Summary

Dietland tells the story of Alicia “Plum” Kettle, an aspiring writer doing unfulfilling work in New York, who puts off following her dreams because of the way she feels about her weight. The story intertwines with a series of terrorist attacks committed by women.

Part one, “Rabbit Hole”, begins with the as-yet-unnamed narrator observing that a girl was following her. Although the narrator says she is used to being stared at, there was something unusual in the way this girl was paying attention to her. In a café, the narrator responded to emails from distressed teenage girls that were all addressed to “Kitty”, and noticed the girl who was following her. The narrator comments that she would later remember the look on the girl’s face when she started appearing in newspapers and on TV. One day, while walking home, the narrator confronted...