Little Earthquakes Read online

  FEATURING A WASHINGTON SQUARE PRESS READERS CLUB GUIDE

  “Immensely readable. . . . Weiner’s gift lies in her ability to create characters who both amuse us and make us care.”

  —The Washington Post

  Jennifer Weiner’s richest, wittiest, most true-to-life novel yet tells the story of three very different women as they navigate one of life’s most wonderful and perilous transitions: the journey of new motherhood.

  Becky is a plump, sexy chef who has a wonderful husband and baby girl, a restaurant that’s received citywide acclaim—and the mother-in-law from hell. Kelly is an event planner who’s struggling to balance work and motherhood while dealing with an unemployed husband who seems content to channel-surf for eight hours a day. Ayinde’s basketball superstar husband breaks her trust at her most vulnerable moment, putting their new family even more in the public eye. Then there’s Lia, a Philadelphia native who has left her Hollywood career behind, along with her husband and a tragic secret, to start her life all over again.

  From prenatal yoga to postbirth sex, Little Earthquakes is a frank, funny, fiercely perceptive take on the comedies and tragedies of love and marriage.

  “Weiner, a wonderful natural writer and storyteller, renders her characters and their messy, sometimes wrenching lives in details that resonate as the real deal . . . smart, loveable, and mordantly funny.”

  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  “Lively, witty, and often touching. . . . Weiner’s snappy dialogue and captivating characters make Little Earthquakes endlessly appealing.” —People

  JENNIFER WEINER is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of nine books, including Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, which was made into a major motion picture, and Then Came You. A graduate of Princeton University, Jennifer is also the executive producer for the ABC Family show State of Georgia. To learn more, visit www.jenniferweiner.com.

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  COVER DESIGN BY ANNA DORFMAN • COVER PHOTOGRAPH © WALTER B. MCKENZIE/GETTY IMAGES

  AUTHOR IMAGE BY ANDREA CIPRIANI MECCHI

  Praise for New York Times bestselling author

  JENNIFER WEINER

  Little Earthquakes

  “The best and brightest American practitioner of chick lit.”

  —Publishers Weekly

  “Weiner has a flawless sense of story: She propels us right into her characters' lives and hardly slows down for all 400 pages. . . . A tribute to what's most meaningful in our own small lives.”

  —Philadelphia Inquirer

  “Weiner has birthed another winner. . . . [A] multifaceted gem of a novel.”

  —Library Journal (starred review)

  “Reading Little Earthquakes . . . feels like curling up on a couch with a best girlfriend in crisis.”

  —Entertainment Weekly

  “Fantastically witty. . . . Weiner shows she can write with exquisite tenderness as well as humor. . . . A multilayered story that surpasses most of the chick lit canon. Little Earthquakes is a satisfying leap from a writer whose voice has matured with each of her three books.”

  —Miami Herald

  “Unputdownable . . . a nuanced portrait of what's in store for anyone looking ahead to mom-dom.”

  —Glamour

  “A bittersweet comedy. . . . Jennifer Weiner's Little Earthquakes is laced with the seemingly effortless humor that made her first two novels, Good in Bed and In Her Shoes, so appealing.”

  —The Boston Globe

  “Laugh-out-loud funny. . . . Weiner is a born storyteller, no question about it . . . [Little Earthquakes] will draw you in and keep you entertained.”

  —The Hartford Courant

  “A chick-lit coup . . . a hoot. . . . Weiner invests each of the very different women with so much you-are-there detail that the characters start entertaining the reader on their own. . . . Full of snappy dialogue, Little Earthquakes is grown-up chick lit for readers who may be relieved to discover there is life beyond the genre's eternal quest for suitable husbands.”

  —The Seattle Times

  “Chick lit's best. . . . Already an innovator, Weiner expands her narrative reach even further with Little Earthquakes. Again, it is Weiner's solid, witty writing that makes this story. . . . Her voice pulls you in, dealing out wise counsel, heartbreaking loss and redemption, and incredibly funny moments with equal ease. . . . Weiner's story is more than just the latest twist in a popular genre. It signals, perhaps, a new trend: grown-up chick-lit—mature, sophisticated, but still plenty of fun. Rather than meeting, and bettering, the standard, she is setting it, and no doubt others will try to follow.”

  —The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)

  “New mom Jennifer Weiner knows her stuff: You'll find yourself (and your baby and husband) somewhere in her honest, touching—and witty—story of three women who become friends just as they're becoming moms.”

  —Parenting

  “Witty and honest, Little Earthquakes is a winning story that perfectly captures the challenges of new motherhood.”

  —Pages

  “Heartbreaking and hilarious . . . Weiner can be counted on for happy endings all around. Communication with and compassion for those closest to us make all things possible, in her view.”

  —Lancaster Newspapers

  “Little Earthquakes looks at four very different women and the way their lives change as they become new mothers. . . . Plenty of laughs and heartwarming moments. . . . A feel-good novel.”

