Rating: 
Summary: Tremendous writing -- this book will change you.
Review: Truly wonderful short novel about two best friends, one of whom is dying of breast cancer and is near the end of her life when the story begins. This is a look not only at what it's like for the patient, but at how hard it is for someone to watch a loved one leave this world -- and not be able to do ANYTHING to stop it. All the feelings are here -- the guilt, the fear, the frustration, and the sorrow -- and they are so eloquently described that by the end of the book, you will be exhausted. As exhausted as the characters themselves. And this is what made me love this book so much -- it's so sad, it's so hard to read, but when was the last time a book moved me like this? Berg says in the foreward that this book is actually based on her own experience as a friend watching a friend die from breast cancer and I believe it. Only someone who'd really been through it could make the rest of us feel like we had too. But this book isn't all about death and sorrow -- it's also about how bright someone's light can be, even in the face of extraordinary darkness. This book made me laugh out loud. And then it made me cry myself to sleep. How wonderful is that? Answer: darn wonderful.
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Summary: every woman knows these characters
Review: This book taps you on the shoulder and reminds you what true friendship is. Every woman can identify some of her "girl friends" between the lines. I have only heard of one friend who "didn't care" for the book and I think it was because she was dealing too closely with a friend struggling with breast cancer. A powerful read from start to finish. You will need tissues in the final chapters and your phone bill will likely rise as the need to reach out to those "girlfriends" takes hold.
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Summary: All girlfriends should share this book
Review: I was given this book by one of my girlfriends, and it has become a treasure. It touched me deep in my soul all while honoring friendship. I also give it a five-tissue box rating.
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Summary: Talk Before Sleep
Review: Daniele Christie
English book review
Mr. Powell
October 4, 2001
Talk Before Sleep
Talk Before Sleep, is an unforgettable novel about two best friends, one has cancer. Ann and Ruth met at a party soon they became best friends. Not long after, Ruth found out that she had cancer. Ruth was determined to make the most out of the time she lad left. Ann couldn't see how Ruth could be so strong and never be sad, she admired Ruth a great deal for this. When it became necessary Ann moved into Ruth's house to take care of her, leaving her husband and daughter at home. Ann and Ruth had as much fun as they could, they would give each other makeovers and go see a "sappy love story" movie. Ruth also had several other friends who liked to come over to her house and have dinner or go to the movies. As Time went on Ruth began to think that her time was coming. Ruth decided that she needed to go live with her brother Andrew. Ruth feels like she needs to spend the rest of her life with him. Shortly after Ruth moves away Ann gets a phone call from Andrew. Ann knew what had happened because Andrew had never called her before. Andrew was calling to tell her that Ruth had died. On a sheet of paper Ann wrote down the time 3:37 on a small sheet of paper so she could remember what time Ruth died. At Ruth's funeral her closest friends all wore things that Ruth thought they should, they all told her goodbye for the last time under the tree in the cemetery that Ruth told them that she wanted to be in after she died.
Ann and Ruth were the only "round" characters in the novel. They were both fun loving, even though Ann was a little more responsible than Ruth. There were several "flat" characters in the novel, Ruth's friends Helen, L.D. and Sarah. Ann's husband, Joe, and her daughter Maggie, are also "flat" characters. I think the theme of the novel is that you should always make the most out of the time you have, even when you know your time is limited.
I thought that the Author did an excellent job of expressing how strong Ruth is, and how much her friends respect her for that. I would recommend Talk Before Sleep to any woman who ever had a best friend.
Rating: 
Summary: Berg pulls it off
Review: I was recommended this book by my book club as being the "best one by Berg". So when I ran across it at my local bookstore, I had to give it a try. I started and finished it in 3 days, which is very fast considering my busy college schedule. I couldnt put it down. I thought the storyline would be too depressing for me, and I wouldn't like it or be able to stay interested. I was wrong, this was a very good book. Berg tells the story beautifully, and pulls you into it with her writing.
B+
Rating: 
Summary: Okay.....
Review: I was expecting blockbuster prose based upon the customer reviews I read. I was not bowled over by this book, and I wonder if perhaps I just expected too much. I did appreciate the focus on the emotions and thoughts, as opposed to attempting to paint a picture of the surroundings. The end tries too hard to jerk tears, however, and I felt that it was a bit of overkill.
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Summary: Runs the entire gamut of cancer
Review: From the diagnosis, to the denial, to the intimidating medical lingo, to the fear and unknown of dying, "Talk Before Sleep" is one of the most realistic pieces of fiction that I have ever read. Beautiful, glowing, take-no-prisoners Ruth lives to the fullest. And then the unthinkable -- breast cancer, surgery, chemo and the exhausting fight to survive, a war waged not only by Ruth, but by her friends, Ann, Sarah, L.D., and Helen. Told through Ann, we see Ruth slowly deteriorate as the cancer spreads and she must face death head-on. This is a soul searching book that asks questions we would all benefit from considering. The questions go beyond the theological into the realm of self-examination. How have I lived? What would I do differently? How do I want to die? Am I living every moment? Ruth's pain is well expressed, but so is the pain borne by her friends. We see the agony and denial, the reality and the fear that the four women who love Ruth the most must endure as they try to support and ease Ruth in her final days. This book is not just a depressing look at a painful death. It is a celebration of a beautiful woman who enjoyed life and squeezed what she could from it to the very end. It's also about the legacy and the spirit we leave behind. I confess I cried, something only two other books have been able to cause. Very well done!
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Summary: Sad and contemplative, Berg has done it again.
Review: Ann is slowly watching her best friend Ruth face the most harrowing days of her all to shortened life. Ruth has been diagnosed with breast cancer that has spread to her lungs and has only a few weeks to live as the book opens. The dialogue between the women is intuitive, intense and succinct like only Berg can write. Her portrayal of the oncoming death and the friends that sit in wait with utter dismay, grabbing at every glimmer of hope, is moving beyond words. I really don't believe this author is capable of writing a bad book. You can't go wrong with any of her titles. ...END
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Summary: EXQUISITE PROSE
Review: Given the subject matter of "Talk Before Sleep" this book could have been a maudlin account of death through breast cancer. However, Elizabeth Berg's prose creates a most insightful tale that touches the very heart strings of the reader. It is witty. It is gritty. It is prolific. It is truthful without too much clinical detail. Mostly, it is loving. The loving friendship of two friends, bound together through thick and thin. A wise story, the book leaves you uplifted even with the inevitable ending. Yes, tears spilled from my eyes, but they were in profound respect for Berg's well written characters, and the exquisite beauty of her words. I was so genuinely moved by this read, I wrote my dearest friend an email emoting how much I loved her. Well done prose affects it's readers, and that, to me, is the crux of good writing. This was very good writing!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Tries way too hard
Review: This book is just way too pretentious and makes too much of an effort to be wise and poignant to actually BE wise and poignant, or make any real observations about life, or convey any real emotion. It's so pro-female that it's sexist, anti-male, as though men are a lesser creature instead of an equal partner here on earth. I want a book that can make you cry, make you think, make you feel like you are going through an experience with someone, but this book does none of that - the author WANTS to convey something, but it all feels very artificial. The characters were weak - Ruth was self-centered, cynical and narrow-minded and Anne was a pushover and had such low self-confidence and inability to see the good in her life you hardly have hope for her at all. Overall, it was really quite mediocre.
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