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The Year of Pleasures
The Year of Pleasures
Author: Elizabeth Berg
In this rich and deeply satisfying novel by the beloved author of The Art of Mending, and Open House, a resilient woman embarks upon an unforgettable journey of adventure, self-discovery, and renewal. — Betta Nolan moves to a small town after the death of her husband to try to begin anew. Pursuing a dream of a different kind of life, she is deter...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780812970999
ISBN-10: 0812970993
Publication Date: 3/28/2006
Pages: 240
Rating:
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 277

3.9 stars, based on 277 ratings
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

obsidianfire avatar reviewed The Year of Pleasures on + 133 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 16
This book is a pleasure to read. Yeah, I had to do it. It's an easy read in that it's a fast read, but not so easy on the emotions. At one point my husband walked in on me reading this book and saw me with tears streaming down my eyes. Not just moist eyes, I mean running rivers of tears! But at other times it makes you smile and warms you insides like a mug of hot cocoa on a cold winter day. It was so good I hardly want to let it go, but it's also so good I have to share it!
reviewed The Year of Pleasures on + 15 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 9
I have just found my newest favorite author! I can't even begin to say enough good things about this book! It is a wonderful story about a woman who loses her husband to cancer, and how she learns to live without him. The author has a way of making you think about your life and the everyday things that we take for granted or fail to notice. I even considered not posting this book so that I could keep it with my own treasures, but it seems such a shame to not share it. I hope that those of you who read it enjoy it as much as I did!
Kmarie avatar reviewed The Year of Pleasures on + 529 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
Wonderful, WONDERFUL book! Book of grief and rebirth, friendship, and renewal. I loved it! Absolutely one of my favorite Berg books. Deals with starting over after the loss of a spouse.
LaurenTW avatar reviewed The Year of Pleasures on + 37 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
One of the author's more simplistic novels, nevertheless very well-written and enjoyable. Very good insight into a newly-widowed woman's new beginnings.
reviewed The Year of Pleasures on + 16 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
A beautiful little book about a woman honoring her husband's memory by trying new things after he dies. For another well-written, but true, story of a woman coping with widowhood, try Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking.
Read All 65 Book Reviews of "The Year of Pleasures"

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reviewed The Year of Pleasures on + 85 more book reviews
Apparently a very popular author and book.
It was a very slow slog for me. I'd read Pieces of Happiness by Anne Ostby just before this one, in just over a day...but this took me a week to get through.
So, I kept comparing them...both realistic and emotional, with interesting characters (at least this one had a single narrator!). And yet it was a slog.
I don't think I ever connected with the widow (though I have gone through the same). I think the over descriptiveness was off-putting...in the way it was done, scattered. And yet, I often thought I might write in a similar storytelling style (which made me question my own writing...until I read her bio).
robine4206 avatar reviewed The Year of Pleasures on + 50 more book reviews
A delightful book about love, lost and finding your way. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and found the subject matter thought provoking. The book centers around a woman's self-discovery of life after her husbands death. If I review the book further I might give away the ending and I wouldn't want to spoil the book for anyone. It was a wonderful read and maybe because I was the same age as the main character it really spoke to me. What happens when the love of your life dies and you are left to carry on unfortunately, we all must face this question sometime in our life. Do you carry on and make a new life or do you turn bitter and curl up and wither away? As hard as it will be I hope that I would be able to find a purpose in my life and a way to carry on. Carrying on doesn't mean forgetting.
sabrinathornton avatar reviewed The Year of Pleasures on + 6 more book reviews
Elizabeth Berg is such a great story teller! This book sucks you in and doesn't let you go until the end. I loved reading it and got attached to the character. Definitely didn't want to see it end.
rfdudley avatar reviewed The Year of Pleasures on + 75 more book reviews
This book is about a recently, I think fifty-something, widowed woman who moves to a new town to start a new life. Apparently she and her husband had done well because she could afford to start over. Good for her ! She makes new friends along the way including the little boy and his mom that live next door and a troubled twenty-something young man. She reunites with her college friends and finally understands a message that her deceased husband left for her. At times it was a little hokey, outbursts with college friends from a mature woman, but it was entertaining.
londontime avatar reviewed The Year of Pleasures on + 2 more book reviews
sweet book. SHe's a lovely writer.
reviewed The Year of Pleasures on + 38 more book reviews
Maybe it was because I've had several friends who've lost their spouse, but I loved this book. Life is for the living and I loved the way this character respectfully moved on with her life and created a new future.


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