Open House : A Novel (Oprah's Book Club (Paperback))

Rating:
Summary: Too Much Tell!
Review: This is a sad story of a woman trying to start life anew after her husband's abandonment. The author is successful in demonstrating how one can become [almost] insane from a broken heart. However, the author told us most of the story instead of showing us what happened. It would have been nice to know the events that lead up to the divorce, at least. Too much space was wasted on trivial things, like: what she and Travis ate, the jobs she worked, etc. so that near the story's end, everything just seemed to fly by in paragraphs without much explanation.

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Rating:
Summary: A Good Discovery Novel
Review: This was an enjoyable story about a woman who discovers herself and life in the face of divorce. Very thought provoking and well written. The writer did an excellent job at making me feel the characters feelings. Enjoyable.

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! .