The Art of Mending

Rating:
Summary: Smooth and easy
Review: Art of Mending goes down smooth and easy, like a good drink.

Berg introduces us first to Laura through childhood memories. Soon we meet the grown-up Laura, who's got a near-perfect little family and a satisfying, profitable quilt-making business. Like Laura, the tone of the book is cozy and domestic.

Just before returning to her parents' home for a family reunion, Laura gets a call from her sister Caroline, requesting a private meeting with Laura and their brother Steve. Caroline's always had a flair for the dramatic, so nobody takes her seriously. But Caroline's sense of family duty kicks in. She's determined to help her sister fight whatever demons showed up this time.

We know we're about to learn a story of some kind of family abuse, and sure enough, we do. But it's not the typical story of a male abusing a female while a mother looks the other way. Instead, there's some complexity, based on family history. And to her credit, Berg gives us a realistic, plausible ending, risking the frustration of her readers.

I have to agree with other reviewers. The characters aren't deeply drawn. We learn a lot about Laura's husband, yet the family seems as stereotyped as characters in a television show. Siblings Steve and Caroline seem shadowy and Maggie, Laura's best friend, does seem to be the one-size-fits-all female buddy. Laura's marriage to Pete seems realistic: she tolerates some idiosyncrasies yet they're firmly a team. And the discovery of childhood secrets has been used far too many times as a plot device.

Still, Berg is a thoroughly professional writer. She moves the action swiftly and her prose style is flawless and spare. So bottom line, it's a good fast read, if you don't want to spend time analyzing the characters. And I could see a book club discussing, "Could this have happened? How realistic was the ending? Is Laura's family too good to be true?"

Not having a family myself (unless you count the dog and two cats), I'd have to look elsewhere for answers.

Rating:
Summary: Dour novel about a family's long-buried secret.
Review: Elizabeth Berg's new novel, "The Art of Mending," is the story of three grown siblings who have some unfinished business. Laura and Steve have always considered their sister, Caroline, to be a weird and overly sensitive drama queen. One day, Caroline declares that she wants to talk to her siblings about some terrible events that happened when she was a child. A crisis brings the family together, and finally, Caroline reveals what has been troubling her since she was a little girl.

Elizabeth Berg is known for her skill at exploring family dynamics. She understands that much of what goes on between close relatives is unspoken subtext. Problems are often swept under the rug, only to emerge years later in a virulent form. In her previous novels, Berg impressed me with her psychologically astute observations about love and human nature.

However, "The Art of Mending" is not one of Berg's best efforts. Although the author writes with keen insight about her characters' internal conflicts and turbulent emotions, the plot feels melodramatic and artificial. In addition, the characters are one-dimensional rather than fleshed out human beings. Although I was eager to learn the truth about Caroline's long-hidden secret, I ultimately grew tired of reading about this family's angst.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Purchase!
Review: Every family has its dark secrets, but it's amazing what you can ignore if you simply refuse to acknowledge it. It's certainly simpler to stay on the surface, without inquiring too deeply into why someone acts the way they do, or what a half-heard comment, not intended for your ears, really means. And if your only goal is making things run smoothly, assuring a steady progression of smiling pictures for your photo albums, maybe that's good enough. Or is it? If there were a secret in your family, something damaging enough to ruin someone's life and shatter your assumptions about those you grew up with, would you want to know?

Laura Bartone is a happily married mother, a maker of designer quilts, with loving parents and two younger siblings: Steve and Caroline. The two girls were never especially close; as a child, Caroline seemed plagued by sadness, always in low spirits and difficult to get along with - not that Laura particularly bothered to try. Now, Caroline is chronically depressed and prone to melodramatic pronouncements about her unhappiness, and seems to take a grim satisfaction in her misery. As the annual family reunion approaches, Caroline announces to Steve and Laura that she wants to meet with them privately to talk - about what, she won't say. But their exasperation quickly turns to shock and disbelief when Caroline reveals her secret: she was physically and emotionally abused by their mother throughout childhood. At first, Laura is incredulous. How could such a thing have gone on for so long without anyone noticing it? But Caroline's distress is clearly real, if nothing else, and Laura tries to be supportive. Exploring her memories of childhood, putting together vague hints from relatives and examining her own past in a new light, Laura sifts through the layers of protective silence and denial to finally understand the truth of her family's systemic but mysterious unhappiness. Bound together by a tragic past, the three women struggle for forgiveness and, eventually, a kind of peace.

Okay, so maybe the ever-twisting plot has more than a touch of the gothic to it. Characters whisper maddeningly vague hints about the past, then die before they can spill the beans; carefully hidden and secretly unearthed evidence points to mysterious, covered-up deaths. Knife-wielding mothers, mental hospitals disguised as summer camp, and many more soap-opera-worthy developments crowd the pages. It would all seem a little ridiculous if the story weren't anchored by realistic characters in a believable plight; fortunately, Berg never sensationalizes events, and if things get rather noirish, they never seem outright implausible. As it is, a mood of horrified discovery hangs over the pages: the simultaneous dread of feeling a chasm opening beneath your feet, and the urge to know exactly how bad it gets, to at least be able to touch bottom. Berg prepares the way so well, and keeps the pace moving so quickly and suspensefully, that I was ready and willing to accept anything up to a family of flesh-eating zombies. Luckily, things don't get quite that outlandish, but there's no shortage of juicy, titillating revelations.

