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The Art of Mending

by Elizabeth Berg

3.61 of 5 stars 3.61 · rating details · 5,529 ratings · 520 reviews

Paperback, 256 pages

Published February 28th 2006 by Fawcett (first published 2004)

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Jun 04, 2009 Bonnie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed-books, recommended

The Art of Mending is the second-to-last of the fourteen books I read by Elizabeth Berg. The title is apt; it’s a book about healing. The theme seems to be addressed in so many stories these days, that I can find it tiresome, even as I can empathize with its victims. The story here, though, was well-crafted, and this was a more satisfying read than her next novel, The Year of Pleasures. While reading the latter, I frankly had the feeling that Berg had grown weary of writing, and needed a break....more

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Jul 24, 2009 bookczuk rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: bookcrossing, borrowed, favorite-author, rabun-county-and-thereabouts, home-library, satisfying

Early on, the characters in this novel captivated me. Laura is a wife, mother, daughter, and a quilter. As she pieces bits of fabrics together to make a quilt, she takes the bits and pieces of her life and her family's personalities to help create a new whole. The book is interspersed (I'm pretty sure I spelled that wrong- live with it) with descriptions of a family photograph album- snapshots in time, that together with what Laura discovers, create a new whole for her family.

There were bits of...more Early on, the characters in this novel captivated me. Laura is a wife, mother, daughter, and a quilter. As she pieces bits of fabrics together to make a quilt, she takes the bits and pieces of her life and her family's personalities to help create a new whole. The book is interspersed (I'm pretty sure I spelled that wrong- live with it) with descriptions of a family photograph album- snapshots in time, that together with what Laura discovers, create a new whole for her family.

There were bits of domestic details that have annoyed some reviewers, but that I liked- like when Laura writes "I hung up, flipped the turkey burgers for the last time, dumped the oven-baked French fries into a basket and salted them, sliced tomatoes, drained the water off the ears of corn...", we'd had turkey burgers and salad for supper that evening. I liked the rituals she and her husband had established in their life- how they chose to share with each other how their day went. There was one passage where she wrote about buying fabric- about carrying an entire bolt around the store, even though the manager said to put it down, carrying it because she didn't want someone else to buy the whole bolt before she got her piece...It reminded me of anyone who has a passion about anything- like books, for instance, and our nutty behavior when our searching for new ones. I mean, Logically, I know that if someone gets the last copy, I can order another, but it isn't the same. (pp 203-204 in the hardback edition I have in front of me.)

I had an aunt who turned out to be abusive of one of her children. I found this out in adulthood, and this, perhaps gave me a heightened sesnitivity to the story. None of us knew until many years after the aunt died, but it explains a lot. We just thought she was nuts- had no clue about the abuse. My cousin is a strong woman and is doing alright now.

This book is about healing. The question is whether or not past wrongs can be healed. As Laura says, 'There is an art to mending. If you're careful, the repair can actually add to the beauty of the thing, because it is testimony of its worth.'

Edited to add that I did a reread of this book after discovering it in bumma's stacks when she passed away. Still a lovely read.(less)

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Nov 12, 2007 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorite-writers, books-i-own, chick-lit-women-s-lit, fiction, women-s-issues, the-100-in-2007, 5-star-reads

In The Art of Mending, Laura Bartone is heading to her annual family reunion and looking forward to the fair and a fun and relaxed time with her children, parents, siblings, and husband. Upon her arrival, however, her black sheep sister Caroline makes some shocking allegations about their mother, and Laura must figure out how to deal with and come to terms with her sister's allegations. The matter is further complicated by a death in the family.

Berg is an amazing writer. She keeps you interested...more

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Jun 01, 2012 Alison rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This little book packed a punch. There's an author interview in the back of the book where Elizabeth Berg talks about how many of her loyal readers didn't like this book, and it's definitely a difficult one to read and lacks a perfect protagonist to adore and cheer for. But I thought the lack of a "hero" or morally perfect character was what made the book work so well. Everyone has their role to play in families, even when--especially when--there's abuse. So many authors try to tackle these issu...more

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Jul 23, 2008 Marie rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who likes Anita Shreve or Jodi Picoult

Recommended to Marie by: Pat Bezanson

As all Elizabeth Berg books - I really enjoyed it! I am staying at my sister's as I read this book. That may have colored it a bit...but the story is about a family with 3 adult children going home. There is a part in the story where the main character is asked by her sister to do something. The main character is hesitant - her husband asks her if she would do the same thing for her best friend. The main character said without a doubt - Her husband asks her why is it easier to do something for a...more

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Apr 11, 2013 D Ellis Phelps rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have been told that my writing is like that of Elizabeth Berg. If so, I am honored to keep the company of such an authentic, eloquent writer.

