- Hardcover: 276 pages
- Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd; New edition edition (1 July 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0091800005
- ISBN-13: 978-0091800000
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,265,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"* 'Berg oozes warmth, wisdom and generosity of spirit. Her writing is quite brilliant, as soft as a kiss, as sharp as a knife. An American Maeve Binchy, a modern-day Jane Austen, whatever praise you heap on Elizabeth Berg, she probably deserves it.' Anna Maxted * 'Berg knows her characters intimately-she gets under their skin and leaves the reader with an indelible impression of lives challenged and changed.' The Seattle Times * 'Heartwrenching and hilarious. Berg sits somewhere between Anne Tyler and Alice Hoffman.' Chicago Sun-Times * 'Maybe Freud didn't know the answer to what women want, but Elizabeth Berg certainly does.' USA Today"
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Book Description
'What a lovely writer. Clever, compassionate and superbly skilled, she writes about her characters so poignantly and perceptively that few can match her.' Elizabeth Buchan, bestselling author of Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have just finished reading this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is the type of book that you can't put down when you start reading it. This is the third book from this author that I have read and I am so impressed. Her understanding of human nature and complicated emotions is second to none -Life is not black and white, people are not good or bad -they are human. Elizabeth Berg is a joy to read and I would highly recommend her work. I think that she is not very well known on this side of the Atlantic but surely will be in the future.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
96 reviews
39 of 40 people found the following review helpful
The sins of the past... (3 1/2 stars)
12 May 2004
Format:Hardcover
I usually don't give half stars, but I feel that it was almost good enough to be a 4, but not quite.
Elizabeth Berg can always be counted on to discuss the deeper issues in life, and describe them in a way, that makes you want to drink in her writing. She touches on alleged abuse, the makeup of families, and even death in this story. Her books are always quick, I can usually finish them off in no more than 3 or 4 sittings.
It starts out with a memory of three siblings: Steve, Laura, and Caroline. The year is 1960, and they are going to the fair. This short chapter was describing how Laura and her sister were not really close, no one is really close to Caroline. She is too hard to understand. She is a "brownnoser," someone who is always giving their mother gifts.
Fast forward forty years. Out of nowhere, Caroline wants to talk to Laura and Steve, about some things that have happened in the past, things that have been bothering her. These are things that their mother may have done. Both Laura and Steve are dumbfounded, because they weren't aware of anything in the past that was less than pleasant.
As the story unfolds, we realize that there may have been abuse that went on with Caroline and their mom. Even though they start remembering things that do not fit perfectly with their sugar-coated memories, Caroline is still Caroline. Who do you believe? The woman who loved and cared for you all of these years, or your dramatic and difficult sister? As the secrets unfold, you realize who is telling the truth, and who wants to hide from the past.
Even though I wasn't that satisfied with the way the book ended, I am always pleased with Berg's style. Though others have described her as "too wordy," I feel that, that is the most beautiful part of her works. The pieces that pull you into the story and these character's lives. I recall one paragraph,
"...Maybe it was the tender irony of the way that we, blind ourselves, offer our arm to others, hoping to ease the crossing. Maybe it was the odd surges of love one can feel for an absolute stranger. Or maybe it was the way we give so little when it's in us always to give so much more. Thomas Merton wrote about feeling a sudden awareness of a profound connection to others, understanding that 'they were mine and I theirs.' I loved reading things like that, things that pointed to our oneness and, by extension, our responsibility to others."
It's the fact that she is my magnifying glass to the beauty in life, the armchair philosopher, full of wisdom, that keeps me coming back.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Give this book a chance
16 July 2004
Format:Hardcover
I think other reviewers are unnecessarily harsh in their reviews of this book. One of my definitions of a good book is one that makes me think. A quote: "As for mending, I think it's good to take the time to fix something rather than throw it away. It's an antidote to wastefulness and to the need for immediate gratification. You get to see a whole process through, beginning to end, nothing abstract about it. You'll always notice the fabric scar, of course, but there's an art to mending: If you're careful, the repair can actually add to the beauty of the thing, because it is testimony to its worth." (14) This book is about a family's decision whether or not to repair (mend) their relationships after there has been a great tear through the fabric of their lives. It makes you think about whether there are relationships in your life that need mending.
22 of 25 people found the following review helpful
This is an Author,I am Glad I Discovered
17 Jun 2004
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Laura,a middle-aged woman,who makes quilts as a
work/hobby,(hence the title)comes from an average middle
class family,or so she has thought.She returns to her
homestead,where her father has become hospitalized.
Laura has a brother Steve,and a sister Caroline,a moody
woman.
Neither daughter has been close to their beautiful
mother,or to each other over the years.
A family secret-created so the children will not know
the suffering in the family,has been slowly
destroying this family.
Once you begin reading you cannot put this book down,
until you see how the situation is resolved.
At times,your mind plays tricks on you and you are
unsure yourself,how to deal with the raw, overwhelming
emotions of Laura,Caroline,and their Mother.
Laura's husband Pete is able to put a compassionate look on
the situation and offer advice from a distance.This is
beneficial to Laura.
In the end,it will be up to the children and the
parent,to settle an old score that left some members
damaged.
work/hobby,(hence the title)comes from an average middle
class family,or so she has thought.She returns to her
homestead,where her father has become hospitalized.
Laura has a brother Steve,and a sister Caroline,a moody
woman.
Neither daughter has been close to their beautiful
mother,or to each other over the years.
A family secret-created so the children will not know
the suffering in the family,has been slowly
destroying this family.
Once you begin reading you cannot put this book down,
until you see how the situation is resolved.
At times,your mind plays tricks on you and you are
unsure yourself,how to deal with the raw, overwhelming
emotions of Laura,Caroline,and their Mother.
Laura's husband Pete is able to put a compassionate look on
the situation and offer advice from a distance.This is
beneficial to Laura.
In the end,it will be up to the children and the
parent,to settle an old score that left some members
damaged.
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