In this superb novel by the beloved author of Talk Before Sleep, The Pull of the Moon, and Until the Real Thing Comes Along, a woman re-creates her...
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Dec 17, 2009
Beth
rated it: 
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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Dec 07, 2008
Amanda
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I am going to review this book based on the first 3/4 and the last 1/4.
At first, I was pleasantly surprised when I picked this one up. Berg described feelings and characters in such detail that I was eager to read more of her work. I really felt for Sam, the main character, and I loved how Berg added Sam's inner thoughts as an aside of the regular plot. I was debating between 4 and 5 stars because I kept thinking about what would happen at the end and I was really into the book.
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At first, I was pleasantly surprised when I picked this one up. Berg described feelings and characters in such detail that I was eager to read more of her work. I really felt for Sam, the main character, and I loved how Berg added Sam's inner thoughts as an aside of the regular plot. I was debating between 4 and 5 stars because I kept thinking about what would happen at the end and I was really into the book.
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Jun 10, 2008
Suede
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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 "L 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 "L More...
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Mar 09, 2009
p. 201
Everything is there, in science. Even human emotions, I mean. It's as though they're represented by certain universal laws.
[Naked stars:] are stars with most of their gaseous atmospheres stripped away. And you know why they're revealed like that? Because of close encounters with other stars. I find something very human about that.
Do you ever think about how hard it is to say something and have it be precise? Especially the things you care most abou More...
Everything is there, in science. Even human emotions, I mean. It's as though they're represented by certain universal laws.
[Naked stars:] are stars with most of their gaseous atmospheres stripped away. And you know why they're revealed like that? Because of close encounters with other stars. I find something very human about that.
Do you ever think about how hard it is to say something and have it be precise? Especially the things you care most abou More...
Nov 14, 2011
Mmtimes4
rated it: 
In this superb novel by the beloved author of Talk Before Sleep, The Pull of the Moon, and Until the Real Thing Comes Along, a woman re-creates her life after divorce by opening up her house and her heart.
Samantha's husband has left her, and after a spree of overcharging at Tiffany's, she settles down to reconstruct a life for herself and her eleven-year-old son. Her eccen...moreIn this superb novel by the beloved author of Talk Before Sleep, The Pull of the Moon, and Until the Real Thing More...
Samantha's husband has left her, and after a spree of overcharging at Tiffany's, she settles down to reconstruct a life for herself and her eleven-year-old son. Her eccen...moreIn this superb novel by the beloved author of Talk Before Sleep, The Pull of the Moon, and Until the Real Thing More...
Aug 17, 2011
Tania
rated it: 
I really did enjoy this book - it was very readable and fast paced. I cared about the key characters. Alot of what happens in the book felt true to life, and I particularly enjoyed the relationships between Sam and her son, and Sam and her mother. I also thought that Berg used her secondary characters, the people who roomed at Samantha's, quite well. The evolution of the characters was good. The plot was engaging, overall. Some of the imagery is quite stunning.
So why not a full five More...
So why not a full five More...
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Jul 22, 2011
Alexa
rated it:
The main character of this book is a little down trodden, a little mopey, and didn't show nearly enough spunk, even at the end, but still, I couldn't help but like her. Her main romantic interest is also likable, and though their romance, such as it is, did not exactly spark a fire in me, it was sweet. I also liked that neither character started out gorgeous or had a major makeover to become gorgeous.
Other than that, there's not a whole lot positive to say. The book reads as more of More...
Other than that, there's not a whole lot positive to say. The book reads as more of More...
Mar 26, 2011
Julie
rated it:
This book seemed like an honest look at a woman struggling through a divorce and was a fast read. I But this is the second of Berg’s books that I have read and haven’t really been all that impressed. Some of the writing and content was wonderful and very well written while other parts seemed rushed and undeveloped. There are two significant occurrences at the end of the book that although were life altering changes for Samantha, only garnered a few pages and didn’t really seem resolved. I won’t
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Nov 10, 2009
Becky
rated it:
I like Elizabeth Berg, her books have kind of crept right up on me and grabbed me. I like her character's eccentricities (even though if I knew them in real life I'd find them annoying)and the analogies she uses (example: "I save his confidence in me as though his words were silver dollars, knotted in a silk scarf and kept hidden in a dresser drawer". Just lovely, poignant imagery.
