Helpful Score: 3
I can't believe that I finished this book. Helen and her daughter are very unlikeable characters, and the storyline about what Helen's husband did with the money is somewhat unbelievable. Cannot recommend this disappointing effort from Berg.
Helpful Score: 3
Decent read...quick. Storyline was slow at times, but I still wanted to know how everything would end.
Helpful Score: 2
59 year old Helen is a writer of novels who has resently lost her husband who took care of everything, leaving Helen lost as to what to do about bills, finances, the house, the car and most all life decisions which are now hers. She feels absolutely helpless. When her accountant informs her that her husband had withdrawn $850,000.00 from their account, almost every bit of their money, she is totally shocked and full of fear. The book is very interesting and the characters are extremely life like.
Helpful Score: 2
This is the third Elizabeth Berg book I've read and she has not disappointed me yet.
Elizabeth Berg weaves a beautifully written and richly resonant story of a mother and daughter in emotional transit. Helen Ames is recently widowed and coping with grief. She is unable to do the work that has always sustained her. She is begining to depend too much on her 27-year old daughter, Tessa, meddling into her life and offering unsolicited advice. Then Helen is shocked to learn that her mild-mannered, loyal husband, Dan, was apparently leading a double life. When a phone call from a stranger sets Helen on a surprising path of discovery, both mother and daughter reassess what they thought they knew about each other, themselves, and what really makes a home and family.
Helpful Score: 1
Good but not one ob Berg's best.
Helpful Score: 1
enjoyed the book but not my favorite from Berg
So enjoy Elizabeth Berg, and this did not disappoint!
This book had an interesting beginning about a woman struggling to deal with the sudden and untimely death of her husband. There are a few interesting twists but it was difficult for me to get into the book.
I just finished this book and I have to say, I was very disappointed. The cover jackets summary of the story (the book description posted), I felt, was extremely misleading. About 2/3 in, I was still waiting to read what the book claims happened. I feel very misled.
I didnt feel like I got to know the characters. The main character was all over the place and her flash backs to other events and times in her life seemed random at times. Something that was very distracting throughout the ENTIRE book was the amount of punctuation! Commas, semi-colons, colons, I mean REALLY?! They are all over. The sentences seem to run on and on separated by punctuation. It felt rushed and sloppy. While I was reading this book a friend noticed it on the table and said Oh I love Elizabeth Berg, is that good? And I said No, not really. Whats with all the punctuation? and she said YES, I noticed that too! I feel bad being so harsh because apparently she is a bestselling author. Until this book, I had not heard of her or read her books.
Something else that I found annoying was EVERY TIME her daughter spoke to her/addressed her mother, she said Mom, mom. Why is she saying mom twice? I have no clue what that was about and it got annoying.
I was very disappointed with this book, found the ending disappointing, and felt the story was incomplete. I had the feeling it was rushed through just to release another book and the author just went through the motions putting words to paper. I had high expectations and maybe thats where I made a mistake. I read the cover jacket, which I do not feel is an accurate description of the story. Very odd book and very odd characters. Sorry, I dont recommend this book
I didnt feel like I got to know the characters. The main character was all over the place and her flash backs to other events and times in her life seemed random at times. Something that was very distracting throughout the ENTIRE book was the amount of punctuation! Commas, semi-colons, colons, I mean REALLY?! They are all over. The sentences seem to run on and on separated by punctuation. It felt rushed and sloppy. While I was reading this book a friend noticed it on the table and said Oh I love Elizabeth Berg, is that good? And I said No, not really. Whats with all the punctuation? and she said YES, I noticed that too! I feel bad being so harsh because apparently she is a bestselling author. Until this book, I had not heard of her or read her books.
Something else that I found annoying was EVERY TIME her daughter spoke to her/addressed her mother, she said Mom, mom. Why is she saying mom twice? I have no clue what that was about and it got annoying.
