Good in Bed [Paperback]

Jennifer Weiner (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 2, 2002

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It is temping at first but unwise to assume Candace Shapiro is yet another Bridget Jones. Feisty, funny and less self-hating than her predecessor, Cannie is a 28-year-old Philadelphia Examiner reporter preoccupied with her weight and men, but able to see the humor in even the most unpleasant of life's broadsides. Even she is floored, however, when she reads "Good in Bed," a new women's magazine column penned by her ex-boyfriend, pothead grad student Bruce Guberman. Three months earlier, Cannie suggested they take a break apparently, Bruce thought they were through and set about making such proclamations as, "Loving a larger woman is an act of courage in our world." Devastated by this public humiliation, Cannie takes comfort in tequila and her beloved dog, Nifkin. Bruce has let her down like another man in her life: Cannie's sadistic, plastic surgeon father emotionally abused her as a young girl, and eventually abandoned his wife and family, leaving no forwarding address. Cannie's siblings suffer, especially the youngest, Lucy, who has tried everything from phone sex to striptease. Their tough-as-nails mother managed to find love again with a woman, Tanya, the gravel-voiced owner of a two-ton loom. Somehow, Cannie stays strong for family and friends, joining a weight-loss group, selling her screenplay and gaining the maturity to ask for help when she faces something bigger than her fears. Weiner's witty, original, fast-moving debut features a lovable heroine, a solid cast, snappy dialogue and a poignant take on life's priorities. This is a must-read for any woman who struggles with body image, or for anyone who cares about someone who does.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Weiner's first novel should satisfy readers from older teens and above. Cannie Shapiro is in her late twenties, funny, independent, and a talented reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer. After a "temporary" break-up with her boyfriend of three years, she reads his debut column, "Good in Bed," in the women's magazine Moxie. Titled "Loving a Larger Woman," this very personal piece triggers events that completely transform her and those around her. Cannie's adventures will strike a chord with all young women struggling to find their place in the world, especially those larger than a size eight. Despite some events that stretch credulity and a few unresolved issues at the end, this novel follows the classic format of chasing the wrong man when the right one is there all along. Veteran storyteller Maeve Binchy gave us Bennie in Circle of Friends; now Jennifer Weiner gives us Cannie. Look for more books from Weiner. Rebecca Sturm Kelm, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press; 1st WSP Tr Ppbk Ed April 2002 edition (April 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743418174
• ISBN-13: 978-0743418171
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (890 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,081 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

JENNIFER WEINER is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of ten books, including Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, which was made into a major motion picture, and The Next Best Thing. A graduate of Princeton University, Weiner lives in Philadelphia with her family. To learn more, find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or at JenniferWeiner.com.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#35 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Literary Fiction

#52 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Literary

#72 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

#97 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary Fiction

#35 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Literary Fiction

#52 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Literary

#72 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

#97 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary Fiction

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

99 of 110 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Witty, funny, fun and surprisingly moving debut May 14, 2001

By Carol S. VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

I must confess that I was predisposed to like "Good in Bed," since I've been a big fan of Jennifer Weiner's newspaper columns for some time. I wasn't, however, prepared for how fine a first novel she has produced, or how moved I was by Cannie's story. The book begins with a hilarious hook: protagonist Cannie Shapiro, entertainment columnist for a large Philadelphia newspaper, realizes that her recently-ex-boyfriend has been hired by a Cosmo-like magazine to write a [adult] column. To her horror, Cannie realizes that the pseudo-anonymous woman "C." in Bruce's first article is her. To make this invasion of privacy even more humiliating, the column is an unexpectedly perceptive treatment of Cannie's weight problem and its effect on their relationship. At first glance, one might assume the snarky tone of the first few pages would continue as the novel spun out in a kind of lightweight revenge fantasy. But Weiner uses Cannie's heartbreaking invasion of privacy as jumping off point for so much more. We see Cannie grow and change, exorcising childhood demons (mostly), getting over Bruce (at last), and most moving of all, finally coming to terms with her place in life (and yes, her weight, too). If the plot is moved along by a few too many incredible coincidences, if the book seems almost too jam-packed with characters and subplots, well, these are minor criticisms of a finely-written and sensitive first novel. Just promise me, Jennifer, you won't let Camryn Manheim star in the movie version.......

80 of 96 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Plus Size Women Rule . . . Except This One October 4, 2003

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

Like others who hated this book, I really wanted to enjoy it. Like the main character, I'm a fat word-lover, often too smart and sarcastic for my own good, who considered the Pink Rose Bakery in Philadelphia a second home. Unfortunately, I spent most of my time screaming at this book, and when I was finally finished I threw it against my wall. On the one hand, I admire the author for presenting a full-figured, flawed character. However, Cannie, the heroine, remains self-centered, self-pitying, immature, judgmental, condesceding, elitist, and cruel throughout the whole book, and is repeatedly indulged by friends, loved ones, and worst of all the author, Jennifer Weiner. Weiner allows Cannie to dance through life without having to take responsibility for herself, and the "redemption" she experiences rings false. Worse, the book is littered with cliches, including, most offensively, a lesbian with two cats named Gertrude and Alice, who is reviled by Cannie and her siblings even though it may be the closest her mother has come to a partner in her life. I pity the lesbian reader who reads this book and encounters such a one-dimensional, snide rendering of a stereotype.
A thing that aggravates me about reviews of this book is that many claim it's better than Bridget Jones because the character is heavier, a "real fat woman." I found Bridget a lot more likeable, regardless of her weight, because you got to see her standing by her friends. Cannie seems to have friends who treat her a lot better than she treats them, or herself. While I'm sure that the author saw Cannie as very kind, the glimpses of a loving Cannie are few and far between her monologues of self-loathing. Also, I think that the idea that the "realness" of a woman being centered around her weight is just as dangerous as arguing that her beauty is based on her weight.
I would have loved to have read a story about a woman who finds love and beauty within herself without the aid of fairy godmothers or a charming prince. I'll even let a character have the fairy tale if she stops blaming everyone else for everything that's gone wrong in her life, especially people who try to love her or who have done nothing to her (blaming the evil people is worthwhile only to a point, and she exceeds it). Neither of those things happened to my satisfaction in this book. I wouldn't want someone like Cannie in my life, and I don't want this book on my shelf.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good In Bed: Best In Print! May 4, 2001

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

This is a really wonderful novel.

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.