Rating: Summary: Good In Bed is Good Everywhere Review: Terrific book about a woman who's smart, funny, and beset by problems like a boss who hates her and an old boyfriend who kisses and publishes. Cannie may be beleagered, but she's not going down without a fight, and the story of her triumph is a triumph in itself. A really wonderful debut!
Rating: Summary: Great novel Review: I haven't read a novel this wonderful, this moving, this dead-on hysterically funny and honest and true to a woman's expereince since SHE'S COME UNDONE! Don't start reading GOOD IN BED on a work-night because you won't be able to this one down!
Rating: Summary: About Time A Woman Who Is Real! Review: Fantastic read from this first time author. The book was like an old comfortable friend who one could curl up with and share all the pain and happiness. I didn't want it to end but the when it did I felt satisfied the author didn't succumb to making the protagnoist gain her fulfillment thru weight loss. Three cheers,finally a heroine for the Queen sized women, who was witty, bright and on a journey of self discovery and deserving of love. So when is the sequel?
Rating: Summary: A CANNY AND COMEDIC DEBUT Review: 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.
Rating: Summary: Original and funny Review: I haven't even finished the book, but I just wanted to say how much I love it so far. The main character, Cannie, is so believeable, probably because Jennifer Weiner based the character on herself. It seems so real that when the "movie stars and Hollywood" stuff starts happening, it is entirely believeable. I am also a reporter from Philadelphia, now living in Ohio. I remember reading about how the Philadelphia Inquirer hired a new "Gen X" reporter and thinking how cool it was to have someone my age working at a paper that rarely hires anyone under 30. Jennifer's Inquirer articles were witty and sarcastic, and that carries over into this book. I could say so much more, but this review would be really long. I hope you read this, Jennifer. You are a talented writer with a great future ahead of you. This is a wonderful book. Good luck.
Rating: Summary: Where is part 2??? Review: Lost love, lost figure, but plenty of hope. I loved this book. Finally! a good honest and funny look at how men and women react towards inner and outer beauty and more specifically weight issues. I could have done without the major "turn" the plot takes towards the middle of the book, because I felt that the initial plotline had not been explored thoroughly, but still a very satisfying read that will make you feel that you don't have to look like a supermodel to be happy. I can't wait for the second book by this author.
Rating: Summary: Spot on. Review: Like Weiner's heroine, I am from Philadelphia, went to Princeton, and am a size sixteen, though fortunately I've never had the experience of having my ex-boyfriend write about me in a magazine column. Weiner's novel -- characters, places, and actions -- is absolutely spot on. I felt for Cannie as she took the ...from the skinny girls in high school, had a bad first foray into being single again, and cheered her on as she sold her screenplay and started giving it back to the people who dump on fat people. Her portrayals of Princeton and Philadelphia are ringingly familiar. It is indeed hard to be a fat girl at Princeton, and Weiner portrays the experience with candor and honesty. She obviously knows Philadelphia like the back of her hand, too -- while not a focus of the novel, it's always there, and this Philly girl found the setting quite refreshing. I have not lost sleep over a book -- any book -- in a long time. Thank you, Jennifer Weiner, for reminding me what that feels like.
Rating: Summary: Almost Good in Bed Review: I wanted very much to like this book and partly because I liked the main character. But, I found myself skimming through it following one unbelievable coincidence after another. The writing is clever and funny, but most of the characters are flat stereotypes, particularly the diet doctor and the movie star friend. And the pregnancy, I felt like I was reading a treatment for a television sitcom. This book seemed like it was a learning exercise for a writer with real potential to mine the depths of serious issues through comedy. I hope she doesn't get swallowed up by the publishing industry.
Rating: Summary: Droll, Intelligent and Poignant! Review: I had some reservations when I picked up this book. Like most people, I thought it was a Bridget Jones-esque novel written by a Helen Fielding wannabe. Was I wrong! This is one of the funniest books I have ever read! Before you ask, yes, it is a book about a single woman with a weight problem finding true love. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Having read Bridget Jones's Diary and Jemima J., I thought it'd be another copycat. Weiner does an excellent job describing her overweight heroine. It gives, in my opinion, a more realistic view of how it's like to be big. I was able to have a better understanding of how large women think and feel without the petty prejudice that it's placed upon them. Also, the Philadelphia-based Cannie is far wittier than Bridget Jones! Her dry and sarcastic humor made me laugh out lound on various occasions. Cannie sort of reminds me of two contemporary heroines I like: Anna Graham from Amanda Filipacchi's Vapor and Tash from Jane Green's Straight Talking. Thinking of getting a droll and moving novel? Do not hesitate! Read Good In Bed. You will laugh your socks off!
Rating: Summary: Good but loses its oomph 2/3 of the way through... Review: I really enjoyed the beginning of this book and I couldn't figure out if it was entirely autobiographical by the author. The story of the father is just somewhat unbelievable - if it's true, then it is a harsh reality. And the doctor's character in the book never seems quite interesting enough. Cannie is so vital and rounded out - he, as well as Bruce and Samantha, never quite is. And even Bruce's character and the letdowns she experiences from him aren't quite credible. As well as Maxie. I really enjoyed Weiner's style and all and think she has immense potential - I'm not disapopinted I purchased and read the book - I think it has some wonderful qualities but it kind of misses its potential.
|