- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Warner Books (April 13 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0446533041
- ISBN-13: 978-0446533041
- Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 14.5 x 3.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 454 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (86 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,155,977 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
"The grief is up already. It is an early riser, waiting with its gummy arms wrapped around my neck, its hot, sour breath in my ear." Sophie Stanton feels far too young to be a widow, but after just three years of marriage, her wonderful husband, Ethan, succumbs to cancer. With the world rolling on, unaware of her pain, Sophie does the only sensible thing: she locks herself in her house and lives on what she can buy at the convenience store in furtive midnight shopping sprees. Everything hurts—the telemarketers asking to speak to Ethan, mail with his name on it, his shirts, which still smell like him. At first Sophie is a "good" widow, gracious and melancholy, but after she drives her car through the garage door, something snaps; she starts showing up at work in her bathrobe and hiding under displays in stores. Her boss suggests she take a break, so she sells her house and moves to Ashland, Ore., to live with her best friend, Ruth, and start over. Grief comes along, too—but with a troubled, pyromaniac teen assigned to her by a volunteer agency, a charming actor dogging her and a new job prepping desserts at a local restaurant, Sophie is forced to explore the misery that has consumed her. Throughout this heartbreaking, gorgeous look at loss, Winston imbues her heroine and her narrative with the kind of grace, bitter humor and rapier-sharp realness that will dig deep into a reader's heart and refuse to let go. Sophie is wounded terribly, but she's also funny, fresh and utterly believable. There's nary a moment of triteness in this outstanding debut.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Sophie Stanton goes from newlywed to widow in just three short years of marriage, her competent and confident persona replaced by an Oreo-munching, robe-and-slipper-clad zombie. Overwhelmed by grief and despair, out of a job, home, and clothes that fit, Sophie leaves her high-pressure, memory-laden Silicon Valley lifestyle for a laid-back Oregon village. In her metamorphosis from bereft widow to beguiling woman, Sophie is aided by an unlikely ally: Crystal, a street-smart but emotionally damaged teenager she befriends as part of a "Big Sisters" program. If there are stages to the mourning process, Winston gets them all down perfectly, communicating Sophie's misery with a poignant empathy. Those who have experienced such loss will surely recognize themselves in some part of Sophie's transformative journey; those who haven't will hope to demonstrate as much grit, wit, and charm as Winston's lovable heroine. Tackling a difficult subject in a debut novel is a gutsy move, and Winston pulls it off with just the right blend of heartfelt humor and heartwarming humanity. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
How can I be a widow? Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
How can I be a widow? Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Moving and Entertaining Human Story,
This review is from: Good Grief (Hardcover)
An off-color gem in the tradition of WHAT WAS SHE THINKING , THE BEST AWFUL, and MY FRACTURED LIFE, Lolly Winston's GOOD GRIEF is a delightfully engaging fiction novel. It is a gently told story: sweet, sometimes tender, sometimes wild, sometimes weepy. A young wife becomes a young widow and forces her to re-examine her life.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointed,
By A Customer
This review is from: Good Grief (Hardcover)
This book has received so many wonderful reviews that I hate to give it a mediocre review, but I must. It would sound inhuman of me not to relate, or at least try to comprehend the protagonist's view, but I guess I was so looking forward to reading this novel, that I was ultimately disappointed by it contents. For the life of me, I wish I could put the finger on the reason why. I expected a novel about grief, and certainly I could relate to the behaviors associated with the depression that the protagonist endures, but for some incalculable reason, I cannot understand the acclaim this novel has received. The relationship between the protagonist and her "little sister" was interesting, heart-warming, but predictable. The fact that she is able to start another relationship within a year of her beloved's demise is disappointing. Honestly, I guess I don't know what I was truly looking for out of this novel, but I am usually aligned quite well with other Amazon readers on the satisfaction I receive from most similar readers. This one may be the exception. Oh well.
5.0 out of 5 stars
So Touching,
By
This review is from: Good Grief (Paperback)
When I read Good Grief it really made me appreciate my family and my boyfriend of 3 1/2 years. I want to live everyday to the fullest, as when you loose that someone your life is never the same! Lolly Winston is a wonderful author and I look forward to more books!
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