Review: Lunchtime Eavesdropper by Joanie Chevalier
Lunchtime Eavesdropper is a novella about the society’s influence on a person. The reason why I decided to read it was that the topic is something that’s been haunting me my whole life.
The main character, Marlee, who’s an ordinary, bookwormish, average looking woman, accidentally overhears her colleagues gossiping about her, and decides to change her life. Or, more precisely, what she looks like to the others. Of course, she screws up big time, and the whole story ends with a surprising twist. It has a comical air to it, but with a dark subtext, and the protagonist is funny and very believable.
I think every second person has a Marlee in them. Especially, if they don’t love themselves. I certainly have a Marlee lurking inside. I never really fit in, and though I wasn’t an outsider anywhere, I’ve had my portion of mockery for being the punk kid, the nerd, the tomboy. My share of unrequited love for not being the ‘normal’ girl guys were looking for. And the thing is, all of this stayed inside, but the façade was always smiling, the life and soul of the party.
There are introverts, extraverts, and introverts who pretend to be extraverts so that no one would dig deeper, and this type is the worst. So, while I was too proud and busy to try and fit in, the Marlee in me was suffering from the realization that she was the odd one out. The only reason why I started dressing like a girl was that I had to apply for a job at 18, a real one, not freelance; and I was in my third year at the University by then. I still hate the fact that they wouldn’t take me seriously if I showed up applying for the Master’s degree in baggy pants and an Eminem T-shirt. I still don’t feel comfortable in a mini, with men staring at me, but hell, if I’m gonna look like a girl, I’d rather look good. See, how twisted it all is, and I’m sure any one of you has an issue like that, somewhere in the back of your mind.
It took me years to realize how my own defenses have screwed me up; but it also was them that helped me preserve my true self and finally make peace with it. I realized there’s nothing wrong with not wanting to be around people instead of being on your own and doing something really interesting. I lost all reasons to want to fit in the society that’s so different from the ideas that I had in my head since I was a child. I set Marlee free to go haunt someone else and stopped caring about whether people think I’m strange or not, because I know I must seem strange to them, but only because they don’t know the real reasons behind it. I stopped explaining myself and wanting to be understood. I may still not love myself in the slightest, but at least I don’t let the others’ opinion define me anymore. I let them make idiotic assumptions and then laugh at them not even realizing what I’m laughing at, the bitch that I am.
I’m an alien, and it’s fine by me.
Returning to the book, it’s become one of those precious reads for me that deliver such an important message in such an easy, entertaining, but strong form. It’s kind of a caricature, and I strongly recommend it to anyone who’s struggling with defining their place in the community.
I received a free copy of the book from the author for an honest review.