In this book, she speaks fluent family: the real kind, with warts and wrinkles and deep gouges. Her narrative, a mix of "how to's," "what if's," and "why not's," begs us to look closer at the human condition, her commentary, an open-heart surgery.

Speaking of baby monkeys (but in reference to all family of origin abuse survivors) she writes: "They were on...more

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Mar 09, 2012 Tinkerbell - Blog MyImaginarium rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009

Lido em:2009

Este livro é lindo! Algumas lágrimas soltaram-se (sim sou uma lamechas : ))!
O livro aborda um assunto complexo A FAMÍLIA!
Não existem famílias, pais ou filhos perfeitos, mas todos nós vivemos nessa imperfeição, que no momento é o mais perfeito que pode ser ou podemos ter.
Neste livro, temos a personagem Laura, que após responder ao pedido de ajuda da sua “melodramática” irmã Caroline, fica chocada e em negação, em relação à imagem que ela transmite da mãe. Laura e Steve (o outro irmão)...more

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Nov 21, 2011 Mmtimes4 rated it 3 of 5 stars

It begins with the sudden revelation of astonishing secrets—secrets that have shaped the personalities and fates of three siblings, and now threaten to tear them apart. In renowned author Elizabeth Berg’s moving new novel, unearthed truths force one seemingly ordinary family to reexamine their disparate lives and to ask themselves: Is it too late to mend the hurts of the p...moreIt begins with the sudden revelation of astonishing secrets—secrets that have shaped the personalities and fates of th...more It begins with the sudden revelation of astonishing secrets—secrets that have shaped the personalities and fates of three siblings, and now threaten to tear them apart. In renowned author Elizabeth Berg’s moving new novel, unearthed truths force one seemingly ordinary family to reexamine their disparate lives and to ask themselves: Is it too late to mend the hurts of the p...moreIt begins with the sudden revelation of astonishing secrets—secrets that have shaped the personalities and fates of three siblings, and now threaten to tear them apart. In renowned author Elizabeth Berg’s moving new novel, unearthed truths force one seemingly ordinary family to reexamine their disparate lives and to ask themselves: Is it too late to mend the hurts of the past?

Laura Bartone anticipates her annual family reunion in Minnesota with a mixture of excitement and wariness. Yet this year’s gathering will prove to be much more trying than either she or her siblings imagined. As soon as she arrives, Laura realizes that something is not right with her sister. Forever wrapped up in events of long ago, Caroline is the family’s restless black sheep. When Caroline confronts Laura and their brother, Steve, with devastating allegations about their mother, the three have a difficult time reconciling their varying experiences in the same house. But a sudden misfortune will lead them all to face the past, their own culpability, and their common need for love and forgiveness.

Readers have come to love Elizabeth Berg for the “lucent beauty of [her] prose, the verity of her insights, and the tenderness of her regard for her fellow human” (Booklist). In The Art of Mending, her most profound and emotionally satisfying novel to date, she confronts some of the deepest mysteries of life, as she explores how even the largest sins can be forgiven by the smallest gestures, and how grace can come to many through the trials of one.

This was the second novel I read by this author. The characters had a deep level to them and the subject was interesting. I liked the questions I pondered as I read, who was telling the truth? She showed how people (characters) can be greatly influenced by what happens to them in their childhood.

(less)

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Oct 01, 2011 Lena rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011

I wanted an easy read, and this was recommended to me by a friend, with the caveat that it was an old-lady novel from Target. I should have taken that more seriously, along with "old-lady novel for women who don't like to think/know how." (No offense, Allison). I believe I got to page 30 before wanting to vomit on myself & the book and then eating my vomit to only re-vomit again. Yep. That good.

