Big Girls Don't Cry

By Fay Weldon

Book Overview

First-wave feminism takes front and center in this fearless novel, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, about women determined to succeed in a man's world--only to be foiled by their own ambition

"A Woman Needs a Man Like a Fish Needs a Bicycle."

It's the 1970s, and the sexual revolution is just beginning. Four women have decided to open a feminist publishing house. Named in honor of the gorgon who turned men's hearts to stone, MedusaPublishing gives the so-called Four Furies a platform for speaking out against female oppression.

Layla is a wealthy, fundamental radical, intolerant of anyone whose ideals deviate, even slightly, from her own--that is, until she finds herself seduced by a married man; tiny Alice is "all mind and very little matter," until she discovers the dangerous New Age practice of goddess worship; Stephanie leaves her unfaithful husband in pursuit of sexual fulfillment with other men--and women; and Nancy, tired of washing her fianc 's socks, discovers she has a remarkable mind for business.

Big Girls Don't Cry is the story of four women who are determined to change the world, and who, over the course of two-and-a-half decades, ultimately transform themselves.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0871137593
• ISBN13: 9780871137593
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Big girls can do whatever. . .

She's done it again. In her succinct, dry way, Fay Weldon has succeeded in capturing the hopes, dreams, crushing defeats, and stunning recoveries that mark, bruise, and reshape the women of today. Her "Big Girls" are really a small group, every member flawed of course. She shows them tripping falling, fighting, succeeding. The problem is simple. These women decided it was easier to change the world than to change themselves. Of course, they do change, and the world is all the better for them having done so. Weldon's characters give us all a short, succinct course in feminist history, as they rise from humble beginnings (naked dancing in a living room for all to see) to forces to be reckoned with in publishing circles. They change the world. They change themselves. They change the reader. Weldon's wit is superb. She can say more in a few simple sentences than many writers can in several paragraphs (myself included).

Vintage Weldon: Mother Goose with an acid tongue.

You would think that after having written so many novels, and all about the same subject -- love and it's many complexities -- that Weldon would slip into formula writing. And I am still waiting for this to happen. A Weldon fan for more than 10 years, I have yet to be disappointed. How many times can one person write about lovers who cheat on each other (I haven't read a single Weldon novel that didn't involve multiple shades of adultery) and still keep it fresh? Obviously many. I've always considered Weldon more of a "womanist" than a feminist, and she uses this opportunity to trash the feminist movement of the 70s. Her satire is deliciously biting as she examines everyone's disparate perspectives. You don't know whom to sympathize with on what page because you can be sure that whomever you respected at the opening of the novel you will surely despise somewhere along the way, and vice versa. I eagerly await each new Weldon novel knowing that I am in for a wild ride. I had the opportunity to hear her read many years ago from her (then) new novel Darcy's Utopia and have never read her novels the same way since. She's like a cross between Mother Goose and Lizzie Borden. I would highly recommend this novel (or any other Weldon novel) to anyone who enjoys to laugh out loud, both at the characters and at him/herself. And there is just no way to be offended because she offends everyone at some point. On a down side I will say that her ending was a bit predictable, which is surprising for an author who usually can turn the formulaics of life into something spontaneous and exciting to witness.