Open House

Rating:
Summary: Another Great One From Elizabeth Berg
Review: Elizabeth Berg is one of my favorite authors. I have loved every book that I read by her and Open House did not dissapoint me at all. Her descriptions of a woman going through a divorce are right on the money and I loved the great cast of Characters in this book.

Samantha Morrow seems to be living the perfect life, shes a housewife and stay-at-home Mom, but one day her husband decides that he is going to up leave her which was totally unexpected. Her Husband cuts off her credit due to the fact that she bought out Tiffany's on her husbands charge card. Sam does not want to uproot her son from his home so she decided to take in borders and through the help of King she finds a job.

The Characters in this book are great and I loved the tranformation Samantha makes with her life and herself.
I would recommend this book to anyone along with anything else that Ms Berg has written.

Rating:
Summary: Charming
Review: I loved reading this book just as I have loved reading all of Berg's other books (I was especially moved by Talk Before Sleep). Berg creates characters who are loveable and real, but in Open House, I was disappointed by the lack of depth she allowed her heroine and her compatriots. That aside, there are genuinely poignant moments in the novel that capture your heart as well as moments that are so amusing you'll laugh out loud. I was especially appreciative of Berg's easy, straight-forward writing style - I read Open House start to finish in one evening over a cafe latte. In a complex world, it's a complete delight to have the opportunity to drop into someone else's world for an evening and then leave it feeling satiated. I would highly recommend Open House as a "feel good" read.

PS. I'll never think of Martha Stewart in the same way ever again! Thank you Elizabeth Berg.

Rating:
Summary: A Discouraging Look at Life After Divorce
Review: If you are recently divorced, and even slightly depressed about it, you may want to wait awhile before reading Berg's saga of how one woman "rebuilds" her life after divorce. Berg chose to handle her subject in a rather discouraging manner (at least it seemed that way to this reader), and I believe she failed to show any real growth in Samantha, David, Travis, or even King. (Her main characters.) As for Samantha's "rebuilding" of her life, it seemed unfortuante that Berg chose to illustrate this by having Samantha find a new relationship at the book's end. To me, this novel was a chronicle of the daily (escapist) activities of the newly divorced Samantha. Frankly, I thought her activities and coping strategies were depressing! I often found myself agreeing with Samantha's (sometimes insensitive) friend Rita, who (at least) encouraged Sam to pick herself UP already and get on with her life! If you want to read about a woman who truly "makes it on her own" after divorce, I don't think you will find what you're looking for in this book. However, if you like a "typical" happy ending, you might enjoy the read.

Rating:
Summary: Thank you, Ms. Berg.
Review: My only problem with Elizabeth Berg's books are that they are too short. This is the 2nd book of hers I have read and I am hooked. Her characters are so real and true. Her stories heartbreaking and so funny. So many times durring this book I laughed out loud. Sam a 42 (not 33 as one reviewer on this page wrote) is a woman like so many, living a simple, perfect life which is shattered when her husband walks out. She has to reach deep to discover how strong she really is. I really LIKED this woman. I cried with her and felt her pain and her slow self discovery. Her realization that we all forget to appreciate who we are as women as we worry over our lost youth and cellulite was a wonderful eye opening truth. To look in our collective adult mirrors and be satisfied is rare in deed. A true revelation for me and I thank Elizabeth Berg for that. As a matter of fact, it's the first time I can remember reading an author's work and just wanting to thank them for picking up a pen in the first place.

Rating:
Summary: Would give it zero stars if I could
Review: This book was horrible. I couldn't finish reading it, which is saying a lot because I hate to waste my hard earned money on a book that I can't read. I can't believe this was an Oprah choice. Not that I read books or do anything else because Oprah suggests it. I read another one of her book choices and found it to be an entertaining read. But not this one.

The characters in this book seemed shallow. Sam seemed to be more of a ditz than a woman crushed by an estranged husband. The son seemed very immature for his age. Maybe this was just from the way he was written.

OK, I can't say much more because I didn't read the whole book. I will say I tried though, it just wasn't worth my time. The only reason I'm writing the review is to advise others to not even waste their time on this poorly written book.

Rating:
Summary: I want to follow these characters wherever they go!
Review: What do you do when your husband decides he doesn't want you anymore? You start to analyze EVERYthing -- especially yourself. That's what Samantha does -- as she agonizes her way to a new life. This is a fun book. And the characters are a hoot. Omigosh, this lady can write! The dialogue is so natural and realistic, I found myself reading it out loud, and it always rang true. It only took a few hours to read, and I must say it gave me a lot of laughs. (It's not a farce, by any means. It's really quite gentle and warm.) There were several real surprises in the book, too -- not plot twists, but weird characters popping up or really odd job situations or just a smack-on-the-button remark. Here's one that hit me for some reason: She's trying to help her son with his math homework, which reminds her of how she didn't understand geometry in high school, and she remembers taking her midterm: "I passed the time by drawing designs for evening gowns on the back of the exam; everything on the front of the page only annoyed me." I don't know what it is, but it has that magical something. My advice: Join me in looking up every book she's written, because this is worth our time! .