My problem with this book, and others in its genre is this: it's recycled, carefully yet poorly c...more

4 likes · like · see review

Sep 11, 2011 Logophile rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, reviewed

At a family reunion, quilt-maker Laura Bartone discovers a horrible family secret from her odd and difficult younger sister Caroline. Although this novel had moments of emotional resonance, there were far too many moments that felt like simply padding, arbitrary and irrelevant to the story. For instance, the details about a dog quilt that Laura is making for a client who is not even named or seen in the novel seemed entirely superfluous, as did the discussion about the hypochondria of a friend's...more

7 likes · like · see review

Jul 25, 2011 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Elizabeth Berg is a wonderful writer. She is able to tell the story in a way that holds your attention but doesn't over load it. She has a gift for bringing to light a rather heavy subject of emotional abuse in a way that is very real yet not so painful that you don't want to read it. She digs into our inner thoughts and provides many different angles to the subject allowing the reader to travel those paths and choose their own way of dealing with it. The main character in this book is not the p...more

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Jul 26, 2010 Carolyn Agosta rated it 4 of 5 stars

Like a quilt, this story has many pieces which have to be fitted together to make a pleasing whole.

I've read most of Elizabeth Berg's novels. A few didn't quite make a whole for me, this one did. Laura, a maker of 'commissioned' quilts, has to deal with some allegations about their mother by her sister, Caroline. These allegations make Laura look back (somewhat unwillingly) at her childhood with a new perspective.

Just as she would look at fabric with an eye toward whether it would fit or not f...more Like a quilt, this story has many pieces which have to be fitted together to make a pleasing whole.

I've read most of Elizabeth Berg's novels. A few didn't quite make a whole for me, this one did. Laura, a maker of 'commissioned' quilts, has to deal with some allegations about their mother by her sister, Caroline. These allegations make Laura look back (somewhat unwillingly) at her childhood with a new perspective.

Just as she would look at fabric with an eye toward whether it would fit or not fit the quilt she's working on, Laura's memories are taken out and laid in sunlight, turned this way and that, shuffled and moved around to bring them together.

Part of what made this book 'work' for me was the language. Ms. Berg's writing always is very satisfying in a textural way and The Art of Mending is no exception. There are too many lovely places to quote, but the conversation between Carolina and Laura, where they talk about their work and what it is, and what truth is, was particularly revealing - both of themselves and of what the whole story was about. And about how people deal with things.

The other part that drew me in as a reader was the inescapable truths. No matter how close siblings might be, or how much time we spend together, we do not live the same lives. Truth is, we barely have the same parents, because those parents are going through different things in their lives. The man and woman who were my parents when I was six were not the same people who were my sister's parents when she was six. And despite how much they might try, they couldn't possibly treat us all exactly the same.

Reading the book, I couldn't help think time and again of my own siblings and parents, and the places we connected and came apart, and how - as one character says - "you can't do all you intend". And this, I think, is what makes a book successful, when it lingers in a reader's mind after the story is over. Not just the characters and events, but the ideas and emotions, the longing to know each other, really know, and then the fear of what happens if we do?

The ending of the book (no spoilers!) left me wanting more, wanting to know what would happen next. It was different from what I expected, yet it fit completely with the way things throughout the story had been different from what the reader might expect. As Laura muses, "It was not about me or my expectations..." So, although I wanted more when I first read it, now the ending seems exactly right.

Thanks, Ms. Berg. I plan to read it again. By the way, I really wanted to rate this 4 stars Plus. (less)

1 like · like · see review

May 17, 2010 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is the first Elizabeth Berg book I have read. It was a fairly easy, quick read for me. Since I work with children who have been abused, I tend to shy away from books about abuse. However, this was a bit different because the abuse is not in present day and the characters are adults. While I could understand the characters actions, I didn't like all of the characters some of the time. I thought of my own family and history a lot too. Not that I was abused like the woman in the story but I tr...more

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Nov 24, 2009 Sarah Joyce Bryant rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Art of Mending brings the reader along as family secrets are exposed and shows what the effects are on each of the characters. Berg did a great job of capturing the family dynamic and the reaction of those that hadn't yet put the pieces together. It is a painful story of how abuse, if not revealed and given the chance to heal, can destroy a person's life. The reader follows along as each memory is rediscovered and feels the confusion and disbelief that occurs when the siblings are told about...more

