Revenge of the Paste Eaters: Memoirs of a Misfit | 
| Author: Cheryl Peck
Publisher: 5 Spot
Category: Book
List Price: $13.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 302639
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 1
ISBN: 0446693731
Dewey Decimal Number: 306.766300973
EAN: 9780446693738
ASIN: 0446693731
Publication Date: October 20, 2005
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Product Description
DESCRIPTION: A collection of stories for anyone who shuddered at the idea of senior prom, REVENGE OF THE PASTE EATERS is about the way the experiences of childhood stay with us and shape us into adults. Cheryl Peck applies her signature wit to more personal stories and reflections--about hurting people and getting hurt, about discovering who you are and who you want to be, about feeling "not good enough," and about being bigger--physically and mentally--than many of the people surrounding you. This is a wickedly funny view of what it's like to be a middle-aged woman in middle-America, and what really happened to the kids who were different.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
 Hilarious! October 10, 2007
Cheryl Peck's used to getting the short stick - she grew up overweight, unpopular and the eldest of five children (her parents' "test child," as she dubs it).
This collection of short essays -- vignettes, if you will -- take readers from Peck's childhood memories to adulthood, working in Social Services and spending time with her Beloved and her adored narcissistic cat Babycakes. (Several stories, in fact, are told in Babycakes' viewpoint.) Peck especially focuses upon growing up as one of three stairstep girls (she refers to youngest sister as the Wee One and the middle sister as the UnWee), and relates a number of opinions and experiences from her lesbian viewpoint.
Peck is a talented storyteller, and it's hard not to relate to her! Give this collection a try, and you're bound to laugh, ponder life and go through a gamut of other emotions, all at the same time.
A Fun, Easy Read... April 6, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The book is organized into essays that read like really well-written blog posts. The author is lots of fun, and some of the stories she offers are both poignant and hilarious. Some of it can be a bit repetitive, but not so much as to annoy. If you're looking for some light reading and you're fairly openminded, you should definitely go for this one.
When a sequel is actually better March 12, 2006
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Overall, I liked this collection better than the first one. That having been said, I'd recommend reading "Fat Girls" first to become acquainted with the author's family. My favorite here was the transgender piece.
 Witty and Insightful March 7, 2006
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Revenge of the Paste Eaters is a collection of witty, insightful and heartwarming essays about the author's life. Cheryl Peck pokes fun at herself, her family, her Midwestern upbringing, her insecurities and even her cat, but there is no malice in her words, and some of us can relate to the topics she chooses.
In "a gathering of porcupines," she tells us how her family communicates: "...writing always includes the ability to edit or erase before the final result is visible to the world...talking is a matter of just throwing yourself out there as you come, naked and unpolished, trusting your soul to the whims of the gods. The world is full of people who are entirely comfortable doing that. None of these people are related to me." The essay, "the epidemic" hit home for me as a Midwesterner as she defines one: "... my people live by three simple rules: work hard, wait for your turn, if you feel a need to talk about something, go plow a field until the need passes."
The collection of essays is a quick and lively read; most of them lasting one to six pages. No topic is untouchable, but Peck spends more than one story on her mother and her untimely death, her cat, growing old gracefully, her grandmothers, and her weight. She also reveals her coming out process in "how I came out," by writing, "It took me three weeks of conscious practice to use the word `lesbian' in a sentence that did not also include the word `not'. It took me six months to make a deliberate effort to meet another lesbian...''
While Peck repeats some themes and jumps around to different topics in no particular order, the anecdotes are fresh and down to earth. They are real and stripped of any pretense. She also doesn't take herself too seriously for the most part, but the stories are thoughtful, especially when discussing her mother whom she misses, as told in "my mentor."
Revenge of the Paste Eater is the kind of book some of us wish we had the guts to write, exposing our imperfect selves and letting others laugh at us. It takes a courageous author to bear herself honestly for all to read. Cheryl Peck does this with grace and panache. For anyone wanting a good laugh and words that make one pause, this delightful book is well worth the time.
Funny, Powerful, Sometimes Disturbing, Always Engaging February 16, 2006
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Ah! The paste eaters. Those misfit children who everyone delights to torment.
Cheryl Peck's new memoirs feel like letters from an old friend. From the reliability of old cars to strange psychic encounters and the nature of cats to the many uses of Dremels, she never fails to delight with tales from her life.
Peck mixes stories of her childhood with stories of her present. She relates the struggle of growing up with a hypercritical mother and a distant father. She also tells about her unending challenge to fit into an unforgiving world.
"Shopping" tells how for years her entire wardrobe fit in a WWII parachute bag. Even after attaining a job in a welfare office, she still dressed as close to the bottom of the fashion chain as possible. Shortly after the publication of her first book, a friend locks her in a clothing store with two clerks who wait on her hand and foot.
In "Fatso" we get a taste of what it's like to be discriminated against because of size. Peck provides a list of bad manners she has been forced to endure by denying that she, as a middle class white person, has ever experienced any of them. It is one of the most thought provoking chapters of the book.
"The Kitten," perhaps the most moving of her memoirs, falls near the end. It relates a moment from her childhood that gives insight into her person and neatly ties together the rest of the stories.
At times, Peck comes across as whiny. Her feminist sermonizing and constant complaining can hamper enjoyment of the book.
However, her writing style is virtually flawless. Each story from the book grabs our interest and refuses to let go until the last word. But we can't stop there. Completing one chapter leads us to desire the next.
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