In this novel Sam (Samantha) is on a tail-spin after her husband abruptly leaves her and thei More...
In this novel Sam (Samantha) is on a tail-spin after her husband abruptly leaves her and thei More...
May 21, 2009
Kristen
rated it:
I'm surprised Oprah chose this one of Berg's books. I much preferred "A Year of Pleasures". Though maybe it is one of those you like best whichever you read first conundrums.
This follows a similar pattern (or I guess a Year of Pleasures follows a similar pattern to this) with a woman dealing with the loss of her life-force, in this case, an intact family unit. She starts to cope with her divorce, winds up with an abortion, then falls in love with the new perfect man. If tha More...
This follows a similar pattern (or I guess a Year of Pleasures follows a similar pattern to this) with a woman dealing with the loss of her life-force, in this case, an intact family unit. She starts to cope with her divorce, winds up with an abortion, then falls in love with the new perfect man. If tha More...
May 18, 2011
Dylan
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Feb 19, 2009
Laine
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Sep 05, 2011
Connie
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Samantha is devastated when her husband, David, leaves her. This is the story of how she copes--her initial reaction to go on a spending spree, her decision to have boarders stay in her home to supplement her income, her attempt to get a job, her experiences in dating, and how she mothers her teenage son. The beginning of the book has Samantha not thinking clearly, not knowing what she wants, and acting in a neurotic manner. As Samantha tries to find out who she really is outside of her faile
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Jan 03, 2011
Trish
rated it:
If I could give this book zero stars I most definitely would. I don't know WHAT I was thinking delving into another book on Oprah's book list. I have found very few books on her list that don't make me want to poke myself in the eye with a dull pencil. I listened to this as an audio book and couldn't make it past the 2nd CD (out of 6). The narrator was good, but the story....AAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!
A woman's husband leaves her, she mopes around, cries all the time, begs, pleads and whine More...
A woman's husband leaves her, she mopes around, cries all the time, begs, pleads and whine More...
Mar 06, 2009
Jess
rated it:
I didn't want to read this book at first-- it seemed too depressing, the theme of divorce. I come from a split marriage, so it's a topic I kind of like to avoid. I was pulled, though, for some reason. The first couple of chapters were a bit depressing and difficult to get through, but by chapter four, I was hooked and wanted to keep reading to see how Sam, the main character, would develop throughout the pages. Berg did an amazing job at character and plot development, but she could have incorp
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Sep 20, 2010
Brian
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This is a novel about a woman who is forced to recreate her life after her husband leaves her. Until his desertion she's been a contented housewife and mother to her eleven year old son. Now she has to learn to stand on her own two feet, get a job and take in lodgers to survive.
In a style that is reminiscent of Anne Tyler, Elizabeth Berg forensically examines the distress of a woman whose 'sin' is that she was content with home-making in a world that no longer values such a lifestyle More...
In a style that is reminiscent of Anne Tyler, Elizabeth Berg forensically examines the distress of a woman whose 'sin' is that she was content with home-making in a world that no longer values such a lifestyle More...
Jul 11, 2008
Roxy
rated it:
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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Sep 13, 2011
Emily
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Nov 27, 2010
Faydra
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Oct 22, 2009
Shannan
rated it:
This was an Oprah's Book Club book so I had high expectations going in. It was okay...a book about a woman going through a divorce. I thought the author captured the emotions of the main character very realistically. We women are strong and brave one minute then crying on the floor in a self defeated heap the next. That part I really connected with. But the story line was predictable and cliche...and I am so tired of books and movies celebrating couples who divorce and then "find"
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Oct 14, 2009
Lynne
rated it:
What a fun, crazy book. I recommend it to anyone who wishes to be amused by the antics of a recently separated woman ("Sam") with an 11-year-old son, who takes on a roommate to help pay the mortgage. The subsequent revolving roommates are absolute characters who add immensely to the drama. Sam's preteen son's indifferent, sometimes nasty attitude is right on (I would know). I loved the other characters in the book as well. Sam's long-distance friend, Rita, is blunt and honest and over-
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Mar 20, 2010
Kristi
rated it:
I was pleasantly surprised by this little book...as Oprah can go either way as we well know. This was a story of a 42-year-old woman whose life was turned upside down when her husband suddenly left her and her 11-year-old son. I'll be 42 this year and I have an 11-year-old son, so I could relate to the main character Samantha on many levels.
