Goodnight Nobody

By: Jennifer Weiner

Narrated by: Johanna Parker

Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

For Kate Klein, suburbia's been full of unpleasant surprises. Her once-loving husband is hardly ever home. The supermommies on the playground routinely snub her. Her days are spent carpooling, and at night, most of her orgasms are of the do-it-yourself variety. So when a fellow mother is murdered, Kate finds that the unsolved mystery is one of the most interesting things to happen in Upchurch. She launches an unofficial investigation with the help of two friends and discovers the secrets and lies behind the town's placid picket-fence facade - and the choices and compromises all modern women make as they navigate between independence and obligation, small towns and big cities, being a mother and having a life of one's own.

©2006 Jennifer Weiner (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"Hilarious . . . begs to be read in one sitting." ( Philadelphia Inquirer)

"Weiner's got a brilliant eye for social stratum, character sketches, and rendering of suburban atmospherics." ( The Washington Post Book World)

"A Peyton Place for the 21st century, only more modern, hip, and funny than the original." ( The Boston Globe)

Narrator should not have a southern accent!

I enjoy Weiner’s books. This is not my favorite title of hers. The narrator is the wrong choice as well. Her southern sounding accent does not match the Northeastern rooted voice of the main character.

Excellent narration, fun novel

Any book by Jennifer Weiner will be best enjoyed by someone who is in the mood for a Jennifer Weiner book. Personally I am always in the mood for a murder-y take on something that Nora Ephron might have approved of.
But the really key thing about this version is the *good* -ness of the narrator. Even a southern (US) accent that keeps trying to show itself in the wrong places can’t tamp the goodness of this narrator. From subtle but effective character voices (including kids) to her completely disarming singing talent (sorry if that is a spoiler), this narrator is easy to listen to and that’s not an easy job. This kind of novel needs a good voice in order to not seem saccharine or stereotyped or melodramatic. And we have indeed found a good voice.

Entertaining’ish

Somewhere towards the middle of the book, I just got a little fed up with the protagonist’s whining. Like, c’mon sis...you chose to get married and have kids because your CRUSH...not BF, not lover...your CRUSH, didn’t choose you? That said, there were entertaining moments, mostly provided by Janie. This was the first JW book I’ve “read” (listened to on my two-hour-per-day commute) in which I just committed to getting to the end, simply because I’d paid for it.

Great Book! Very funny!

Any additional comments?

I found this book very entertaining. It kept my interest, I wanted to keep listening. I thought I had the bad guy figured out two or three times and I was wrong. It was very funny, I laughed out loud a few times and chuckled a lot. I loved all the characters. I want to be bff's with Janie!

Entertaining but offensive to Christians

Great book and well written. Kept me interested and was entertaining. The narrator did an exceptional job. My only complaint was that it was offensive. The way she portrayed Christian women and conservatives in general made me so frustrated and angry that at times I considered not finishing the book.

Enjoyed this more as an audio re-read than I did when I first read it!

I first read this book when it was released in 2005 and was, well, lukewarm about it. I decided to try to the audio version now as I've enjoyed re-reading some of Jennifer Weiner's other books in this way.

Folks, the narration totally makes this book. Parker brings Weiner's story together beautifully and I enjoyed it far more than I expected.

A suburban mom story that's actually readable!

This can appeal to parents and non-parents alike - like-able characters, well contrived situations and your not-so-classic
"whodunnit" in heels. Fun to read!

Enjoyable

I think the book started off slow and I almost stopped listening but got hooked. I enjoyed the book but also thought some of the plot was a bit far fetched. I recommend the book

It was a little disapponting

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I wasn't a fan of Kate's relationships with men. The way she treated her husband and the way she viewed Ethan- I didn't understand why she had feelings for Ethan, that part wasn't really fleshed out.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Fleshed out the Ethan character, more information about why Kate was still attracted to him.

Which character – as performed by Johanna Parker – was your favorite?

Janie

Do you think Goodnight Nobody needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No, though I would like to know how/who Kate ended up with.

Any additional comments?

While the story was enjoyable, I would have liked more fleshed out characters. Kate's feelings and actions seemed arbitrary and selfish sometimes where some more insight into her character would have made me like her more, or at least understand why she did what she did.

Kept me on my toes

I usually can figure out The Who done it’s. Not this time.
Great story, great page turner,so to speak. Highly recommend this book. Enjoy.