Open House
by Elizabeth Berg
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avg 3.45
Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
a retard
True to form, Elizabeth Berg sucks again.
What do I care about a dumpy, depressed, middle-aged divorcee who spends her evenings reading Oprah book club selections and chowing down chocolate bars?
On the up-side, it made me feel thin and accomplished.
What do I care about a dumpy, depressed, middle-aged divorcee who spends her evenings reading Oprah book club selections and chowing down chocolate bars?
On the up-side, it made me feel thin and accomplished.
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Read in June, 2008
Next time I find myself thinking that I need a really easy read, I'll edit my thought to be "I need an easy, BUT STILL WORTHWHILE, read."
Although I hate to love, and love to hate on Oprah and her book club books, they usually are pretty decent. Oprah needs to fire who ever read this book for her, at once!
And the thing I find the most perplexing is that my mom left it in my room at home to read. I mean, she actually read this book and thought to herself "Liz would like th...more
Although I hate to love, and love to hate on Oprah and her book club books, they usually are pretty decent. Oprah needs to fire who ever read this book for her, at once!
And the thing I find the most perplexing is that my mom left it in my room at home to read. I mean, she actually read this book and thought to herself "Liz would like th...more
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Read in July, 2008
I was having trouble settling on a book after so much dense school reading, so I decided to let Oprah guide me. This book is kind of like advanced chick lit. The prose is simple and honest, and somehow very comforting. Ideal if you want to spend a weekend lying on the couch with some sort of snack food, but still sophisticated enough to not induce that "I just watched a marathon of The Bachelor" feeling.
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What happens when your husband leaves and you have to make a living all on your own? It can happen...and sometimes it turns out better than imagined.
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I love Elizabeth Berg, you can just see yourself in her characters or at least aspects of them.
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3 comments
Read in September, 2008
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in November, 2007
I’ll start with the author; Berg’s writing style is simple and clean. This book is an easy and enjoyable read. I liked how Berg created this book in the first person and allowed us to see deep within the main character, Sam. I also enjoyed her diversity in characters and that they had substance. Even characters with cameo appearances like Lavender – Elaine had depth to them. We got a glimpse into their personalities and into their views on life.
Okay, now the story itself. I gue...more
Okay, now the story itself. I gue...more
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Read in July, 2002
Downloaded from Audible.com
Narrator: Becky Baker
Publisher: HighBridge Audio, 2001
Length: 6 hours 18 min.
An Oprah Book Club Selection
Publisher's Summary
Samantha Morrow's husband has left her, and now she must strive to reconstruct a life for herself and her 11-year-old son. Her eccentric mother tries to help by fixing her up with dates, but a more pressing problem is money. To meet her mortgage payments, Sam decides to take in boarders. A new friend suggests that Samantha get out, get go...more
Narrator: Becky Baker
Publisher: HighBridge Audio, 2001
Length: 6 hours 18 min.
An Oprah Book Club Selection
Publisher's Summary
Samantha Morrow's husband has left her, and now she must strive to reconstruct a life for herself and her 11-year-old son. Her eccentric mother tries to help by fixing her up with dates, but a more pressing problem is money. To meet her mortgage payments, Sam decides to take in boarders. A new friend suggests that Samantha get out, get go...more
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Read in August, 2008
recommends it for:
a woman who is going through a separation or a divorce
I listened to this on CD, and I did not like the narrator. She seemed to have a kind of sarcastic tone. I listened to Dream When You're Feeling Blue, also by Elizabeth Berg and this was narrated by the author. I thought she did a fantastic job.
So, the narrator probably influences what I thought of the book. I felt that it wasn't one of Elizabeth Berg's best. It was kind of predictable and some of the characters ...more
So, the narrator probably influences what I thought of the book. I felt that it wasn't one of Elizabeth Berg's best. It was kind of predictable and some of the characters ...more
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Read in March, 2001
The latest piece to come from one of my all-time favorite authors. Don't let the fact that this is on Oprahs'book club list deter you from checking it out. One of the main reasons I enjoy reading books by Elizabeth Berg so much is that her characters are so real. Many of the things that they (the characters) think or say could have come from me. It is somewhat comforting to read a novel that you can so readily relate to. Told from the point of view of a woman whose husband has decided to leave t...more
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I am an Elizabeth Berg fan. I like how she writes "true to life" books. This is about a woman trying to rebuild her life after her divorce. In doing so, she has her best success when she decides to open her house and her heart to others. To make ends meet and to provide a life for her and her eleven year old son she decides to take in boarders. In the process she learns how important it is to stay optimistic about being able to create her own happiness. She has to work at rememb...more
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Read in November, 2008
Meh.
