Rachel

Rachel is the novel’s narrator and protagonist. Her age is never stated, but she appears to be in her twenties. She lives in Los Angeles, where she works at a talent management agency and moonlights as a stand-up comedian. She was raised Jewish. She has a strained relationship with her overbearing, emotionally manipulative mother. Rachel has an eating disorder. When she was young, her mother shamed her for her weight and eating habits. As an adult, Rachel is obsessive about limiting her food intake and maintaining a low weight. Rachel is bisexual, and her mother disapproves of that as well.

One day, Rachel falls in love with an Orthodox Jewish woman named Miriam. Miriam is about the same age as Rachel. Miriam is somewhat portly, and she loves food. Her disposition is warm and kind. Rachel and Miriam eventually develop a romantic/sexual relationship. The pleasure and...