Good in Bed

Touching, sweet, warm, often-hysterically funny, Jennifer Weiner's debut novel is the kind of book you try to pace yourself on because you know you want to parcel out the joy, but find yourself staying up until 2 am finishing because you can't put it down.

Cannie Shapiro is a remarkable heroine with a true voice, wise yet still learning, embattled yet still fighting. This isn't one of those book where unhappy girl finds happiness by losing weight and finding a man. This is a book where happiness comes from self-acceptance and the realization that one is not alone, and if there happens to be a guy around, well, all the better.

Cannie is great. The office stuff rings true. So does that evil publicist in NYC. But it's more than the truth of how things feel -- it's Cannie/Jennifer's voice in describing her universe, so funny and warm, like a friend you wish you had. I even liked Nifkin!

Guys, ignore the pink stuff on the cover, and hide the title if it embarrasses you to read in public -- this one's for us too. Everyone should read this book, read it now, then buy another copy for a friend.

I cannot say enough good things about this book. Read it: you'll see. It deserves to be a movie, and it will be a great movie.

Whatever Weiner has in store for us next, I'll be first in line.


A CANNY AND COMEDIC DEBUT   May 24, 2001
 18 out of 20 found this review helpful

Newspaper columnist Jennifer Weiner's debut novel is a canny and comedic look at the tribulations of a plus size gal in a size 2 fixated America.

Cannie Shapiro is astonished to find her ex, Bruce Guberman, writing a column called "Good In Bed" for a major women's magazine. His opener is titled "Loving A Larger Woman," in which he tells all about his relationship with Cannie - their sometimes good, sometimes so-so sex life, and her obsession with her Raphaelesque dimensions.

After venting to her best buddy, Samantha, then to her otherwise absorbed mother who has just come out of the closet and cohabited with another woman, Cannie has an unsuccessful, brief reconciliation with Bruce who is soon trumpeting in print his relationship with a not especially intelligent but reed-thin woman.

Suffering from public embarrassment and the low self-esteem visited upon her by a father who was mostly absent, Cannie signs up for a Weight and Eating Disorders Clinic. There's more than diet on the menu for her there.

"Good In Bed" is a boisterous banquet of a story making it clear that a woman's worth isn't defined by her girth.


Everything a great novel should have...   May 16, 2001
 11 out of 11 found this review helpful

This was a great book. I loved the heroine Cannie -- her realistic features and the absurdities in her daily life that are recognizable to so many of us: obnoxious co-workers, skinny nurses at fat clinics, [bad]men. I laughed, I cried, I ached and sometimes I hoped that Bruce would get beaten up. I mean, every girl that's been through college dated this guy, didn't they? The obligatory grad student ponytail, the smart-but-lazy pothead all around 'good guy'? Jennifer portrayed him perfectly, both the loveable parts and the parts we loathed.

Cannie's weight -- what can I say? I read the shortened excerpt in Mode Magazine -- so I obviously related to the 'body-image' aspect of Cannie's hang-ups. My favorite part of the book was when she stood up and did her tirade at the nurse in the fat clinic -- I absolutely cracked up and called a friend to read it aloud.

At the beginning of the second half of the book, I was slightly annoyed at the very unrealistic turn of events (meeting Maxie, selling a screenplay, hobnobbing with stars, the whole Dr. K thing doesn't actually happen to many of us and I related so much better to the first part of the book) but -- isn't that the point? I mean, the book was entertaining, funny, sweet, tender and yes, a fantasy. It wouldn't have been nearly as interesting if Cannie went on like she was, pining for Bruce as he humiliated her in public on a monthly basis, becoming something of an overaged college-girl-never-reaching-her-potential with a funny dog. She grew up, 'came of age', whatever you want call it and in the end, got the sweetest revenge of all -- happiness and success.

Thank you Jennifer, for writing this book, I will eagerly await your next novel. As one of the reviewers mentioned was possible, I did stay up 'til exactly 2 a.m. this morning to finish it. Now, tired with puffy eyes (I cried a lot at the end) I'd better get to work.

I hope you don't change when you become wildly famous and successful -- you're a fabulous writer and judging from your wonderful sense of humor, I bet a fun person to know.

Leslie


Loving a Larger Woman   June 25, 2002
 11 out of 11 found this review helpful

"Good in Bed" was the most recent book selection in one of my reading groups. Our past few selections have been a bit more on the literary side, but we decided to lighten things up for the summer. "Good in Bed" was our first selection for the summer season and in my opinion, it was an excellent choice. It was a quick, enjoyable, easy read without being a total piece of fluff. A perfect beach book!

The novel is told in the first person by 28 year old Cannie Shapiro who works as a writer for a newspaper in Philadelphia. Cannie recently decided to split with her boyfriend of 3 years, Bruce, and is horrified to find herself the focus of a magazine article that he writes called "Loving a Larger Woman". This article jolts Cannie into a mission to improve her life. The book follows Cannie as she deals with love, family, and career. Cannie is a strong woman with a fabulous sense of humor. Several outrageous, fairy-tale-like events happen to her throughout the course of the novel. And while some of these may seem far-fetched it is a great, entertaining story and a wonderful way to escape from the tedium of your everyday life.

One great aspect of the novel is that unlike many others dealing with a main female character that is overweight, Cannie does find contentment in her life without dropping down to a size 6. Cannie is a great, strong female character who is likable and easy to identify with.