Rating: 
Summary: good companionship and the smell of the ocean...
Review: This book made me long for the coast and a good friend to chat with! Serious subject matter (Katherine's cancer treatment)is discussed in a way that made it seem real to me. I must say when I began this book I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. The characters were real to me and seemed to be the sort of people I would like to get to know.
Overall I would recommend this to women over 30.
Rating: 
Summary: Just when you were about to give up on women friends...
Review: this book reminds you of why it's worth it to sift through the catty, competetive aquaintances to find one or two true female companions. I loved The Red Tent and was wary of a contemporary novel, but my concerns were unfounded. I couldn't put Good Harbor down either, even reading with a flashlight into the night after a day at the beach with three kids! I immediately passed it along to my dear friend who finished it just as quickly. We both decided the best line of the book was when the characters were discussing certain tragedies in the lives of women which are the price to pay for the miracles of having two x chromosomes - "It sucks and don't let anyone try to tell you different." Sometimes all the hormonal BS is worth it just to have one good girlfriend to tell all your deep, dark secrets.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book - highly underrated
Review: This book was an excellent, beautiful read. Yes, it was a surprise because it was *very* different than "The Red Tent" (Anita Diamant's first work of fiction). Sometimes readers buy follow up books by authors they like expecting the same style and type of storytelling and are disappointed when the book is unlike the first. If the book were *worse* than "The Red Tent", I could see the criticism. But, it's not. It's just a different type of writing, a different type of story. "Good Harbor" is a lovely story about two different women who come together and form a strong friendship in the midst of health problems, marital issues, and personal challenges. The setting is so beautiful that I wanted to travel to this sea-side town and try and find some of what the women found in the course of the book. I can't stress how much I enjoyed this book- and how I wish it didn't end. "Good Harbor" reminds me a lot of Elizabeth Berg's books (my favorite author)- well written, poetic, heart-breaking, but not saccharine. If you want another "Red Tent", skip this. But if you are open to a new experience by an excellent writer, read this book.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Book - highly underrated
Review: This book was an excellent, beautiful read. Yes, it was a surprise because it was *very* different than "The Red Tent" (Anita Diamant's first work of fiction). Sometimes readers buy follow up books by authors they like expecting the same style and type of storytelling and are disappointed when the book is unlike the first. If the book were *worse* than "The Red Tent", I could see the criticism. But, it's not. It's just a different type of writing, a different type of story. "Good Harbor" is a lovely story about two different women who come together and form a strong friendship in the midst of health problems, marital issues, and personal challenges. The setting is so beautiful that I wanted to travel to this sea-side town and try and find some of what the women found in the course of the book. I can't stress how much I enjoyed this book- and how I wish it didn't end. "Good Harbor" reminds me a lot of Elizabeth Berg's books (my favorite author)- well written, poetic, heart-breaking, but not saccharine. If you want another "Red Tent", skip this. But if you are open to a new experience by an excellent writer, read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Best book in years
Review: This is the best book I've read in years. I absolutely loved it and couldn't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Nice,quick read
Review: This is the first opportunity that I have had to read a book by Anita Diamant. I really enjoyed this book. I bought it because I am an Onoclogy nurse and thought I would like to read about breast cancer from the patient's perspective. I was able to get that, but I found a lovely friendship between Kathleen and Joyce. I would have liked to see the author expand her characters, however, and spend more time focusing on the interactions between the two women. Overall, it is a nice book to read and follow and shouldn't take long to get through.
Rating:
Summary: A Treat for Women
Review: This novel is so interesting from start to finish. Set in beautiful Gloucester, Ma., one of my favorite places on earth, this is the story of two women who become fast friends when each realizes that an ear and good advice is necessary in their lives. The stories of each woman is very well expanded so that thereader feels like she gets to know the characters. The ladies utilize the beach and its surrounding area as a place of tranquility and calm. Their almost-daily walks lead to a great understanding of other peoples troubles and how we are really never alone in our problems. A great read!