I was very disappointed with this book, found the ending disappointing, and felt the story was incomplete. I had the feeling it was rushed through just to release another book and the author just went through the motions putting words to paper. I had high expectations and maybe thats where I made a mistake. I read the cover jacket, which I do not feel is an accurate description of the story. Very odd book and very odd characters. Sorry, I dont recommend this book
This was a quick read because it was the same ol', same ol' for 250 something pages. The main character is a weak and shallow woman. I find it hard to believe she's a published writer because she has no true thoughts in her head. She's beyond co-dependent, but that's not the problem, the problem is she doesn't change. She has some pretty big life changes going on, but they don't change her, not one bit. She just transfers her co-dependency to different people, but never longs to figure out how to do anything on her own. It's fine to start a character out this way, but to go the whole book with no personal growth....Ugh!
And her daughter is a huge bitch. So hostile and unappreciative. Yep, her mom is a meddling mom, but honestly, she doesn't meddle enough to warrant the ongoing, ever present hostility and chastising. Nary a nice word comes from this girl's lips. Again, it's fine to start out like this, but I for one like to see character development as the story goes along. This gal keeps secrets from her mom, talks to her like a child, and is always showing displeasure at everything her mom is, well, no wonder her mom keeps treating her like a child, this "kid" (27 years old) behaves like a little brat! 250 something pages of "brat" was just shallow and annoying.
She's a writer - unbelievable. Her husband withdraws almost a million bucks from their account without telling her - unbelievable. He has a house built for her on the other side of the country without consulting her - unbelievable. The list goes on and on. This book is why I've moved away from popular fiction.
And her daughter is a huge bitch. So hostile and unappreciative. Yep, her mom is a meddling mom, but honestly, she doesn't meddle enough to warrant the ongoing, ever present hostility and chastising. Nary a nice word comes from this girl's lips. Again, it's fine to start out like this, but I for one like to see character development as the story goes along. This gal keeps secrets from her mom, talks to her like a child, and is always showing displeasure at everything her mom is, well, no wonder her mom keeps treating her like a child, this "kid" (27 years old) behaves like a little brat! 250 something pages of "brat" was just shallow and annoying.
She's a writer - unbelievable. Her husband withdraws almost a million bucks from their account without telling her - unbelievable. He has a house built for her on the other side of the country without consulting her - unbelievable. The list goes on and on. This book is why I've moved away from popular fiction.
I for one loved this book. At first I wasn't sure i'd like it because of what the story was about but I learned to like the characters and closed the book with a big smile on my face. Highly recommended for a quick read!
Wow. Such a touching story in so many ways. Elizabeth Berg carries so many stories inside her- I am starting to wonder about the truth of past lives! This was such a great read...one of those rare books that I didn't want to put down, but forced myself to do so in order to prolong the pleasure. I will carry this one with me for a long time and wonder often about the all the lovely characters that I met there and how they are doing now. beautiful. PS... Of course I do not know the author, but I feel that there may be a lot of her in this book. Somehow, that makes me love the story all the more.
This book is worth reading for the insights into a writer's world, and for the description of the love affair between books and readers. It isn't my favorite of Berg's plots, but she writes beautifully about finding one's way.
I really liked Home Safe. I liked that it was set in my home state. The relationship between the mother, Helen, and her daughter was interesting. Helen was an author, who was going through writer's block since the death of her husband. She was totally clueless of household maintenance, or financial responsibilities. Her accountant informs her that her husband had withdrawn 850 thousand dollars from their account, but no one knows why or where the money is. She is also determined to find her daughter a husband, but all her daughter wants is for Helen to quit meddling in her life. My book club picked Home Safe for our November selection.The author's writing was thought provoking, but also made you laugh at times. I enjoyed it!
This book seemed unbelievable and the story seemed to drag on.
The first book I have read in a long time that as soon as I had finished it I wanted to read it again
I always feel like I'm in the story when I read Elizabeth Berg's books. This one was a little bit slower moving....but still a good read.
An excellent book about a mother and daughter relationship and family/spiritual growth..One of Berg's best!
Very good Berg novel and an easy read. Nice twists and turns!
I love Elizabeth Berg but did not like this book. The main character was too self-absorbed and while I understood that a little, not for the whole book...just not her usual great book.
Lightweight & predictable.
I always have one fiction going with another non-fiction. Elizabeth Berg seems to be rolling out novels perhaps too quickly, but she continues to weave a good story. This one has what some may call a magical 'trist', but I found it totally contrived.