Sam was forced by circumstances to come to terms with a new life and find her true self. And she did it all with a witty, biting, honest sen More...
Sam was forced by circumstances to come to terms with a new life and find her true self. And she did it all with a witty, biting, honest sen More...
May 08, 2009
Andria
rated it:
A fairly quick read. Nicely written in terms of flowing realistically. Samantha's husband leaves her after almost 20 years of marriage. She has to figure out how to remake her life for herself and her 11-year-old son, when all she really wants is to have her husband come home to her. Sometimes she seems a little pathetic and needy in trying to get him back. But there are amusing parts, as well as the interest added by the boarders who rent rooms in her house and the series of odd jobs she t
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Feb 02, 2010
Tracey
rated it:
I didn't really care for this book. I understand how devastating a divorce can be, but was thoroughly irritated by how pathetic Sam became (at one point even throwing herself at the very man who abandoned her and her son). I could've really gotten behind this character and cheered for her if she had pulled herself up, quit feeling sorry for herself, and strived to create a new life for herself. She did eventually do that but I still felt that she was letting life happen to her rather than livi
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Aug 05, 2009
Swanbender2001
rated it:
Sam must find herself after years of marriage to David and raising 11 year old Travis. She has been dumped, unwillingly and faces up to the financial challenges by opening her home to roommates and thus opening her life and her heart. The first person to move in is elderly and quickly becomes a friend and offers good advice and company. Next is an oddball with a very pessimistic attitude toward life-Lavender something or other. And finally a gay man who becomes a part of the family. Travis goes
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Apr 10, 2009
Louise
rated it:
Another Berg book that I truly loved and enjoyed reading. I read it in one sitting.
So many characters in this novel, Sam, David, Veronica, Travis, King, Rita, Lydia, Thomas etc. This story was very well written and I'm in the process of searching for Berg's other books that I haven't yet read.
From the dust jacket:
"Samantha's husband has left her, and after a spree of overcharging at Tiffany's, she settles down to reconstruct a life for herself and her eleven-ye More...
So many characters in this novel, Sam, David, Veronica, Travis, King, Rita, Lydia, Thomas etc. This story was very well written and I'm in the process of searching for Berg's other books that I haven't yet read.
From the dust jacket:
"Samantha's husband has left her, and after a spree of overcharging at Tiffany's, she settles down to reconstruct a life for herself and her eleven-ye More...
Dec 05, 2008
bookczuk
rated it:
Picked this up at a local book sale to read and release.
A story of growth, strength and humanity. Berg has a gift, it seems.
I'd read this a while back, but when I found this copy- I could no longer really remember the story- divorced woman finds self, is all I could come up with.
But it is a lot more than that. The path to the finding of herself and feeling secure is well told. (I must admit I chuckled at the image of Sam sewing shut the flies of her husb More...
A story of growth, strength and humanity. Berg has a gift, it seems.
I'd read this a while back, but when I found this copy- I could no longer really remember the story- divorced woman finds self, is all I could come up with.
But it is a lot more than that. The path to the finding of herself and feeling secure is well told. (I must admit I chuckled at the image of Sam sewing shut the flies of her husb More...
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Mar 24, 2010
Jennifer
rated it:
My husband gave me this because he knew I liked the author. I had actually read it years before, but figured I'd re-read it since I now own a copy. I actually enjoyed it just as much the second time. I love how Berg seems to notice and luxuriate in the little details of life.
The main character in this story is sort of pathetic much of the time, which is actually what makes me like her so much. She's just so normal and yet so off-kilter that I am pretty sure I would get along with he More...
The main character in this story is sort of pathetic much of the time, which is actually what makes me like her so much. She's just so normal and yet so off-kilter that I am pretty sure I would get along with he More...
Jul 25, 2010
Sterlingcindysu
rated it:
A satisfying read, great character development and a good pace. The title comes from the idea that if we lifted the roofs off people's houses and saw how they really lived, it'd be a different story from their outward appearances. (copied review) Samantha's husband has left her, and after a spree of overcharging at Tiffany's, she settles down to reconstruct a life for herself and her eleven-year-old son. Her eccentric mother tries to help by fixing her up with dates, but a more pressing proble
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Jul 19, 2008
Kim
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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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