"Good in Bed" review
By Kathryn Hamilton
Cannie (short for Candace) Shapiro is a plus size newspaper journalist who has wit in spades and and is not afraid to speak her mind. Professionally, she is confident and self-assured. Personally, she is the complete opposite; filled with self-doubt, she uses her humour as a way to charm those around her. After she discovers that not only has her ex (Bruce, a fellow journalist) written about her in his new magazine column, but that he has divulged intimate details of their relationship, Cannie begins to re-evaluate herself and her decision to "take a break" from her relationship with a man who understands her much more than she gave him credit for. With the support of friends (both old and a few new ones she meets along the way) and family, Cannie is taken on a journey to self-acceptance that is filled with humour, heartache, and raw truth.
Ms. Weiner has the propensity for creating characters that readers can deeply connect with, and writing stories that make her books difficult to put down; "Good In Bed" was no exception (and incidentally, was also her first published novel). I believe this is the best of the three novels I have read so far by Ms. Weiner. As someone who is also plus size, I found Cannie to be a character that was easy to relate to in many ways. However, the beauty of this story is that you need not wear a size 16 to identify with Cannie's insecurities and longing to be loved; this observation is keenly made by one of her friends, which confounds Cannie since she believes thin women are always confident (if only that were true!). I felt her anger, sadness, joy and heart break, and was able to understand how she saw the world without needing to have had similar life experiences. The story was well written and the pace flowed nicely. Although I knew who Cannie would end up being with almost from the first time the character is introduced, I enjoyed seeing how that relationship developed throughout the story.
There were, however, a few things that bothered me about the book, but as a whole, they are minor issues. First, I found it difficult to believe that Cannie would develop a relationship with someone who just happened to be in a position to help her achieve one of her biggest dreams. It is possible that situations like this happen, but for me I had to suspend reality. Secondly, I noticed some errors in the text that were distracting. I will note that I was reading an ebook copy, so the fact that there were a few places where the words ran together may not be the fault of the publisher, but it's still something that took a little bit away from the reading experience. Lastly, I have to say that I wasn't crazy about the cover. I discovered after I had purchased the ebook that I actually had the 10th anniversary copy. Although the differences from the original cover are small, I prefer the original. I'll also mention here that when reading the "Introduction," I didn't realize at first that it wasn't part of the story and ended up skipping over the rather lengthy text.
Jennifer Weiner is one of the most respected and beloved authors in the chick lit genre. After reading Good In Bed, it is clear why this is the case. Any issues I had with the book are minor and I would certainly recommend it as a must read (especially if you haven't read any of Ms. Weiner's other novels).
