I have a complicated relationship with Jennifer Weiner that exists completely in my head.
When I read Good in Bed 10 years ago, it was this huge "aha" moment where I thought "finally, a heroine in a light fiction women-centered book that I can relate to", which is another way of saying that Weiner's debut novel launched a new era of chick lit where the main character didn't have to lose weight to be happy.
The problem with feeling like an author has nailed you and your demographic is that you feel a connection to them, made even more true by Weiner's online presence on Twitter and Facebook. There's this sense that "gosh, if this author really knew me, we would totally be best friends." When I went to a book reading for Best Friends Forever: A Novel last year and waited in a long line to get my book signed, I realized that every single lady there felt the exact same way about Jennifer Weiner. It is always disappointing when you realize you're just like everyone else.
If you wonder where I'm going with this, it's that how one feels about an author can complicate how you feel about her novel. Best Friends Forever: A Novel really didn't do a lot for me, and I felt guilty about that. It's taken me days to sort out my feelings about Fly Away Home: A Novel , whether I would have liked it as much if I had never read anything else by Jennifer Weiner. Ultimately I decided that if a book keeps me up late finishing it and I felt connected to the characters, than Weiner has succeeded as an author, not just my imaginary author friend.
The success of the novel lies partially in its structure of being divided into three voices: Sylvie, who has just learned that her esteemed senator husband from New York has had an affair; Diana, a high-achieving physician and mother having a torrid affair; and newly sober Lizzie, who is spending the summer watching Diana's son and pursuing her love of photography.
While all the characters are allowed to change and develop, it's Diana's trajectory that I found most compelling. It's refreshing to read about someone who on the surface has it all, but chose a husband who neither inspires intellectual or physical passion and finds herself losing control. Weiner also succeeds in showing the complications of Sylvie's marriage, how her husband's affair was less about sex and more about his general neediness, and how Sylvie had put her husband's welfare ahead of her children. Lizzie's storyline is weaker. While I feel that Fly Away Home: A Novel created a realistic portrayal of a young woman trying to stay off painkillers and explores the reasons she became addicted in the first place, a recurring theme in the Weiner oeuvre is unplanned pregnancy that turns out okay. I would love to see this plot development either disappear or end differently. The book is also about 50 pages too long.
All in all, however, it's a fine choice for the summer, and those who have fallen out of love with Weiner would do well to rekindle their relationship.
