Good In Bed
Just finished listening to Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner. It was definitely entertaining and kept my interest, but I didn’t completely love it. I DID like much of the commentary about plus sized women and how it feels to have gone through a tough break-up, but so much of this story was so far fetched that it bothered me. How convenient that Cannie, the main character, became instant best friends with a movie star who loves the screenplay that Cannie just happened to have with her when they met in the bathroom of a hotel after Cannie cursed the movie star out loud by name, not knowing she was in the next stall. (How’s that for a run-on sentence?) How convenient that Cannie’s perfect doctor fell for her without her even noticing him in that way.
I still liked this book, but it could’ve been SO much better if Cannie had actually faced a few of the struggles real single moms face. That was something that bothered me about Weiner’s other book that I read (Little Earthquakes). There are no financial struggles for any of the characters. That’s such a big part of real life (especially MY real life) that it’s hard for me to find believable a story where money comes so easily for everyone.
Even though I didn’t like some things about this book, it wasn’t a waste of time. The beginning was fantastic and had so much promise. I kind of wish there had been one more column from the ex-boyfriend since his character’s contribution to the story was basically dropped. The guy had been enlightened enough to understand the plight of large women, to write eloquently about the hauntings that linger after a break-up, but then he became a turd pretty much overnight.
April 27th, 2006 at 1:25 am
Hi Karin,
I just had to write to you about Good in Bed. I read it back when it first came out and absolutely loved it! I do know what you mean about the story and how everything seems perfect and tied up in a pretty package with a big bow on top. We do have to remember though that we are reading fiction and all is perfect in the fiction world. I guess it’s why so many people escape to that world to get a break from ours. LOL
In spite of her characters “perfect” little lives she has become one of my fave authors. Have you read Goodnight Nobody yet? It was really good and her first attempt at blending her chick lit with mystery. It was the first in a series and I think you should give it a shot.
April 27th, 2006 at 11:14 am
I guess I’m weird in that even though I find fault with certain books, if I like HOW they tell their stories, I generally keep reading them. There have been some books by Stephen King and Dean Koontz and James Patterson that I didn’t like, but when a new one comes out (on the library shelf), I’ll still check it out.
How old is Jennifer Weiner? Maybe she just needs to live a bit more. There were a couple parts in Good In Bed that really got to me–when the doctor “friend” brought her the precise desserts she’d listed as her absolute favorites when she was in the hospital, and when she went to him and said “help.” She has the potential to be a really good writer, but I think success has come so early in her life that it might prevent her from maturing as a writer and being able to produce more mature and realistic characters.
April 29th, 2006 at 9:33 am
We do have to remember though that we are reading fiction and all is perfect in the fiction world.
Not if it’s good fiction. A good novel has characters and emotions that contain truth. I haven’t read any Jennifer Weiner, because it’s the kind of book I see at the bookstore and just walk right past. Karin, your criticisms of the book make me realize that I was right to keep walking.
May 1st, 2006 at 6:55 am
I’m reading another book now (I forget the title) that has me constantly saying, “How convenient” all over again. I have this novel I’ve been carrying around (mostly in my head, about four chapters on paper) and it’s made me determined that at every turn, something inconvenient will happen instead.