Ruth Simon is beautiful, smart, talented, and always hungry. As a teenager, she starved herself almost to death, and though outwardly healed, inwardly she remains dangerously obsessed with food. For Joseph Zimmerman, Ruth's tormented relationship with eating is a source of deep distress and erotic fascination. Driven by his love for Ruth, and haunted by his own secrets, Joseph sets out to unravel the mystery of hunger and denial. This gripping debut novel is a powerful exploration of appetite, love, and desire. Jonathan Rosenis also the author ofThe Talmud and the Internetand the novelJoy Comes in the Morning. His essays have appeared inThe New York TimesandThe New Yorker, among other publications. Rosen is the editorial director ofNextbook. Ruth Simon is beautiful, smart, talented, and always hungry. As a teenager, she starved herself almost to death, and though outwardly healed, inwardly she remains dangerously obsessed with food. For Joseph Zimmerman, Ruth's tormented relationship with eating is a source of deep distress and erotic fascination. Driven by his love for Ruth, and haunted by his own secrets, Joseph sets out to unravel the twin mysteries of hunger and denial. This gripping debut"a seductive and satisying novel that doesn't let you go" (Newsday)presents a powerful exploration of appetite, love, and desire. "An absorbing, intelligent tale of love and the mysteriousness of the other."The New York Times "An impressive debut. A highly original addition to the distinguished line of Jewish-American family romances."The New Yorker "The work of a natural master . . . This is a tale about a hunger artisti.e., about appetite and its suppression, about knowledge and self-knowledge, andabove allabout the riddle of human character."Cynthia Ozick