Elizabeth Berg Message Board 9/13/2010 5:01:48 PM
Talk about the novels, new and used books that
Berg has written!
Author Berg's Book
Reviews
Durable Goods
The main character, Katie, is 12 years old. She is beginning to develop physically and emotionally. Her mother has died so the only real female role model Katie has is her 18 year old sister, Diane.
Their father is in the Army and they live on an Army base. In fact, they have lived on many bases. Their father is not very in tune to his daughters' needs and seems to be keeping himself together by following his military routine and not allowing himself... Joy School
When we meet the main character, she is living with her father, a housekeeper and in a new home, in new town. Quickly we learn her mother has died , father moved and now she is having to adjust to whole new life. This is a tender story, well written, and helps us see how she adapts, grows and becomes herself in a more adult world.... Never Change
"Never Change" by Elizabeth Berg is a story about a 51 year old man dying of a brain tumor and his nurse. They were high school classmates and hadn't seen each other in all those years until he became one of her patients. This story is of the final weeks of his life and how facing his death changes them both. There is also an underlying theme of euthanasia.... Open House
This is a story of a woman who has been married for many years, and he husband suddenly leaves her. She has been a homemaker, and so needs to find a way to support herself. She meets a man who is a very unlikely match for her, but she befriends him. Relationships with her mother, son and ex-husband are also examined. She learns a lot about herself and her mother. It is actually a very uplifting story, and made me feel good. Elizabeth Berg is very good at...
Berg booklist
Say When
Ellen and Griffin are married with one child, Zoe. Griffin is told one day that Ellen is no longer happy and has been having an affair. Ellen wants out. Although Griffin is devastated, he and Ellen try to remain cordial for the sake of Zoe. They are unable to live apart because of financial circumstances. Once Ellen is able to live on her own financially, she does leave and moves into an apartment. This book gives an accounting of what it is like to be i... Talk Before Sleep
A woman's best friend is dying of breast cancer. As she takes care of her friend, she struggles with the competing demands of her dying friend vs. her very much living daughter & husband. Since this friend is the feisty, smart, spontaneous one who shows her how to have fun "despite" being a mother, she clings to her friend all the more for fear of losing the best parts of herself when her friend dies. She also interacts with her best friend's other goo... Tallk Before Sleep
Ann is a mother and wife who loves her family. But, she longs for a friend with whom she can be real. When she meets Ruth, she finds a soulmate immediately. Ruth is wild and flamboyant where Ann is cautious and more conformist.
At the opening of the story, Ruth is dying. Her four closest female friends have gathered to care for her around the clock. While some of them won't accept Ruth will really die, others seem to feel that arrangements must... The Art of Mending
Random House, Apr 2004, 24.95
ISBN: 1400061598
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 m... The Pull of the Moon
The Pull of the Moon is a story of a woman raised prior to the 1950s. She has devoted her life to her husband and daughter, back in the times when women were raised to be housewives and mothers. Now her daughter is grown and gone and her husband has his work.
One day, Nan sees a beautiful turquoise diary, though very expensive but decides she has to have it. The journal gives her much more than she pays for it. She runs away from home leaving only a n... True to Form
Pocket, Jun 2002, 24.00, 224 pp.
ISBN: 074341134X
In 1961, her military rigid father informs thirteen-year-old Katie Nash that since she is now grown up she needs employment during the summer. Katie thinks of obtaining a job at a nearby concession stand, but her dad must not believe she is that grown up because he arranges her work. She is to help the elderly Randolphs and to baby sit the Wexler males. Katie's opinion is interpreted as sassy t...
Elizabeth Berg list of books
What We Keep
As Ginny flies to see her sister and her mother--from whom she has been estranged 35 years--she reflects back on the circumstances which changes their lives forever. The reader is led into a story of housewives and dinner parties, expectations, and denial. When an attractive, flashy, single woman moves into the house next door to Ginny's, things begin to make less and less sense.
The book asks the question, what deeds are too much to forgive? Are...
