of travel is not always one way. While his plight, at times, makes for a difficult read, the novel’s message is a hopeful one. The author John Schu, upon whom Jake is based, is still with us, enjoys life, and creates excellent pieces of art such as Louder Than Hunger. He and his book are proof there is a life to be lived and that escape is possible, even from the darkest places.
Why Read Louder Than Hunger?
As someone who has not suffered from an eating disorder, I had no idea how all-encompassing and debilitating they can be. Louder Than Hunger goes some way to clearing up the misconceptions and revealing the reality of living with anorexia. It helps explain the unexplainable to general readers, while offering help and hope to those fighting similar battles.
Louder than Hunger examines how Jake’s illness manifested and how began to control him. It demystifies some of the techniques used to help Jake recover. Most importantly it offers hope and a shared experience, from one sufferer to another. I imagine this book will be of great value to anybody in Jake’s, or his friend’s and family’s, position.
The internal monologue style is very engaging. While it is a thick book, it is written in a flowing swirling structure often with a few words to a page. It’s a prose poem with sentences that sweep all over the page using a whole manner of fonts and typesetting. The book is engaging and simple to read; probably essential attributes for a book aiming to help somebody who feels crushed by their own existence.
As therapy, I can’t comment on the effectiveness of the book, but as a parent of teenagers, who worries about their wellbeing, I found the book a little bit scary, but also comforting. An important read, to help learn what some of my children’s peers might be going through. To help us recognize the signs of an unhealthy relationship with food. Louder than Hunger is a book parents and teenagers should read and a book that all school libraries should carry.
If you would like to pick up a copy of Louder Then Hunger, you can do so here, in the US, and here, in the UK. (Affiliate Links)
If you enjoyed this review, check out my other book reviews, here.
I received a copy of this book in order to write this review.
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