Rating: 
Summary: Pleasant but forgettable
Review: I read this as an unabridged audiobook. Not having read "The Red Tent" I had nothing to compare "Good Harbor" to (for good or bad). Overall I all enjoyed listening to this in the morning but I wasn't nearly as emotional as I'd expected it to be which is good, I guess, because I expected it to ruin my makeup. On the downside, this is a book I won't remember come next week . . .
It was a nice, gentle tale about the distance that can develop between couples that often goes unnoticed but it was also a book about the power of friendship between women and the special bond and sharing that occurs when two friend's just "click".
Both women came across as very realistic but somehow I always remained at a distance from them both. Joyce's attitude towards her "romance" novel (which paid for her summer home ~ I'd love to know who her agent was as new romance novelists are typically paid a slaves wage!) rubbed me the wrong way on more than one occasion though. Her troubles with her bratty daughter were very realistically portrayed and her loneliness well done but in the end I still sympathized much more with Kathleen's character (though, in the end, she nearly lost me as well).
This isn't a book I'd read again but I am interested in picking up "The Red Tent" after reading many of the reviews here.
Rating:
Summary: Easy reading
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't too deep, easy to pick back up where I left off when interupted by my toddler. There were a couple surprises that I wasn't expecting in the story. All in all it was entertaining.
Rating: 
Summary: Pleasing Read
Review: I thought this was a well written book with nicely developed characters. I appreciated the back story on the people in the novel and their seeming realism. I think this is an excellent followup to The Red Tent... Diamant is also known for her non-fiction. With Good Harbor, I believe she has proven herself to be a well-rounded author, with a variety of talents. Enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: completely disappointing -- zero stars
Review: I'm another Diamant fan who grabbed this book after being moved for months by the absolutely fabulous "Red Tent" which was everything a great book can be -- perspective-altering, horizon-widening, and maybe even life-changing. Alas, what I found was this lightweight poorly written piece of fluff. Anita, Anita, when did you write this? Was it part of a college course in which you had to fullfill a "best-seller checklist"? Religion -- check; sex -- check; marital infidelity -- check; competely extraneous drug bust -- check; dead child -- check; and the most important New York Times Best Seller Checklist Item of all -- **breast cancer** (or in this case, pre-cancer) -- check, check, check. It happens that I know a lot about breast treatments and those parts rang true, but hey, girls, we're talking about DCIS here -- generally a non-lethal, non-life threatening, non-fatal disease, and it would have been a worthy public service for Ms. Diamant to emphasize THOSE facts rather than writing about Kathleen's "disease" with such sweaty-palmed drama. The walks on Good Harbor were likewise well-described (an area I myself have walked many times) but really, again, we didn't need all the drama. The plot sidelines ended up just plain silly (what was WITH the drug bust, the broken collarbone, and the weirdo unconsumated sex (which I was sure was going to turn into a "Crying Game" type scene but instead went absolutely nowhere with zero explanation)). I love books about the fine relationships that women can have with one another, and I love books about the wisdom that we accumulate over the years. But reading about these self-involved, hand-wringing, breast-beating, completely self-obsessed women was a total waste of my time. I just wanted to grab Kathleen and show her REAL cancer suffering and tell her for god's sakes go do some grief therapy so you can help your poor remaining children and (ridiculously devoted) husband, and I wanted to grab the paintbrushes out of Joanne's hands and shout, "Who cares about your perfect ceiling?? Go work with the ESL kids in Gloucester who are struggling with the MCAS, or go help in a women's shelter, or do SOMETHING more than obsess about your poor innocent teenage daughter, your Mary-on-the-half-shell, and your paint chips." Oh, I so hope Ms. Diamant's next effort amounts to more than this hill of beans.
Rating: 
Summary: Women need other women!