That word, and a shrug of the shoulders, sums up my feelings about this book. Perhaps if I had gone through a divorce or a terrible split this book might have had more meaning to me. Instead, I found it a little boring and a bit of a downer. I mean, I'm wondering why someone would want to read this -- the only exception being someone going through a divorce.
The writing style was interesting in how the main character's thought were being thrown in the middle of her conversations wi...more
That word, and a shrug of the shoulders, sums up my feelings about this book. Perhaps if I had gone through a divorce or a terrible split this book might have had more meaning to me. Instead, I found it a little boring and a bit of a downer. I mean, I'm wondering why someone would want to read this -- the only exception being someone going through a divorce.
The writing style was interesting in how the main character's thought were being thrown in the middle of her conversations wi...more
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Read in October, 2007
I was cleaning out my bedside table and found this brand new paperback, with the Oprah's Book Club seal of approval on the cover. Where did it come from? I have no memory of buying it, or of anyone lending it to me. The only explanation I could come up with was supernatural - the Invisible Hand of Oprah had put it there for me to read! But why?? What was Oprah trying to tell me? I blazed through this easy-to-read book in a couple of days, and I still don't have a clue. Sam - our heroine - i...more
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Read in September, 2003
I got this on the B/N bargain rack as well. It had an Oprah sticker on it.
Berg writes with a beautiful, simple, flowing style. This was the first novel of hers I read, and since then, I have purchased every other book she has out there.
She captures the heart and soul of her characters. Even some of the truths that make a person wince. The part where the wife goes to the soon-to-be ex-husband, offers fellatio and pleads with him not to leave her? It is heartbreaking - yet I have seen...more
Berg writes with a beautiful, simple, flowing style. This was the first novel of hers I read, and since then, I have purchased every other book she has out there.
She captures the heart and soul of her characters. Even some of the truths that make a person wince. The part where the wife goes to the soon-to-be ex-husband, offers fellatio and pleads with him not to leave her? It is heartbreaking - yet I have seen...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in September, 2008
The first few pages had me hooked, however, the rest of the book wasn't so much of a fast read. It's basically about a woman who's husband has left her for no reason and she's to then take care of her 11 year old son, find a job (since she's always been a housewife) and find roommates to help pay her mortgage. The book is all about her and her "little" struggles of dealing with being a single mom (dad's still in the picture) and making ends meet. She takes on odd jobs thru an employmen...more
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Read in August, 2008
I liked it... nobody said divorce would be glamorous, but this is a story of a woman so miserable you'll want to shake her and tell her to Snap out of it, Woman! Her thoughts and reactions to events are sprinkled throughout the story and I think that's what made it seem so real. She's not the divorcee you wish yourself to be (if you ever find yourself in that situation, because nobody wishes to be a divorcee....) but that's why you'll be drawn in.. you're waiting for her transformation, for her ...more
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Another Berg favorite. This book contains one of my favorite lines...I am a mother of a now 16 year old...and Berg took the rug out from under me with this (paraphrased) line:
"Why didn't someone tell me that that last time my little boy sat on my lap--was the last time?"
Ugh...my 6'2" man-sized boy---just think about it...there actually WAS a last time that he sat on my lap...but I didn't know it at the time...and can't remember it now...talk about bitter-sweet!
Ber
"Why didn't someone tell me that that last time my little boy sat on my lap--was the last time?"
Ugh...my 6'2" man-sized boy---just think about it...there actually WAS a last time that he sat on my lap...but I didn't know it at the time...and can't remember it now...talk about bitter-sweet!
Ber
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Read in August, 2007
This book was an easy, enjoyable read and had an even-moving storyline. It was insightful to things some middle-aged women feel and also about how to make your own life and not wait for others to make it for you.
I am not sure if I could have appreciated this book as much if I hadn't been divorced in my life. I am happily remarried now for 14 yrs and because of that...the being happy now and because I had been divorced prior, I had a greater understanding for the main character in the boo...more
I am not sure if I could have appreciated this book as much if I hadn't been divorced in my life. I am happily remarried now for 14 yrs and because of that...the being happy now and because I had been divorced prior, I had a greater understanding for the main character in the boo...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommended to Marie by:
Pat Bezansonrecommends it for: people who like Elizabeth Berg, Anita Shreeve and Jodi Picoult
I really like Elizabeth Berg - This was the least favorite of the ones I have read so far and I still thought it was great! this is a story about a woman trying to make it after her husband walks out on her. She hasn't had a job since before she was married - and that was as a singer in a band. She is responsible for their son. She has an overbearring mother who wants her to get right back out in the date force. There are other rich characters that are very likeable in this book.
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