Part of what makes this story so interesting is the strained relationships between family members. Laura is bossy and controlling; she likes order and routine, and so a latter-day revelation that forces her to re-examine everything she thought she knew about her childhood is especially wrenching for her. Caroline is a moody, demanding woman, often unpleasant to be around, and her accusations split the entire family into one of two factions - either they believe her, or they believe her mother. Their mother is, and was, beautiful and narcissistic, accustomed to being admired unconditionally; but her beauty and her need for approval conceal secrets from her own dark past. The characters' interactions and recollections clearly show how mistreatment echoes down the generations, snowballing until - if - someone is brave enough to call a halt to it.

Darkly absorbing, The Art of Mending is a compelling and suspenseful story of old secrets brought to light. Fans of Ruth Rendell will enjoy the similar bleakness and mystery here, but be warned: you may find yourself casting a suspicious eye on your thrice-widowed Great-Aunt Mabel when you see her at your next family reunion. A worthy purchase! Two other surprisingly good Amazon picks I'd like to recommend are [e-mail] by Tom Grimes and THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez.




Rating:
Summary: Stellar little book!
Review: Frankly, I don't understand some of the less than great reviews for this book. I actually put off reading it because of some of them. But E. Berg deals with a wide variety of sensitive issues, and some seem to strike home with certain people better than others. Such is the case with any book that comes from the heart, and Berg's certainly does.

Also would recommend Berg's other book, TALK BEFORE SLEEP, and the novel THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD

Rating:
Summary: Elizabeth Berg Rules!
Review: How does Elizabeth Berg know so much? How does she see into our hearts and minds? I look forward to every one of her books and this was no exception. This book has everything: love, betrayal, forgiveness, even death. I love this line which is the heart of the book, I think: "You'll always notice the fabric scar, of course, but there's an art to mending: if you're careful, the repair can actually add to the beauty of the thing, because it is testimony to its worth." Oh, it's a wonderful book about family, all the hateful and wonderful things we do to each other. Plus, the description of the Minnesota State Fair is worth the price all by itself.

Rating:
Summary: The Science of Sisters
Review: I don't know where to start. Elizabeth Berg's earlier works were much more descriptive. The last four books (at least) have been lost in too much dialogue. Too much talking. Only the last vignette of the two sisters making snow angels was a true tear jerker. (Thank you.) This is such an important issue (abuse-mental illness). If it had been an earlier work, I can imagine the entire thing written in Caroline's perspective. Her pain....not Laura complaining constantly about having to deal with her families problems. The best parts of this book are Laura describing old family photograph images. Way too much talking. I've read every book she's written and her earlier works put the reader above the action, looking down at it's beauty and sorrow...the last few we have been attached at the protagonist's hip; listening to them decide who is going to drive. I've noticed Berg is writing one book a year for the last 3 to 4 years. Is there a possibility that her publishers demands and deadlines weakening her creative juices. She remains one of my absolute favorites, but the last four books, just aren't memorable for me.

Rating:
Summary: Great reflection on family dynamics
Review: I enjoyed this work and found myself reflecting back on my own childhood while reading it. Berg examines the family dynamic in a thoughtful way that is not sappy and not too romantic either. It's real without bringing you down.

Rating:
Summary: An opportunity for self-reflection
Review: I got a lot out of this book because it caused me to reflect on my own family dynamics. All of my friends that have read it loved it. I guess my biggest disappointment was the lack of a lilting romance. This is not Berg's best work, but it is a worthwhile read.

Rating:
Summary: Am I Missing Something?
Review: I have devoured previous Berg books and couldn't wait to get my hands on this one when it was released. But then, I don't know, I just couldn't "get into" the storyline and the 200+ pages felt like 2000. I thought maybe I was missing something, and kept going back to re-read passages. Still, nothing. I finally finished and shook my head. What happened here?

I am glad that I'm not the only one who didn't get this one! I was thinking maybe I'd been reading too many Danielle Steel books and my mind had turned to mush or something. What happened to the writer whose beautifully crafted novels had me gripped from page one? I agree with the reviewer who speculated that maybe she had a five book deal and just wrote this one to fulfill her contract. It was just not up to her normal high standards.

I like to be able to visualize characters in my mind as I read. I had no picture of Laura whatsoever, in fact the only character I could "see" was her mother as a young woman. And Caroline, please. Talk about neurotic.

I won't give up on Elizabeth Berg. Hopefully, her next one will be better.

Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful and provocative
Review: I liked this book, maybe because I felt more personally drawn to the characters than the person who wrote the Amazon.com review. It's interesting that they found the "domestic details" to be interruptive and overdosing. To me, they emphasize that life goes on, even in the face of overwhelmingly adversity. I liked that Laura was able to wait to get married until the right guy for her came along. I liked that she tried to be loving and kind to her children. I imagine that some parents are actually like that. I was drawn to the conflict and yet repelled by it, like the scene of an accident. I was fearful of the personal demons that the book might force me to examine, but at the same time I was thirsty to examine the author's solution.

I enjoyed the ending, partly because it was ambiguous and partly because it was clear that everyone acknowledged their own part in the drama and was willing to accept responsibility, forgive and move on. I guess in real life, that doesn't really happen most of the time. Usually at least one of the people is in denial about their own culpability. But when I read a book I like a satisfying ending, and this book gave me that.

I liked the symbolic themes of Laura and her quilting passion, how she takes scraps and rags and forms them into something beautiful and appealing.

This book led me to think about people and how different we all are and how we all deal with the same situations in different ways. I thought about how much I would have liked to have been a different kind of parent, but how I couldn't because I didn't know how. We all bring a piece of ourselves to the books we read and take away different things. I liked this book and recommend it to anyone who finds benefit in occasionally examining themselves from within.

5 stars.