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Title: Open House (Oprah's Book Club (Paperback)) by Elizabeth Berg ISBN: 0-345-43516-8 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 01 May, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.7 (273 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A few hours' good read
Comment: I had read two of Elizabeth Berg's earlier books and enjoyed them. This one is also enjoyable but very light and a very quick read; I finished it off on a Sunday evening in about 3 hours. I am not for sure why Oprah had chosen this book as one of her club selections as opposed to perhaps "Open Range" a much more complex but just as enjoyable read.
The subject of this book is divorce and its affects on the woman left behind and her son. The main character, Samantha, is well written and generates your sympathy. Her son is also well written having the proper amount of angst exhibited for an 11-year-old without being a caricature. However, there are secondary characters that are not quite as fleshed out as they should be; for example, I could never get a real grasp on either Samantha's mother nor her best friend.
I would recommend this book as pleasant rainy day reading but not for any in-depth study.
Rating: 5
Summary: OPEN THE DOOR AND LET THIS ONE IN
Comment: This was the first book I've ever read by Elizabeth Berg so perhaps I wasn't expecting as much as the diehard Berg fans have come to expect. For me, this was a pleasurable read -- an eye-opener into the emotions associated with those first few months after your marriage has broken up. Berg chooses a main character, Samantha Morrow, who is easy to relate to. Her ups and downs become the reader's ups and downs and her triumphs will become yours as well. If Sam "lost herself" during her marriage, Open House finds her "rediscovering herself" during the separation.
When David, (a wealthy Paul Newman look-alike) tells his wife that he is moving out, Samantha displays emotions that, while are sometimes beyond belief, you can see yourself doing. She goes on a shopping spree at Tiffanys, decides to take in boarders to supplement her income and signs up with a temporary agency in an effort to find a job. In the suspending belief department, each boarder she takes in immediately becomes a family member, King, an MIT graduate who majored in astrophysics, is working at menial jobs and Sam, who is separated from a "wealthy" husband, finds herself counting change in a laundromat as one of her part time jobs.
While I had a problem with the time frame -- never quite knowing how much time had passed from chapter to chapter -- I felt that the succession of events were true to form. David leaves Sam; Travis, her son, gives her a hard time; her best friend Rita arrives from California to help Sam get through this hard time; her mother Veronica starts setting her up on blind dates and Sam starts to realize that there is "light at the end of the tunnel." Reading about Sam arrive at this point was quite refreshing.
As much as we complain about Oprah's picks, I thank her for introducing me to this "new for me" author. From what I've read in the other reviews, she's obviously written books that her readers have enjoyed more than this one. Since I enjoyed this one, I can now look forward to some of her previous and perhaps better books.
Rating: 1
Summary: Would give it zero stars if I could
Comment: This book was horrible. I couldn't finish reading it, which is saying a lot because I hate to waste my hard earned money on a book that I can't read. I can't believe this was an Oprah choice. Not that I read books or do anything else because Oprah suggests it. I read another one of her book choices and found it to be an entertaining read. But not this one.
The characters in this book seemed shallow. Sam seemed to be more of a ditz than a woman crushed by an estranged husband. The son seemed very immature for his age. Maybe this was just from the way he was written.
OK, I can't say much more because I didn't read the whole book. I will say I tried though, it just wasn't worth my time. The only reason I'm writing the review is to advise others to not even waste their time on this poorly written book.
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Title: While I Was Gone by Sue Miller ISBN: 0345443284 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: February, 1999 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg ISBN: 0385318782 Publisher: Dell Pub. Date: 06 October, 1997 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: The Pull of the Moon by Elizabeth Berg ISBN: 0515120898 Publisher: Jove Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 1997 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Range of Motion by Elizabeth Berg ISBN: 0515119784 Publisher: Jove Books Pub. Date: 01 December, 1996 List Price(USD): $6.50 |
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Title: Until the Real Thing Comes Along (Ballantine Reader's Circle) by ELIZABETH BERG ISBN: 034543739X Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 06 June, 2000 |
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