  —The Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

  “A triumph. . . . Weiner's latest novel [is] a down-to-earth journey through the lives of three women as they conquer one of life's greatest challenges—motherhood.”

  —Albuquerque Journal (New Mexico)

  “Such hilarity and sweetness . . . tenderness and heart. . . . Only Weiner could form such identifiable characters. . . .Whether you've read her before or are just now learning of her talent, Weiner's Little Earthquakes is a fantastic read on friendship, family, and finding exactly where you need to be.”

  —Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL)

  “Weiner's latest book had me laughing and crying. . . . Strong yet vulnerable, these powerfully drawn characters are overwhelmed by their babies and new roles. . . . None of them ends up with everything, but the book feels feminist anyway. Best of all, they share an intimate friendship, one created through wry humor, wit, and tears.”

  —Philadelphia Magazine (Grade: A)

  “Jennifer Weiner's genius is that she writes about women we know. . . . This novel could be a primer for first-timers, better than What to Expect When You're Expecting at describing the confusing mix of joy and resentment that comes with the defecating, burping, screaming bundle.”

  —Plain Dealer (Cleveland)

  “Weiner's hot news in Hollywood and it's easy to see why. This blow-by-blow account of all that child-rearing involves is the lively tale of four women thrown together by babies. Weiner has an easy way with words and enviable insight.”

  —The Mirror

  “If Sex and the City had lasted long enough for us to watch all four women become pregnant, the show might have evolved into something like Little Earthquakes. . . . Weiner deftly conveys common anxieties and frustrations of first-time mothers.”

  —Fort Worth Star Telegram

  “Little Earthquakes is as compelling as Weiner's previous two bestsellers. . . . A perfect example of how to write an irreverent look at pregnancy and newborns.”

  —The Calgary Herald

  “It's a lot easier to ride out the storms of early
parenthood if you're equipped with Weiner's wicked humor. . . . Like its bestselling predecessors, [Little Earthquakes] is a chatty, catty, giggly, tearful ride full of brand names and best friends, with lots of honey-colored skin on the jacket. And like its predecessors, it will be underestimated, at least by some critics.”

  —Newsday

  “A novel you'll want to put on your reading list . . . a sometimes hilarious, sometimes touching story of four Philadelphia women who share the joys and traumas of new motherhood. . . . [A] realistic, rich picture of motherhood, joys and sorrows included.”

  —San Antonio Express-News

  “[Little Earthquakes] will charm and delight readers with its mixture of heartbreak and humor. New mothers may find that juggling careers, new babies, and the shift in their marriages is an impossible task. Weiner will make the reader believe in the power of love and friendship.”

  —Tampa Tribune

  “Weiner writes so vividly and creates such real human emotion through her words that she makes her readers truly care about the lives of her characters. . . . She has written a touching novel with wonderful characters and honest lessons about living a less-than-perfect-life. . . . This is women's fiction at its best.”

  —Bookreporter.com

  “A warm, often funny, touching look at the challenges and joys of new motherhood and marriage.”

  —Booklist

  Good in Bed

  “When it comes to pampering, this season's beach-book Queen for a Day is Cannie Shapiro.”

  —Janet Maslin, The New York Times

  “Good in Bed is a delight, a contemporary Cinderella tale told with intelligence, wit, and style.”

  —Susan Isaacs, author of Any Place I Hang My Hat and Almost Paradise

  “A breezy, sweetly oddball urban fairy tale. . . . Jennifer Weiner endows Cannie's story with a lot of brassy heart.”

  —The Miami Herald

  “A crackling debut. . . . Cannie emerges as one of the most engaging, realistic female characters in years.”

  —Entertainment Weekly (Grade: A)

  In Her Shoes

  “An entertaining romp. . . . This book is like spending time with an understanding friend who has a knack for always being great company. Bottom line: wonderful fit.”

  —People

  “Weiner, a marvelously natural storyteller, blends humor and heartbreak to create an irresistible novel.”

  —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  “Weiner balances romantic formula with fresh humor, deft characterizations and literary sensibility.”

  —Elaine Showalter, The Guardian (UK)

  “If chick lit is indeed a genre, Weiner is creating a smarter, funnier subspecies.”

  —Philadelphia Inquirer

  Goodnight Nobody

  “Hilarious . . . begs to be read in one sitting. Weiner takes the serious themes of commitment, self-esteem, and identity and mixes in moments of laugh-out-loud humor.”

  —The Philadelphia Inquirer

  “Weiner's sharp wit, crisp writing, and wry observations are all abundant in Goodnight Nobody.”

  —The Miami Herald

  “A humorous take on hearth and home . . . Weiner possesses a warm heart and a wickedly funny eye for social interaction.”

  —Baltimore Sun

  “A Peyton Place for the twenty-first century, only more modern, hip, and funny than the original.”

