Good Grief by Lolly Winston August 22, 2006

Sophie Winston's husband died of cancer three months ago and she's a mess."The funny thing about rock bottom is there's stuff underneath it, You think, This is it: I'm at the bottom now. It's all uphill from here! Then you discover the escalator goes down one more floor to another level of bargain basement junk."There are so many times in this book that you think Sophie has finally hit rock bottom: When she goes to work for an important meeting wearing her bathrobe and bunny slippers, sitting on a customer's lap while waitressing after taking too many tranquilizers, volunteering to be a Big Sister and having her Little Sister set the back yard on fire, or maybe it's having her Alzheimer mother-in-law feed the food critic raw dough at her bakery's grand opening. The book takes you inside Sophie's grief with wit and understanding. Most books I've read dealing with grief show the heroine being strong and moving on. Perhaps this take on grief is more realistic. And while Sophie does pick up her life eventually, it doesn't promise to always be easy.
Rating 3.5

Comments:

booklogged said...
Sounds like you made it through the big C okay. Glad to hear it. Can you remember anything?This book sounds like it could be my life without there being any problems, such as cancer or death, to blame it on. Makes me think there's some BIG thing wrong that just hasn't been figured out yet. This book was not on my list - should I add it or not. Oh, what the heck. On it goes.
10:45 AM

Joy said...
It was quite refreshing to read a book about grief and yet find yourself giggling. I rated it a 4.5, so we're on the same page. :) I've heard her second book is not as good.
2:28 PM

Les said...
Booklogged mentioned the big C. I think I know what she's referring to. ;) I had one last year when my younger brother (40) was diagnosed with colon cancer. I don't remember a thing! Good thing, too, as I get the pleasure of going back every 5 years instead of 10. And I'm still in my 40s. Sigh.But on to your review... I read it in Jan. 2005 and gave it a C+ (3.5/5 Pretty Good) Here's my brief review (pre-Blog):Not bad, but not as good as I had anticipated (too much online hype?). The second half was much better than the first. I enjoyed seeing Sophie move beyond her grief and get on with her life and new career as the owner of a bakery. The first half seemed a bit over-the-top with newly-widowed stereotypes and leaned a little too far into the "chick-lit" genre for my taste. Sophie's behavior annoyed me and I wondered if grief could really cause someone to act so ridiculous.Me again. I've never experienced the loss of a spouse. However, I have lost a child (about 6 months after reading the book) and feel I know a little bit about the grieving process. I still feel the book was over-the-top. I also read Elizabeth Berg's The Year of Pleasures and wrote the following:I certainly didn't intend to read two books about widows within the same month. However, Good Grief seemed more "fluffy" than The Year of Pleasures. Both women moved quite a distance from the home and community they shared with their husbands, embarking on a new life and livelihood, yet that's where their commonality ends. Unlike Good Grief, which I wasn't that impressed with until it redeemed itself in the second half of the narrative, The Year of Pleasures had me from the very first page. While I thought Good Grief was a decent read, Berg's character dealt with the same issues so much more maturely. Maybe I could relate more to Betta's loss since I'm closer to her age than Sophie's in Good Grief. Or maybe I just hope I would behave with more dignity than Sophie did.Just my two cents.
4:25 PM

Bellezza said...
I read Good Grief when a student gave me an autographed copy a few years ago. I'm sorry to say that I didn't like it all that much. I had no objections, it was fine. But 'fine' in an ordinary sense. It's not memorable to me in any way, so I can't be more specific.The author sure looked beautiful in her picture, though.:)
6:39 PM

Framed said...
Les and Bellezza, I understand your take on the book. I was certainly put off at first because she was so over the top. But I liked that somewhere she finally pulled it together even though things kept going wrong. Somehow, I can't see myself losing it this way either. But, like Joy, it sure made me laugh. So, Book, I don't know whether to recommend it or not. Les, I wrote about the Big C on my other blog if you want to compare.
10:28 PM

booklogged said...
I commented here about the big C before heading over to look at your other blog. I have sure enjoyed the discussion this post generated. I quite liked Year of Pleasures, so maybe that's enough grief books for me. It makes me ecstatic when I don't feel compelled to add a book to my mountain of TBRs.
8:21 PM

Bellezza said...
booklogged, I know what you mean. We love to read, but sometimes the lists get overwhelming!
6:11 AM

Framed said...
I've changed my rating to a 3.5 because a week after reading the book, what I remember most is Sopie's embarassing moments that made me squirm rather than the ones that were funny. I believe I need to wait a few days before reviewing a book and think about it a little more.
8:38 PM