Jennifer Weiner
Goodnight Nobody (2005)
Author: Jennifer Weiner
Genre: Chick Lit (Mommy Lit)
Plot Summary:
In a town where the local mothers bake organic flaxseed muffins for snack-time, push thousand-dollar strollers, and compete over enrollment in private pre-preschools, newcomer Kate Klein is feeling increasingly suffocated - and bored. Having left an interesting, if not lucrative, career as an investigative reporter in New York City to move to the 'burbs with her husband and three children, Kate has resigned herself to feeling ungainly and left out of the hive of mothers with chic blow-outs and hundred-dollar manicures. When Kate literally stumbles across the queen bee's body, she unwittingly finds a cure for the malaise of the suburbs. SPOILER: As Kate investigates the murder of the town's most perfect mother, she uncovers a woman with more secrets than most; a woman who came from poverty, had a penchant for older men, and who, once ensconced in the affluence of her dreams, worked as a ghostwriter for a hard-line conservative woman. As Kate comes closer to implicating, among others, a would-be senator, chief editor of a major magazine, the hard-line conservative, and her very own ex-boyfriend, Evan McKenna, it becomes clear that someone wants Kate to go back to being "just a housewife".
Geographical Setting: Upchurch, Connecticut and New York City
Time Period: Present Day (2005)
Appeal Characteristics:
Veteran author Weiner does an excellent job portraying women, and she does so here with the smart, vulnerable, overwhelmed and slightly overweight Kate, who can't help but feel she's sold out for the relative safety of the suburbs. Characterization is key here, and the reader cringes at the description of Kate braving the playground politics and trying to find her niche among the mom-bots, even as she alternately loathes and envies them. Secondary characters are well formed, especially Kate's best friend Janie, who still lives in the city and lives the fabulous life Kate is so nostalgic for. Another important appeal element here is the tone of the novel; although the subject matter deals with a brutal murder of a suburban housewife, the tone remains light and humorous; for example, when asked why she moved to the suburbs, Kate relates the story of the "stroller-jacking incident". The writing style is sharp and all of the minutiae of womanhood, and suburbia, are observed w
ith a keen eye and many pop culture references. The reader can vividly picture the town of Upchurch, and all of the characters that live in it. Some readers, especially those looking primarily for an amateur detective mystery, may find the pace somewhat sedate, but those interested in chick-lit with a spin will find a compelling novel with well-paced plot developments.
Read-alikes: For more disenchanted yet humorous mommy-lit, try Weiner's Little Earthquakes, which features a woman who moves to a new city for her husband and must struggle to adapt without him; the novel also features more of Weiner's humor and writing style. Readers will also enjoy Amy Scheibe's humorous look at thirty-something motherhood in What Do you Do All Day?, which follows potty-mouthed mom Jennifer as she tries to parent her children in the wilderness of New York City, minus the help of her husband who is always travelling. Readers that appreciate the theme of motherhood as equal to minivans and boredom should try Having It and Eating It by Sabine Durrant; set in London, rather than Connecticut, mother of two Maggie must navigate the perils of suburban ennui as her relationship with her partner and father of her children (they never married) begins to falter. Readers who especially enjoyed the mystery and East-Coast affluent setting o
f Goodnight Nobody will enjoy Beth Brophy's My Ex-Best Friend: A Novel of Suburbia, which follows a supermom who seems to have it all, yet can't stop thinking about her best friend's suspicious suicide. For an even more sinister look at suburbia, try Ira Levin's classic The Stepford Wives, which follows newcomer Joanna as she begins to suspect her fellow wives might not just be acting like robots after all.
Red Flags: Some language, light sex scenes, murder
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