  —The Boston Globe

  ALSO BY JENNIFER WEINER

  Good in Bed

  In Her Shoes

  Goodnight Nobody

  The Guy Not Taken

  Certain Girls

  Best Friends Forever

  Fly Away Home

  Then Came You

  The Next Best Thing

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  ATRIA BOOKS

  1230 Avenue of the Americas

  New York, NY 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2004 by Jennifer Weiner, Inc.

  Originally published in hardcover in 2004 by Atria Books

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Atria Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-2863-0

  ISBN-10: 1-4165-2863-6

  eISBN-13: 978-0-74349-990-3

  This Atria Books paperback edition October 2006

  ATRIA BOOKS and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Cover design by Honi Werner; Photograph by Zeitgeist/Photonica

  Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? by Dr. Seuss, copyright TM and copyright by Dr. Seuss Enterprises L.P., 1970, renewed 1998, used by permission of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

  “Soliloquy” copyright © 1945 by WILLIAMSON MUSIC.

  Copyright Renewed. International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.

  For Lucy Jane

  Contents

  Part 1: April

  Chapter 1: LIA

  Chapter 2: BECKY

  Chapter 3: AYINDE

  Part 2: May

  Chapter 4: KELLY

  Chapter 5: LIA

  Chapter 6: BECKY

  Part 3: June

  Chapter 7: LIA

  Chapter 8: AYINDE

  Chapter 9: BECKY

  Chapter 10: KELLY

  Part 4: July

  Chapter 11: AYINDE

  Chapter 12: BECKY

  Chapter 13: KELLY

  Chapter 14: AYINDE

  Part 5: August

  Chapter 15: BECKY

  Chapter 16: KELLY

  Chapter 17: AYINDE

  Part 6: September

  Chapter 18: BECKY

  Chapter 19: LIA

  Part 7: October

  Chapter 20: KELLY

  Chapter 21: BECKY

  Chapter 22: AYINDE

  Part 8: November

  Chapter 23: LIA

  Part 9: December

  Chapter 24: KELLY

  Chapter 25: BECKY

  Chapter 26: AYINDE

  Part 10: January

  Chapter 27: LIA

  Chapter 28: KELLY

  Chapter 29: LIA

  Chapter 30: BECKY

  Chapter 31: KELLY

  Part 11: February

  Chapter 32: LIA

  Chapter 33: AYINDE

  Chapter 34: BECKY

  Chapter 35: KELLY

  Part 12: March

  Chapter 36: LIA

  Acknowledgments

  ‘The Next Best Thing’ Excerpt

  About the Author

  About Atria Books

  A Readers Group Guide

  “What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”

  “Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become real.”

  “Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.

  “Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”

  —MARGERY WILLIAMS

  The Velveteen Rabbit

  April

  LIA

  I watched her for three days, sitt
ing by myself in the park underneath an elm tree, beside an empty fountain with a series of uneaten sandwiches in my lap and my purse at my side.

  Purse. It’s not a purse, really. Before, I had purses—a fake Prada bag, a real Chanel baguette Sam had bought me for my birthday. What I have now is a gigantic, pink, floral-printed Vera Bradley bag big enough to hold a human head. If this bag were a person, it would be somebody’s dowdy, gray-haired great-aunt, smelling of mothballs and butterscotch candies and insisting on pinching your cheeks. It’s horrific. But nobody notices it any more than they notice me.

  Once upon a time, I might have taken steps to assure that I’d be invisible: a pulled-down baseball cap or a hooded sweatshirt to help me dodge the questions that always began Hey, aren’t you? and always ended with a name that wasn’t mine. No, wait, don’t tell me. Didn’t I see you in something? Don’t I know who you are?

  Now, nobody stares, and nobody asks, and nobody spares me so much as a second glance. I might as well be a piece of furniture. Last week a squirrel ran over my foot.

  But that’s okay. That’s good. I’m not here to be seen; I’m here to watch. Usually it’s three o’clock or so when she shows up. I set aside my sandwich and hold the bag tightly against me like a pillow or a pet, and I stare. At first I couldn’t really tell anything, but yesterday she stopped halfway past my fountain and stretched with her hands pressing the small of her back. I did that, I thought, feeling my throat close. I did that, too.

  I used to love this park. Growing up in Northeast Philadelphia, my father would take me into town three times each year. We’d go to the zoo in the summer, to the flower show each spring, and to Wanamaker’s for the Christmas light show in December. He’d buy me a treat—a hot chocolate, a strawberry ice cream cone—and we’d sit on a bench, and my father would make up stories about the people walking by. A teenager with a backpack was a rock star in disguise; a blue-haired lady in an ankle-length fur coat was carrying secrets for the Russians. When I was on the plane, somewhere over Virginia, I thought about this park, and the taste of strawberries and chocolate, and my father’s arm around me. I thought I’d feel safe here. I was wrong. Every time I blinked, every time I breathed, I could feel the ground beneath me wobble and slide sideways. I could feel things starting to break.