I have to say that I pretty much hated this book. I only gave it that extra star because the actual writing is pretty good. She spins a good tale, and pretty much the only person you like in the book is Janie, her best friend. Kate, the main character, is pretty much one of the most selfish people I have ever read as a main character. You just feel sorry for her husband, whom she doesn't really love, but thought was suitable to marry because he was "nice", and you really feel sorry for her kids. She does love them, but she tends to drop them off at day care and other people's houses for playdates a lot (never actually hosting one herself). She complains constantly about not having time to take care of herself - I'm not saying she needs to be impeccably groomed like the other Moms at the playground - but at least clean clothes would be a step in the right direction. She also compares constantly that everyone else is wearing or using much more expensive clothing than her and her children have - but it's from choice, really. The author states how much money her husband makes, and with the neighborhood they chose to live in, if she wanted to care enough to dress more nicely, or have her kids in better clothes, or even have them eat better food, she could. She complains about not having time to do any of those things, yet she makes time to do all this investigating. It just shows that while she is resentful of the other moms because they take time to make snacks for their kids instead of feeding them processed food, and because they dress better and look better - she has no desire to apply any change like that into her own life. She has the money, the means, and apparently the time that she thinks she doesn't have (until she makes time to do investigative work, that is). She just likes to complain and feel sorry for herself more. And that bugs the crap out of me. On a personal level, she made it sound like the moms who tried to do alternative or green parenting were robots or aliens at best. That normal people just couldn't or wouldn't want to try to make their kids eat healthily (or at the very least, not prepared, processed, or frozen food all the time). I mean, her kids all got the stomach flu, and the first thing she gives them when they're better is freaking Rice Krispie Treats! And then she feels a mixture of guilt, but also defiance that she is not like those other moms. Excuse me, I work up to 4 jobs at a time, and don't make a lot of money. We live very simply, and I take care of my appearance, as well as my daughter's - even if she is in second hand clothes, at least they're clean most of the time - and we cloth diapered and she eats mostly a diet of organic food. It's not rocket science. It's a desire to keep your kids healthy, and to take care of yourself. Not that hard to do. ***************SPOILER ALERT******************So, why did I read this book when I hated the main character so much? Well, like I said, that extra star up there is for plot development. You may not like the characters, but the plot does keep it moving. You want to find out who did it, and why. You also want to find out what happens with her relationships. Is she doing to leave her nice husband and go back to her old flame, the only man she ever really loved? Even though it was unrequited until she became unavailable - which seems to be his thing. Only wants what he can't have. And for her? It was frustrating because the story kept jumping back and forth between the past and present, and you're wondering how she loved this other man so intensely and ended up where she is now. About halfway through the book, you finally find out what caused the big rift and falling out between her and Evan, the man she really loved. And it was lame. He got drunk, they made out, he felt guilty because he had a fiance, and did she stay and fight for him? Bare her soul? Tell him how she felt? Other than a whisper of love when he was passed out - NO. She didn't. She ran away. Then she met her husband, decided he was nice and suitable, and married him. Even did nothing really to deserve her mirth. He acted with honor by NOT cheating on his (cheating) fiance. You think for a while that Kate is going to go ahead and cheat on her husband with Evan, and other than a couple of kisses and heavy groping, she doesn't. Because that would have been the last straw in trying to find anything likable about her character. But she constantly lies to her husband, and goes behind his back, even to a point of almost getting him fired. He puts up with her, genuinely loves her, and really makes an effort to salvage their relationship. So, you're wondering, how is this going to end? What will become of this intense desire within her to investigate? Will she open her own PI Business? Become a cop? (doubtful). What is going to happen with her and her husband? With Evan? Will she finally run away from her life and take off with Evan, leaving 3 kids and a devastated husband behind? I wouldn't put it past her. She's utterly selfish. But, you don't even get the satisfaction of finding out. She does solve the mystery - of who murdered Kitty, that is (not who fathered Kitty, which is what it was more about it seemed) - she almost gets her kids killed in the process, even. But then what does she do? Runs away. Again. Leaves her husband, moves her kids and mother into a house in Cape Cod, and ignores the rest of the world. Her husband sells their old house and rents a condo nearby, coming out every weekend to play with the kids and try to save their marriage. After he did nothing wrong in the first place. Even still calls her, trying to get her to run away with him. She lies in the ocean and ignores everyone. The End. How unsatisfying is THAT?!
