Helpful Score: 10
I loved this book. It's the first book by Elizabeth Berg that I've read and I definitely will read more. This book hit home with me because it involves siblings struggling to come to terms with the secrets and disfunctionality of their childhoods. For instance, one sister continues to live in the past, one wants to stay in the present, etc. It's a wonderful read for anyone wanting to gain more insight into the psychological aspects of family relationships.
Helpful Score: 10
Siblings in the same family often have completely different experiences while growing up. One child may be favored more, another might be abused. But would it be possible for one child to be abused without the other siblings knowing about it? Imagine the shock of having a sibling accuse your parents of abuse 40 years after it supposedly occured. How would you know whether to believe it or not?
Helpful Score: 9
Elizabeth Berg has the rare ability to paint human relationships so vividly that you feel as if you are IN the book. She brings to life characters that you can identify with... people that could be next to you at the post office, your next door neighbor, your own family. It is hard to read this book and not come away thinking about your own relationships (the good and the bad).
Helpful Score: 6
I haven't read anything in a long time about which I could say that I wished I could give it more than 5 stars, but this is definitely one of those times. Elizabeth Berg reminds me a little of Anne Tyler in her painstaking description of the family in this story. She doesn't make any one character totally a 'good guy' or totally a 'bad guy' like many authors do. Each character has obvious gifts and flaws in differing measures. This wound up being a very fast read, since there is no way I wanted to put it down. Now I have to start getting ALL of Berg's books.
Helpful Score: 4
This was definitely an interesting book, although I can't say I loved it. It did keep me reading straight through until the end, which is a sign of a good book, but it didn't leave me with that "I just read a wonderful book" feeling when I was done.