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Aug 27, 2009 Julie Montoya rated it 4 of 5 stars

this book was fascinating to read. it is a book about family relationships. the character in this book is a quiltmaker and she talks about the art of mending as it pertains to clothing (and relationships) and how it really is an art, how it takes time and effort to mend something and the garment is that much more valuable to you afterward because of the time and effort you have put into mending it when it tears or is ripped (i wish i could find the exact quote). while none of the characters in t...more

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Aug 11, 2009 Rcbuenaventura rated it 4 of 5 stars

his book was a bertday gift from franz.. hehehe.. so i need to read it. lol. peace

Now in her fifties, quilter Laura Bartone looks forward to the annual extended family gathering in Minnesota. Her husband Pete and their two children will accompany her as she gets together with her parents and her two siblings and their families. However, before they leave, her younger sister Caroline calls Laura to ask for some private time with her and their brother Steve.

When the siblings meet, Caroline explain...more

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Jun 29, 2012 Stacy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Laura and her family of four make the annual trip back to her hometown in Minnesota and to the fair that draws her brother and sister too. This year, Laura’s sister Caroline, asks that Laura and their brother Steve meet with her away from their parent’s home, and they do without enthusiasm since Caroline has always been full of drama. What she tells them is shocking, she claims that she was mistreated by their mother all throughout her childhood.

I am an only child, so I like to live vicariously...more

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Dec 07, 2009 Becky rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is my favorite character of Berg's so far. All of her characters have a kind of blunt, raw honesty about them - unlike other written characters they have flaws that people would be embarrassed to admit to, they are weak and judgmental, and prejudiced, and while it makes you wince sometimes or maybe not love the character Berg creates, you have to admire the creation. This character felt more like me, so I enjoyed the story more.

Laura's sister Caroline is a overly-dramatic, sad, woe-is-me ki...more

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Jul 21, 2010 Carrie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book was lent to me with a stack of books, so I didn’t “pick it,” but I’m glad I had the chance to read it. I am interested in other books by this author now.

Laura Bartone, a quilt artist, and her husband Pete reconnect each evening by sharing an experience from the day and a memory from the past. (I love that) The story does the same kind of thing, mixing memories from Laura's present-day life and those of her childhood.

Laura is excited about the annual family reunion in Minnesota. When t...more

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May 04, 2012 Hope rated it 4 of 5 stars

I got this book from the library, I found it on the new arrivals shelf that they have at the library. I never read anything by Elizabeth Berg before so I thought I give this book a try.

What do I think of this book? I am really not sure what I think of this book, I did not dislike it or hate it. I did not love it either, I guess I liked it. But I have to say that I felt that this book was not finished. The way that it finished it felt like I was left hanging; throughout the whole book I felt tha...more

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Jan 13, 2012 Carol rated it 2 of 5 stars

I have not read a book by Berg before and it sounds like she has written some good books. My overall analysis of this book plays on the bizarre behavior of the Mother. I do not have a personal relationship to the loss of a child but I am the child of someone who gave up two children. In no way did my Mother (who bore those scars forever) end up treating subsequent children with such malice. I understand that Berg is playing out a role in this story, but I don't need to mesmerize myself in such d...more

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Apr 04, 2009 Louise rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

This is Elizabeth Berg's newest book at the time I read it, which was in 2004. Again, she has done a wonderful job at story writing. She is definitely one of my favourite authors.

From the dust jacket:

"It begins with the sudden revelation of astonishing secrets-secrets that have shaped the personalities and fates of three siblings, and now threaten to tear them apart. In renowned author Elizabeth Berg's moving new novel, unearthed truths force one seemingly ordinary family to reexamine their disp...more

1 like · like · see review

May 08, 2010 Beth Bonini rated it 4 of 5 stars

Having read a stack of Berg novels in quick succession, I'm starting to realize that I particularly like the ones who have narrators/protagonists that I identify with. Although I don't sew, and am not crafty at all, I really enjoyed the descriptions of quilting -- which is the profession/art/hobby of the main character. The title of this novel is so well-chosen, and really does describe what happens, plot-wise, in the book.

