Product Description

Some widows face their loss with denial. Sophie Stanton's reaction is one of pure bafflement. "How can I be a widow?" Sophie asks at the opening of Lolly Winston's sweet debut novel, Good Grief. "I'm only thirty-six. I just got used to the idea of being married." Sophie's young widowhood forces her to do all kinds of crazy things--drive her car through her garage door, for instance. That's on one of the rare occasions when she bothers to get out of bed. The Christmas season especially terrifies her: "I must write a memo to the Minister of Happier Days requesting that the holidays be cancelled this year." But widowhood also forces her to do something very sane. After the death of her computer programmer husband, she reexamines her life as a public relations agent in money-obsessed Silicon Valley. Sophie decides to ease her grief, or at least her loneliness, by moving in with her best friend Ruth in Ashland, Oregon. But it's her difficult relationship with psycho teen punker Crystal, to whom she becomes a Big Sister, that mysteriously brings her at least a few steps out of her grief. Winston allows Sophie life after widowhood: The novel almost indiscernibly turns into a gentle romantic comedy and a quirky portrait of life in an artsy small town. At all stops on her journey from widow to survivor, Sophie is a lively, crabby, delightfully imperfect character. --Claire Dederer

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #543399 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04-13
• Format: Bargain Price
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

Amazon.com
Some widows face their loss with denial. Sophie Stanton's reaction is one of pure bafflement. "How can I be a widow?" Sophie asks at the opening of Lolly Winston's sweet debut novel, Good Grief. "I'm only thirty-six. I just got used to the idea of being married." Sophie's young widowhood forces her to do all kinds of crazy things--drive her car through her garage door, for instance. That's on one of the rare occasions when she bothers to get out of bed. The Christmas season especially terrifies her: "I must write a memo to the Minister of Happier Days requesting that the holidays be cancelled this year." But widowhood also forces her to do something very sane. After the death of her computer programmer husband, she reexamines her life as a public relations agent in money-obsessed Silicon Valley. Sophie decides to ease her grief, or at least her loneliness, by moving in with her best friend Ruth in Ashland, Oregon. But it's her difficult relationship with psycho teen punker Crystal, to whom she becomes a Big Sister, that mysteriously brings her at least a few steps out of her grief. Winston allows Sophie life after widowhood: The novel almost indiscernibly turns into a gentle romantic comedy and a quirky portrait of life in an artsy small town. At all stops on her journey from widow to survivor, Sophie is a lively, crabby, delightfully imperfect character. --Claire Dederer

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.

From AudioFile
When 36-year-old Sophie Stanton finds herself a widow, she copes the only way she knows how--by falling apart and surviving on ice cream. When her erratic behavior costs Sophie her job, she packs up, sells her house, and moves to Ashland, Oregon, to find herself and lose her grief. Amanda Foreman reads Sophie's struggles and triumphs with a solid sense of humor and tolerance, and captures beautifully the whiny nature of Sophie's rants, insecurities, and break-downs. The story itself moves slowly, but Sophie's self-pity, tiresome at times, is bearable thanks to Foreman's sympathetic performance. Foreman also shines when delivering the dialogue of 13-year-old Crystal, rife with attitude and self-destructiveness. A solid abridgment and happy ending make this a worthwhile listen. H.L.S. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

one of my favorite books of all time
I have loved this book from the first time I picked it up, and have just finished it again for the 7th time! Yes, I said 7 times. I am an avid reader, and there are only 3 books that I will read over and over again. They are Good Grief by Lolly Winston, Up Island by Anne Rivers Siddons, and Colony by Anne Rivers Siddons. The characters are so well developed, that it seems like I am visiting an old friend when I pick them up again every couple of years... I wish they would make Good Grief into a movie...

Huh, what??
I totally agree with other reviewers who said this book seemed to be written by two different people. The first half was great, really insightful, full of emotion, and funny at points. (I especially liked the narrator driving to work in her bathrobe and mentally alerting herself to the fact that this was a very, very bad thing.)

But then, with the turn of a page, and without warning, the book falls flat on its face. All the characters in the new town the narrator moves to are two-dimensional and often not likable. The supposed best friend was *so* stupid I wanted to hit her over the head. And I also felt that the "grieving process" the narrator went through...well, I didn't feel healed or resolved.

What is it with modern authors that develop a split personality in the midst of finishing a story? There seem to be a lot of them these days... Good thing I checked this one out of the library. I couldn't wait to give it back.

Good grief, exactly my sentiments!
Good grief

Good grief is based on a widow named Sophie. Her husband, Ethan, passed away very young from cancer. She has a very hard time, a lot of times not being able to get out of bed. The scenes will make you feel as if you are there with her breaking the dishes, laughing and crying all at once. The straw that breaks the camel's back is when she is wearing her slippers and robe to work though. Her dad and stepmom come out and she decides after that to sell her house that she and Ethan shared and move in with her long time friend Ruth and Ruth's adorable little daughter Simone.

She gets a job at a Bistro in the front waitressing but gets demoted -- ending up at the salad station and baking --- Sharpening her baking skills and possibly developing and honing her loving of baking from there? In the meantime she has taken on the role of a Big Sister to a girl who cuts herself and has lots of home problems. Add in the mix a mother-in-law with dementia a bit, a maybe boyfriend and Ginger, a whole lot of fun.

This book was the best book!! Great first book. Can't wait to check out the next!!