By Cheryl Peck
5 Spot
Paperback

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.

A Salty Piece of Land Excerpt Proudly I can admit before you all that I have never suffered from the Big Head. In my fifties I have more or less conquered paralyzing attacks of worthlessness and self-doubt, but it is unlikely I will ever succumb to excessive ego. There have been times in my life when I knew, in my heart, that I was the one person in the room with the skills and talents to solve a particular problem. And I have waited patiently for the other people to recognize those skills and talents - knowing that they won't. And I have allowed that opportunity to pass because My Mother Told Me not to praise myself. And I have kicked myself in the ass for doing it. And knowing better - I have done it again. © Cheryl Peck Published with permission

"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.

Bookworm's Briefing
Funny, powerful, sometimes disturbing, always engaging - Revenge of the Paste-Eaters is definitely worth reading. Peck is also the author of Fat Girls and Lawn Chairs.