Berg does a great job of making unlikeable characters sympathetic, and sh...more

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May 22, 2013 Alana rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It's a story of a family that doesn't have it all together, although thankfully it doesn't go into some of the overly dramatic aspects that many other books do. Longtime family secrets, learning how to look back on childhood with honesty, and how to help all of your family members and not just pick sides.

Berg uses the imagery of quilting to show how different fabrics and patterns make a totally different story in a quilt, much as different perspectives make a different pattern in the way each in...more

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May 13, 2012 Carly rated it 4 of 5 stars

As adults we often question our childhood memories, no matter how clear they are in our minds, they will never be the same as an adult memory…can they be trusted? Abuse is quite easily misconstrued in the eyes of a child. Often abused children seek approval and play into the abuse because any attention is better than none at all. As a child you don’t understand what actions signify love and which hate. In this book 2 siblings are faced with a scary confession by their “odd” sister of abuse at th...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Tori rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

Well, what a pleasant surprise to find this audio book in the library just prior to my long drive to Vancouver! I had read another of Berg's books and this one was six hours long, just perfect for a road trip. It is the story of two sisters and a brother who learn a lot more about their parents and their growing up years during a yearly get-together. I enjoyed the fact that the narrator, Laura, was a quilt artist - how fun! I think Berg does a good job with believable characters. Everyone has th...more

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Jan 15, 2011 Jen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks-2011, read-in-2011

Audio book read by Joyce Bean.

I loved this story. After hearing it, it felt like something that I had actually experienced, not just something that I sat and passively listened to. I felt like I had to go and tell someone what I'd heard and what I knew and what I thought about this family.

Comparing Berg to Berg: Home Safe is the only other Berg I've read and I didn't care for it. I wasn't planning on reading any more of her work until I read an interview in which Augusten Burroughs said that h...more

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Aug 14, 2009 Carron rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009, library-book-club

This was a Sandy Library Book Club book. This quote from the book really resonates with my life and marriage: pg. 15, "But I waited a long time to get married. I was forty when I finally fell in love with a man who was a widower. He'd been married exactly one week when his wife died.. Car accident--she'd gone out for butterscotch topping for the sundaes they were going to have after they finished wallpapering their bathroom. He didn't date for five years after her death, and he didn't think abou...more

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May 03, 2012 Sandra Hurlbert rated it 3 of 5 stars

I held this book for a long time before I read it. Elizabeth Berg is professionally acquainted with my favorite writer Anne Lamott, and I picked it up after I met both of them at a book talk Anne Lamott gave in town. I wanted to see what style Elizabeth Berg used, and to try to discover if E.B.'s writing could connect as honestly to life as A.L's writing does for me.

This book deals with family trauma, and so it took me a while to sit down with it, but E.B. was careful with the subject. The most...more

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Sep 29, 2010 Rebecca rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009, adult, brothers-and-sisters-fiction, family-problems-fiction, mothers-and-daughters-fiction, repression-fiction

4.0 stars. Laura is anticipating the annual family reunion in Minnesota but things go quickly awry. Her troubled younger sister, Caroline, has finally reached a breaking point and insists on having a sibling meeting so that she can come to grips with her unhappy childhood. Caroline and the father and mother have damaging secrets. The timing is most unfortunate because their father suddenly dies. What a familial mess. Author Berg has a good ear and eye for real-life conversations, inflections, bo...more

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About Elizabeth Berg

Elizabeth Berg is the New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including We Are All Welcome Here, The Year of Pleasures, The Art of Mending, Say When, True to Form, Never Change, and Open House, which was an Oprah’s Book Club selection in 2000. Durable Goods and Joy School were selected as ALA Best Books of the Year, and Talk Before Sleep was short-listed for the ABBY Award in 1996. The w...more

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Quotes from The Art of Mending

“There are random moments - tossing a salad, coming up the driveway to the house, ironing the seams flat on a quilt square, standing at the kitchen window and looking out at the delphiniums, hearing a burst of laughter from one of my children's rooms - when I feel a wavelike rush of joy. This is my true religion: arbitrary moments of of nearly painful happiness for a life I feel privileged to lead.” — 245 people liked it

“You are born into your family and your family is born into you. No returns. No exchanges.” — 90 people liked it

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