Goodnight Nobody

Having just completed Goodnight Nobody I felt I should go ahead and write the review for it rather than some of the other ideas floating around in my head.

Goodnight Nobody is an awkward book to review, as it struck me so many different ways. On one hand, I related to the main character, Kate, in the sense that she is a suburban housewife with three kids and the feelings that accompany those surroundings. Ok, so there are some differences, I work and only have two kids, but the overall emotion expressed of "Is this all?" resonates through moms of today. I think any mother could relate to the feeling that motherhood, at times, sucks you dry. Kate, who was accustomed to the fast paced life of New York has been whisked away to a "safe" town in CT. Can someone say Stepford Wives? She confused about what she wants to do for herself, and struggling to keep up with the other mothers that appear so perfect. This aspect of the story resonated with me.

On the other hand, the storyline is a bit contrived, and to me seemed a bit redundant, or maybe just didn't hold my attention. I didn't feel for Kate in her quest to find the murderer of Kitty (this is actually the driving storyline). For me, there was no suspense build up. Almost everyone Kate wanted to interview was willing to speak with her, at least at first. Parts of the book that were supposed to be funny, like Kate singing "If You're Happy and You Know It" at Kitty's funeral, fell flat. Also the trying to be climatic ending was anti-. Maybe the story would have been better served if author, Jennifer Weiner, followed other characters as well, rather than just Kate. There were several situations that may have been funnier or scarier if we would have seen them through the other character's eyes rather than their retelling to Kate.

Overall, it's not a bad read, especially if you just want to relax.