Jennifer Weiner discussed her latest novel, The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits, on CBS Saturday Morning.
Weiner’s novel, published last week by Morrow/HarperCollins, follows Cassie and Zoe Grossberg, who performed as a pop duo in the early 2000s. Two decades after the release of their sole album, Zoe’s daughter, Cherry, becomes interested in music and tracks down Cassie, who has been long estranged from her sister. A critic for Kirkus called the book “a heartfelt look at sisterhood, forgiveness, and the courage it takes to follow your dreams.”
Weiner told CBS Saturday Morning co-host Dana Jacobson that the character of Cassie, who is plus-sized, was inspired by a real-life pop star.
“I think that bodies are one of my big preoccupations and something I come back to frequently in my books,” she said. “I thought about Wilson Phillips and Carnie Wilson, remembering the videos where they would put her in pantsuits. Even if she was on the beach, she’d be in a pantsuit. And just the idea that we have to hide her—I wanted to write this book as an act of reclamation. I wanted to take those big girls who’d been pushed to the side…and put them back in the spotlight.”
Jacobson noted that Weiner has been called “an unlikely feminist enforcer.”
“Love that, love that,” Weiner said. “Except for the ‘unlikely’ part. If you were paying attention when I was in high school and college, of course you would have seen this coming! But I love the idea of being an enforcer, because I imagine myself going around with a baseball bat, just whacking people.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
