Obesity is so frequently hailed as a ‘problem’ and a ‘disaster for the country’ in the newspapers nowadays that it is no surprise that we assume that every overweight person is just one more statistic whose life will be cut short because their heart will give out by the time they are 20, and in the short years they are alive they will be so miserably unhappy that they will do nothing but console themselves with excessive amounts of food. As many of you who read my various blogs will know, I am not a particular fan of newspapers or the mainstream media in general, and I do look at these kind of claims with a healthy dose of skepticism, but it is quite rare to come across an opposing view.

But an opposing view is what Kandy Siahaya is seeking to put forward in this little book. Kandy is one of the people that the newspapers like to call ‘morbidly obese’ (a particularly unpleasant label, if you want my opinion) but not only is she fine with it, she also has a sense of humour and the ability to laugh about it. Her introductory warning is that this book might cause offence if you are sensitive about people joking about fat, weight or weight gain. She suggests that if this describes you, you probably ought to put the book down. I smiled at that, and anticipated more humour.

I applaud Kandy for settling down to write this book. I could tell that it was a labour of love for her, and I could tell that she was very happy to make people think about their own preconceptions. I am one of the ‘thin people’ that she knows will read the book, but even so I have had my share of weight related angst and diet experience so I could still relate to what she said. Being overweight is very much relative in my opinion. Medicine must place people into categories as it is the only way it can successfully manage an enormous population, but no one really fits perfectly into the category within which we are supposed to fall. Fat and healthy and happy to me seems a far better option than thin and ill and unhappy and Kandy worked hard to reinforce that fact.

My criticism of the book comes from the fact that I felt it didn’t have enough structure to it. Each chapter was interesting in and of itself, but I felt there could have been more of a natural path – a beginning, middle and end. I also wanted to know more – I wanted to hear more of the author’s experiences, and discover more that she had learnt throughout her life. I felt when I had finished that I had really only just scratched the surface, there wasn’t quite enough substance and not quite as much humour as I would have hoped. There were also a few editing issues that I picked up, but then (as many of you also know about me) I am a bit of a pedant when it comes to grammar and punctuation.

Overall this was an enjoyable and quick little read, touching on a subject in a light-hearted way which many people would shy away from as being politically incorrect or potentially offensive. Food is without doubt one of the greatest pleasures in life and everyone should be allowed to enjoy it without scorn of their fellow man. The fact that we come in different shapes and sizes cannot be taken as a blanket indicator of whether we are a good or bad person with self control or no self control. Making Light of Being Heavy is a step towards confirming that.

Publisher: Self-Published
ISBN: 978-1-4276-3954-7
Date: 2006
Date Finished: 2 May 2009
Pages: 90