Kate Klein’s life is not what she thought it would be. Trapped in suburbia with three preschoolers, her days drone endlessly by in a never-ending parade of carpools, play dates, snooty super moms, and household chores.Kitty Cavanaugh is the undisputed queen of the Upchurch mommies. On the surface, she’s the perfect mom with the perfect suburban life. She’s gorgeous, with not a single ounce of “baby weight” hanging around her tummy or hips. Her twins are beautiful and well behaved. Her home is lovely. Her husband is devoted and attractive. She seems to have it all. When Kitty invites Kate over for lunch, Kate is mystified. Kitty’s mention of a “mutual friend” piques her curiosity, so she reluctantly agrees. Kate arrives at Kitty’s house on the appointed day only to discover her hostess facedown in the kitchen, a huge knife stuck between her shoulder blades. Then Kate spies Evan McKenna’s phone number on a notepad by Kitty’s phone. It seems that Kate and Kitty did have a mutual friend.Kate is horrified. And, once the initial shock wears off, more than a little intrigued. After all, Kitty’s murder is the most interesting thing that’s happened in sleepy little Upchurch since the Kleins moved to town.Kate launches an unofficial investigation into Kitty’s murder. Armed with a hello kitty notepad, she chips away at Upchurch’s perfect veneer. Kate discovers cheating spouses, a former call girl, jealousy, unrequited love and a search for a deadbeat father lurking behind her neighbors’ closed doors.Another Upchurch mommy goes missing and Kate finds a threatening note on her car, but Kate’s interest in the case never wavers. Against her husband’s wishes and the advice of local law enforcement, she plunges ahead. Her reporter’s instinct tells her she’s closing in on the answer as she peels back the layers of Kitty’s not-so perfect life. She doesn’t realize that Kitty’s killer is closing in on her as well. Weiner’s strength as a writer truly lies in her ability to create believable characters. In Goodnight Nobody, she has brought to life another captivating heroine. Kate Klein is very much an “everywoman.” She’s overwhelmed by sudden motherhood. She’s sad and more than a little angry at her once attentive, now absent, husband. She’s a good mother, but she’s bored. She is struggling to hold on to her identity, but feels herself slipping further and further away from the woman she once was.The supporting cast in this novel is great. Kate’s best friend, carpet heiress Janie Segal is a breath of fresh air in Kate’s stale existence. She’s smart, funny and more than willing to play Watson to Kate’s Sherlock.Once again, Weiner has crafted an intimate look into the lives of modern women, this time taking on suburban moms. The Upchurch mommies represent the best and worst faces of motherhood. Their struggle to hold together the illusion of perfection despite reality is by turns funny, sad and mean-spirited. Their choices, sacrifices and compromises ring true for all women. They’re formidable and competitive. They have secrets. They harbor hopes and dreams that have absolutely nothing to do with the fall festival at playschool. Goodnight Nobody is Weiner’s first attempt at writing a mystery. She masterfully strings just enough clues and red herrings along the path to keep her readers turning the pages without giving too much away. There are suspects aplenty and a variety of motives – I finally gave up trying to figure out “whodunit,” and let Weiner take me along for the ride. (Review published in the Burlington Times-News, 11/6/2005)
Do You like book Goodnight Nobody (2006)?
This is the first chick-lit book I've ever gotten all the way through, not that I've tried that many, I never thought I'd enjoy one. I was wrong. And I might read another Jennifer Weiner book, some day. Goodnight Nobody is about a New York gal who falls in love, gets married, has three kids in the space of two years, and ends up in a Connecticut suburb before she knows what hit her. Then one of the playground mommies is murdered and things really get interesting. Kate can only investigate the murder when her kids are at preschool or at playdates, but with the help of her hip, rich, and intrepid friend Janie (for whom Kate makes a drink out of vodka and Pedialyte because that's all she has), and a bit of excitement at gunpoint, the murderer is caught. I liked that a few loose ends were left hanging.--Recommended by SoniaCheck our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/...
—Cook Memorial Public Library
It took me 3 months to finish this book. I liked the first third of the book. The second third lost me. I did like the fish out of water angle, but the contrast was too extreme. She was portrayed a a bumbling idiot. When she kept using the Hello Kitty notebook throughout her entire "investigation" I wanted to scream and ended up feeling very disconnected from her. There were so many interviews and suspects I got lost. While the last third of the book was paced more quickly and a little intriguing, the connections to her ultimate revelation were confusing. The ending (the last 12 pages) was unbelievable. Her mother was suddenly devoted and caring after 30 years of neglect. She ended up alone at a beach house apparently happily caring for her children appropriately, a thing that could have been accomplished at her Connecticut home. Overall I was disappointed. This book does not measure up to her previous novels. I say, "Don't waste your time."
—Joanie
This is not the type of book I normally read. It's not the right genre, style or character. So I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed it.Kate Klein is an accidental mother of three. She fell in "like" with her husband after a bad rebound, married him because it was sensible to do so, accidently fell pregnant and had a baby girl, then accidently fell pregnant with twin boys some two months later. Suddenly, she's gone from being a free-spirited (if slightly self-conscious) fashion and tabloid reporter in NYC, to a stay at home Mom of three preschool children in a ritzy estate. She spends her days being patronised by the Perfect Mommy Brigade, playing Candyland, and wishing that once, just once, her husband would help her with the children instead of leaving early for work and coming home late from work "for the good of the family".Basically, her life kinda sucks. And, as a stay at home Mum who was once a succesful career woman, I found her life very easy to relate to.But all of this is just the backdrop for a murder. When one of the Perfect Mommies is murdered, Kate finds herself investigating -- not because she has any real skills. She's just... bored. And nosy. And then she discovers that her ex-boyfriend, the "bad rebound" who is indirectly responsible for the direction her life has taken, is somehow involved. This book mixes crime, romance, chick lit, and the feeling of despair and fulfilment that comes with giving up your entire world and identity and replacing it with the unconditional love of children.All in all, a very enjoyable read.
—Jo