Rating:
Summary: The characters are exactly life size
Review: When a first novelist produces a work that is a blockbuster bestseller, critics invariably scrutinize her next novel for signs of "sophomore slump." In The Red Tent, Anita Diamant brought to life an ancient world, spinning an epic tale out of one brief passage in the Bible. That novel was an impressive work of imagination and storytelling. And despite the fact that she breathed life into Biblical figures, depicting them as human beings with loves, hopes and fears similar to our own, her characters came across as larger-than-life -- only to be expected of figures who loom so large in our culture. In Good Harbor, a contemporary novel with a much narrower scope, the characters are exactly life size. I can't remember another novel I've read in the recent past in which the characters seemed so much like people I knew or might meet. At times I felt less as if I were reading a novel and more as if I were listening to two women ahead of me in line at the supermarket, discussing their lives and problems with no awareness of being overheard. The introduction to Kathleen and Joyce's stories is leisurely, the way it might be with any new acquaintance, too slow for many readers who have posted unfavorable reviews here. Still, the further I read, the more eager I became to learn how these women would deal with their problems. Kathleen is struggling with a diagnosis of breast cancer, and with her enduring grief over the loss, years earlier, of her younger son. Joyce is worried about the growing distance between herself and her husband, and about her twelve-year-old daughter's new sullenness. In addition, Joyce frets that she will never be able to write the book she really wants to write, instead of the commercially successful romance she has published. Several readers called the women whiny and self-involved. Frankly, I can't imagine not being concerned over a diagnosis of breast cancer, even minimally invasive cancer. Joyce's problems are less life threatening, but I found myself engrossed as well. (Perhaps only another writer could eagerly await a resolution to Joyce's writer's block.) But I was just as engrossed by the underlying theme of this novel -- the strength of women's friendships. As at least one other reader has noted, Kathleen and Joyce's friendship mirrors on a smaller scale the theme of The Red Tent. For those who haven't read Diamant's first novel, the "red tent" that she imagined for her Biblical characters was a tent to which the women retreated during their menstrual periods, there to refresh themselves both with a respite from constant work and with the companionship and conversation of other women. For many women readers of that novel, the red tent became symbolic of the place of calm, comfort and renewed energy that women's friendships offer in our own lives. This was true for me. My best friend and I feel that we have created our own little red tent, and the five women comprising our fiction critique group -- who have become good friends in the years we have met together -- feel the same about our circle of writers. One reader reviewer felt that if not for the success of Diamant's first novel, Good Harbor would never have been published. I think this is very possible; there is not a huge market for quiet novels like this one. And I can imagine Diamant's agent and publisher urging her to turn her talents instead to another grand historical epic. Nor is Good Harbor stylistically perfect. The descriptions of the main characters involve some cliched "as she looked in the mirror" lines (though as others have said, the descriptions of Gloucester and the sense of place are superb). I was disconcerted by a couple of overly abrupt viewpoint changes. And there may be some contrivance in the plot -- though by definition a novel is contrived. But these are minor flaws. Women readers who treasure strong women's friendships may well treasure this quiet depiction of one.
Rating: 
Summary: A Novel With Its Own Merit
Review: When you are the renowned author of "The Red Tent," how do you top yourself? Unfortunately, "Good Harbor" was not able to do that. However, "Good Harbor" captured my attention and I was taken in about the story of a friendship. Kathleen, recently diagnosed with breast cancer, meets Joyce, a romance writer. The friendship flourishes immediately as they enjoy walks together on Good Harbor. Through the walks, each woman feels safe in confiding with the other. There are many issues that "Good Harbor" addresses: cancer, religion, parenting, death, infidelity, and relationships. Diamant is a master at setting the scene. She describes the beauty of Good Harbor and Kathleen's garden so precisely that the reader is able to create a mental image. This was the strongest feature in the novel. "Good Harbor" is a novel with its own merit, however many will find it difficult not to compare it with "The Red Tent." I encourage readers to try "Good Harbor" and see a different side of Anita Diamant. I eagerly anticipate Diamant's future work.
Rating:
Summary: A Novel With Its Own Merit
Review: When you are the renowned author of "The Red Tent," how do you top yourself? Unfortunately, "Good Harbor" was not able to do that. However, "Good Harbor" captured my attention and I was taken in about the story of a friendship. Kathleen, recently diagnosed with breast cancer, meets Joyce, a romance writer. The friendship flourishes immediately as they enjoy walks together on Good Harbor. Through the walks, each woman feels safe in confiding with the other. There are many issues that "Good Harbor" addresses: cancer, religion, parenting, death, infidelity, and relationships. Diamant is a master at setting the scene. She describes the beauty of Good Harbor and Kathleen's garden so precisely that the reader is able to create a mental image. This was the strongest feature in the novel. "Good Harbor" is a novel with its own merit, however many will find it difficult not to compare it with "The Red Tent." I encourage readers to try "Good Harbor" and see a different side of Anita Diamant. I eagerly anticipate Diamant's future work.
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