Review: If you think this is a book about cancer, you are wrong. It is about dealing with the past. It is about the relationship between Kathleen and Joyce, who have more in common than the love of walking. The 20 year difference between Kathleen and Joyce is quite insignificant...what is signigicant is that they listen to one another without judging. They tell one another deep, hidden secrets... 'My child died and it's my fault. I had an affair. I had one too. I have cancer.' "Good Harbor is about two women who met at the right time. Two women who walk together enjoying the beauty of Cape Ann Beach, enjoy the beauty of one another. It's about being thankful for what we have. Kathleen says...
'Thank you for my health. Thank you for books. Thank you for my garden, for the trees, for a perfumed night. Thank you for Joyce. When you see two women walking, talking, laughing, Nike's hitting the pavement at a good speed...they are probably revealing the most unbelievable secrets about one another...they are probably saving the world. Thank you for girlfriends and long walks....We are indeed one another's therapy! AMEN.
Rating:
Summary: Women need other women!
Review: If you think this is a book about cancer, you are wrong. It is about dealing with the past. It is about the relationship between Kathleen and Joyce, who have more in common than the love of walking. The 20 year difference between Kathleen and Joyce is quite insignificant...what is signigicant is that they listen to one another without judging. They tell one another deep, hidden secrets... 'My child died and it's my fault. I had an affair. I had one too. I have cancer.' "Good Harbor is about two women who met at the right time. Two women who walk together enjoying the beauty of Cape Ann Beach, enjoy the beauty of one another. It's about being thankful for what we have. Kathleen says...
'Thank you for my health. Thank you for books. Thank you for my garden, for the trees, for a perfumed night. Thank you for Joyce. When you see two women walking, talking, laughing, Nike's hitting the pavement at a good speed...they are probably revealing the most unbelievable secrets about one another...they are probably saving the world. Thank you for girlfriends and long walks....We are indeed one another's therapy! AMEN.
Rating:
Summary: Comfortable book
Review: Like others here, I loved 'The Red Tent' by Diamant. 'Good Harbor' has its own merit, which in my opinion, is the profile of the kind of relationship most of us have if we are lucky. The kind of friendship that is comfort, honesty, and trust, but like real relationships, Joyce and Kathleen's friendship in 'Good Harbor' has its problems too. This novel isn't as compelling or captivating as 'The Red Tent' but I still enjoyed reading it. Hey, no one can hit every single one out of the ballpark.
Rating:
Summary: Comfortable book
Review: Like others here, I loved 'The Red Tent' by Diamant. 'Good Harbor' has its own merit, which in my opinion, is the profile of the kind of relationship most of us have if we are lucky. The kind of friendship that is comfort, honesty, and trust, but like real relationships, Joyce and Kathleen's friendship in 'Good Harbor' has its problems too. This novel isn't as compelling or captivating as 'The Red Tent' but I still enjoyed reading it. Hey, no one can hit every single one out of the ballpark.
Rating:
Summary: undemanding reading for the beach
Review: The frame for this book is a new unfolding friendship of two women, Kathleen Levine, a librarian and Joyce Tabachnik, a writer. Both women are married and have families.
The story starts slowly with descriptions but once that is over the narrative flows easily with a dialog that feels authentic. The structure feels a bit mechanical but becomes more integrated with the plot as the story unfolds. The chacters evolve according to the textbook but they never really take off.
There are no challenging thoughts to be found in this book and on the whole it feels a little flat but cozy. It may be a relaxing reading for a woman on a day when she does not wish to think about anything in particular.
To choose a different setting and time from her previous book will not spare Diamant any comparisons. This is not a bad book but it definitely exhibits a beginner's touch. The attempt to focus on female issues is too obvious and the book leaves me in a friendly mood but without any engagement in the lives of these two women.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: This book is just the book to read about the beautiful gift of friendship. It is wonderfully descriptive in the knowing of two women who become necessary in each other's life. They become good friends and show us the real meaning of friendship. They know when to talk and when to listen - and the end is just wonderful. Don't miss this read!
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