Good in Bed [Paperback]

Jennifer Weiner's Good in Bed is the story of a year in the life of a late-twentysomething American woman: Cannie, a journalist on the Philadelphia Examiner, who has recently broken up with her boyfriend of three years (cue endless similarities with countless other books aimed at young Western women). Fortunately, Weiner's book has enough originality to break out from the mould, with an overweight heroine and a mother who has recently moved in with her lesbian lover. Good in Bed has its funny moments, dealing with humour and sensitivity with Cannie's status as a "larger woman", her bizarre family and her regrets at splitting up with Bruce, but there is often more a feeling of pathos than laughter. Cannie is not a tragic figure through her dress size--Weiner successfully side-steps any attempt to pity her or her fellow larger women at a weight-loss clinic, taking the humorous path instead--but through her relationship and career predicaments. It is therefore not clear why Weiner cast Cannie as a plus-size, unless to drive home the eternal fact that whatever their size, all women have the same neuroses inside. Cannie's year offers more lows than highs--with a particularly heart-breaking low towards the end of the novel, which is unlikely to be read by anyone with even a wry smile--and it therefore is not a "feel good to be a woman" novel. For laugh-out-loud writing with a dash of pathos try Shannon Olson's Welcome to My Planet, but for sensitive and ultimately tear-inducing touching narration try Good in Bed. --Olivia Dickinson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

"Entertainment Weekly" June 8, 2001 Entertainment Weekly gives Good in Bed an "A!"

[Good in Bed's] Cannie emerges as one of the most engaging realistic female characters in years...Weiner's smoothly written novel is stuffed with dialogue that rings with humor and truth.

‘Weiner’s first novel – probably the only one this year that features a heroine who is well-rounded in every sense – is vastly entertaining and sympathetic too’ --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

‘Good in Bed is a treat of a book. And Cannie is the most original of heroines – feisty, funny and the type of best mate you’ll be cheering on right to the end’ --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

‘Compulsive, engaging, well-written and surprisingly moving’ --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

‘Hilarious and heart-warming’ --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

For twenty-eight years, things have been tripping along nicely for Cannie Shapiro. Sure, her mother has come charging out of the closet, and her father has long since dropped out of her world. But she loves her friends, her rat terrier, Nifkin, and her job as pop culture reporter for The Philadelphia Examiner. She's even made a tenuous peace with her plus-size body.

But the day she opens up a national women's magazine and sees the words "Loving a Larger Woman" above her ex-boyfriend's byline, Cannie is plunged into misery...and the most amazing year of her life. From Philadelphia to Hollywood and back home again, she charts a new course for herself: mourning her losses, facing her past, and figuring out who she is and who she can become.

Ever wonder what your ex-boyfriend really thought of you? Cannie Shapiro found out....in the worst way possible, when she opens up a women's magazine to find that her former flame, the loathsome Bruce Guberman, has been chronicling their sex life -- and his feelings about her body -- in a column called 'Good in Bed.' From there, it's a year of wild ups and downs for Cannie, as she piles public humiliation on top of an already bursting-at-the-seams life. Cannie's 28, with a difficult family (her mother's come bursting out of the closet, her father's vanished from her life), wonderful friends, a strange, quivery little dog named Nifkin, a job she loves, a coworker she can't stand, and, thanks to Bruce, yet another diet. Her adventures take her from a Philadelphia weight-loss clinic (where she fantasizes about a 'fat lady insurrection') to the hot spots in New York City and London, as she finds out who she really is, what kind of life she'll make for herself, and what matters most. I think 'Good in Bed' is a wonderful, funny, life-affirming read for women of all shapes and sizes (but of course, I wrote it, so what else am I going to say?) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Jennifer Weiner lives in Philadelphia with her husband, daughter and rat terrier, Wendell. To find out more, visit her website on www.jenniferweiner.com --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.