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: Riveting Tale of Family Dynamics
Review: I have only read a few of this author's previous works, and was not a loyal fan. This book made me one! I read it in one day and wanted to start all over again once I finished. The family drama is a bit reminiscent of Jane Smiley's "A Thousand Acres", but definitely not a knock-off. It was a wonderful exploration of the mother daughter and sibling relationships within a family. Further, Ms. Berg's technique of using photographic imagery at the beginning of most chapters to "illuminate" the themes was effective and thought-provoking. The only thread I would have liked to have seen developed is the relationship between Caroline and her daughter, Eva. All we are told was that Eva was grown and moved to California - which in itself is telling, I suppose, but are we left to speculate too much about the meaning of this? I am curious to know what others think.
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.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, thoughtful, underrated
Review: I put off reading this book because of the lukewarm reviews given it by others and am SO glad I did not miss it completely! Berg deals with a wide variety of sensitive issues, and some seem to strike home with certain people better than others. I, for example, did not care for Talk Before Sleep (where the protagonist's friend dies of breast cancer) at all, yet it was received with great enthusiasm by many others, and was well reviewed. I however, have never had cancer touch my life. I DID grow up in a highly dysfunctional home, however, and have acheived a high level of resolution/recovery beyond it, so this book resonated deeply with me and I LOVED the ending ... it was simply perfect. This book, to me, seemed to be "classic Berg" in the style of Joy School and others, so please, if you've liked others of her books, consider the possibility that the subject matter is all that turned some others off ... I thought it was great. Just as breast cancer failed to resonate with me in her earlier book, perhaps those rare few blessed enough to have grown up in a perfect home (or unwilling to contemplate the fact they didn't)will not find a responsive chord struck within themselves when reading this book, but the rest of the world should receive it with gratitude (for Berg's ability to articulate their experiences) and delight.
Rating:
Summary: Give this book a chance
Review: I think other reviewers are unnecessarily harsh in their reviews of this book. One of my definitions of a good book is one that makes me think. A quote: "As for mending, I think it's good to take the time to fix something rather than throw it away. It's an antidote to wastefulness and to the need for immediate gratification. You get to see a whole process through, beginning to end, nothing abstract about it. 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." (14) This book is about a family's decision whether or not to repair (mend) their relationships after there has been a great tear through the fabric of their lives. It makes you think about whether there are relationships in your life that need mending.
Rating:
Summary: Give this book a chance
Review: I think other reviewers are unnecessarily harsh in their reviews of this book. One of my definitions of a good book is one that makes me think. A quote: "As for mending, I think it's good to take the time to fix something rather than throw it away. It's an antidote to wastefulness and to the need for immediate gratification. You get to see a whole process through, beginning to end, nothing abstract about it. 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." (14) This book is about a family's decision whether or not to repair (mend) their relationships after there has been a great tear through the fabric of their lives. It makes you think about whether there are relationships in your life that need mending.
Rating:
Summary: The sins of the past... (3 1/2 stars)
Review: I usually don't give half stars, but I feel that it was almost good enough to be a 4, but not quite. Elizabeth Berg can always be counted on to discuss the deeper issues in life, and describe them in a way, that makes you want to drink in her writing. She touches on alleged abuse, the makeup of families, and even death in this story. Her books are always quick, I can usually finish them off in no more than 3 or 4 sittings. It starts out with a memory of three siblings: Steve, Laura, and Caroline. The year is 1960, and they are going to the fair. This short chapter was describing how Laura and her sister were not really close, no one is really close to Caroline. She is too hard to understand. She is a "brownnoser," someone who is always giving their mother gifts. Fast forward forty years. Out of nowhere, Caroline wants to talk to Laura and Steve, about some things that have happened in the past, things that have been bothering her. These are things that their mother may have done. Both Laura and Steve are dumbfounded, because they weren't aware of anything in the past that was less than pleasant. As the story unfolds, we realize that there may have been abuse that went on with Caroline and their mom. Even though they start remembering things that do not fit perfectly with their sugar-coated memories, Caroline is still Caroline. Who do you believe? The woman who loved and cared for you all of these years, or your dramatic and difficult sister? As the secrets unfold, you realize who is telling the truth, and who wants to hide from the past. Even though I wasn't that satisfied with the way the book ended, I am always pleased with Berg's style. Though others have described her as "too wordy," I feel that, that is the most beautiful part of her works. The pieces that pull you into the story and these character's lives. I recall one paragraph,
"...Maybe it was the tender irony of the way that we, blind ourselves, offer our arm to others, hoping to ease the crossing. Maybe it was the odd surges of love one can feel for an absolute stranger. Or maybe it was the way we give so little when it's in us always to give so much more. Thomas Merton wrote about feeling a sudden awareness of a profound connection to others, understanding that 'they were mine and I theirs.' I loved reading things like that, things that pointed to our oneness and, by extension, our responsibility to others." It's the fact that she is my magnifying glass to the beauty in life, the armchair philosopher, full of wisdom, that keeps me coming back.
Rating: 
Summary: You can do a lot better Elizabeth
Review: I work in a library and couldn't wait for this book to come in. I think I've read nearly everything Berg has written but was so disappointed in this book. Perhaps because I had just read a true-crime book about real child abuse, this story seemed hollow and sloppily put together and never rang true. The characters were undeveloped and too shallow. Was this written quick to satisfy some contract with the publisher? Sure seems like it.
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