Helpful Score: 9
I enjoyed this book immensely. It is one of those that grabs you from the first page and is hard to put down because you truly care about the characters and want to know what happpens to them. I think these characters, the range and depth of emotion, and the subject matter will hit home with lots of other readers like it did me. It's an inside look at a marriage that is both painful and funny at times.
Helpful Score: 7
This is the first book by Elizabeth Berg that I have read. It was poignant,thought provoking and engrossing. The story of a flawed man trying to save his flawed marriage is moving, truly a great read!
Helpful Score: 6
Husbands frequently tune out their spouses, but Frank Griffin makes valiant attempts to ignore Ellen, his wife of 10 years, when she announces she has a lover and wants a divorce in this endearing, undemanding novel by Berg (True to Form, etc.). Griffin (he goes by his last name) struggles to hold on to his normal life-namely his house and his eight-year-old daughter, Zoe-while repairing his relationship with Ellen. Refreshingly, Berg tells the story from Griffin's point of view: he refuses to leave home, insisting that he and Ellen live as roommates, and tries to wear her down with small acts of kindness. A decent man and a good provider, Griffin is also-he comes to realize-a less-than-exciting partner at times, dismissive of his wife's attempts to get him to read poetry and see art movies, or try anything new at all. Eccentric, shy Ellen, an isolated, stay-at-home mother whose only friend is the waitress at her regular diner, has her own flaws. In trying to live out her adolescence 20-plus years too late, she flaunts her new romance in ways that evoke either disdain or pity for her navet. Some readers may feel she gives up her quest for more freedom too quickly; others will appreciate the way she explores her complicated feelings about her marriage.
Helpful Score: 6
An absolutely excellent portrait of a marriage at a turning point. Elizabeth Berg has the uncanny talent of laying her characters emotions raw, and bringing you to tears with one sentence, laughter the next. Their inner selves are so REAL and close to the surface. Highly recommended
Helpful Score: 5
Introspective book on how one deals with the everyday nuances of a marriage. Witty, sad, absorbing and interesting. I really enjoyed this book as I do all of the author,s books. GinaK
