Rating: 
Summary: Open House
Review: Samantha's husband has left her, she settles down to rebuild a life for herself and her eleven-year-old son. Her mother tries to help by fixing her up with dates, but a bigger problem is money. To meet her mortgage payments, Sam decides to help. The first is an older woman who offers advice and needed comfort; the second a student who is not quite so helpful. A new friend, King, suggests that Samantha get working. She will try anything to save her marriage. I have never read a book like this. This book tells how a woman has to find happiness within herself. In order to see other people, she has to look inside of her heart. She has to regain the person she used to be before she can save her marriage. "I think most young people today are so focused on tomorrow they forget all about today. And I think they're as afraid of happiness as they are of pain. Scared to say they care. Scared to take a chance. Scared to say they are full of human need." (Page 238) Young people focus on what is happening right now, and not what could happen tomorrow. We like to take a day at a time. We are scared of taking risks. We do not want people thinking we are weak, or that we have feelings. We do not want to believe that there is pain outside of our world. We want everybody to be happy, but we know that is not possible. Some of us are afraid of happiness because we know that most things do not last forever. This book starts out slow but picks up. I feel this book is not for everyone. People who prefer to laugh while reading a book would probably not like this book. This book is sad and romantic. This book is for the sentimental hearts.
Rating: 
Summary: A dreary woman with a dreary tale
Review: Open House was one of the most tiresome novels I have read in recent memory. The protagonist has lived a privileged life, and upon the demise of her marriage decides to soothe her pain through the purchase of jewelry and fine china. When her soon to be ex-husband mandates a stricter budget, our heroine decides that she must become independent of this unreasonable ogre. She hasn't worked in her adult life, and takes in boarders and takes on sub-standard jobs to survive. How can we feel sympathy for a woman who whines incessantly and who creates the very problems in which she finds herself?...
Rating:
Summary: The weakest Oprah pick yet
Review: I usually count on Oprah to enlighten me on really good books that I might otherwise overlook. In this case, I had read (and enjoyed) Elizabeth Berg before. However, I found this book to be disappointing. The characters lacked depth, and it was filled with far too many cliches. The "he left me so now I'll go charge stuff" thing has been overdone, and David is just so annoying you wish you reach in and slap him. I think Oprah must have been really stressed out when she picked this one, because it is much lighter than her other choices. Try reading Berg's "Durable Goods" for a much better book.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: This book rang true in many places. I thought it was an easy read and would recommend it to anyone who wants to enjoy a good story. I read the other reviews, and while I agree it was full of stereotypes, it still held my interest.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Though Berg is unquestionably a talented writer, this book was very disappointing in the morals it presented. I had a hard time feeling any sympathy for or emphathy with Samantha. It's difficult to feel sorry for a woman who drinks too much, goes home with a man, willingly gets into bed with him, then tries to call it "date rape." Though Berg sometimes hits a chord that resonates "yes, this is the way women are," most of the time I find myself wondering where these women she writes about live. Because it surely isn't in any neighborhood I'm familiar with. The American women I know are much more selfless, moral, and loyal. I'd love to see Berg base a book on such characters. Her talent seems wasted on characters who have no integrity and go through life adrift, without a solid foundation.
Rating:
Summary: Decent divorce novel
Review: I was disappointed when I was through with Elizabeth Berg's latest work, Open House. Personally I found it dull, uninventive, and a rather discouraging point of view about divorce. Samantha is a middle aged woman who was just left by her husband after a struggling marriage. Alone with an eleven year old son, Samantha becomes strange, opening her house to a series of strangers such as an elderly woman, a hopeless young girl, Violet Blue, who has given up on life, and a cheerful gay. Samantha struggles to take in the fact that she is divorced and she has to move on. Samantha unsuspectingly sparks a romance with a chubby yet brilliant man, King. This book is decidedly okay, but Elizabeth Berg is a brilliant author, one of the few who writes true yet ingeniously. I kept waiting for something to exciting but it's basically just an entire book about a forty year old woman in a middle age crisis who isn't sure if she loves her husband or not. I wouldn't recommend this paticular Berg book, but her others: Talk Before Sleep, Until The Real Thing Comes Along, Range Of Motion, Joy School, and Durable Goods are all excellent. Open House isn't a book for your list.
Rating:
Summary: Superficial and maddening
Review: When I was finished with this book I threw it across the room. In real life people going through a divorce do not just happen upon their moving man being a guy with a physics degree from MIT who is a philospher and the obvious love of their life. And of course the ex-husband comes crawling back just when our heroine has moved on to bigger and better things! If this is supposed to be how real people handle divorce or experience their family falling apart, it's just not that easy folks. Ugh!
Rating:
Summary: Not as enlightening as expected
Review: I thought the book was weak. I read the words, but didn't feel the emotions the book may have intended the reader to feel. It was a good story, but without much depth. An easy read.
Rating: 
Summary: One of Oprah's lighter reads
Review: This is the second Elizabeth Berg's books I have read. This one is about divorce ~~ a sudden surprise to Sam, who all of a sudden is caught unawares ~~ though there have been signs of marital discord in her marriage for a while. So Sam decides to gather in boarders so she can keep her big house, and she goes to work for a temp agency ~~ learning different jobs each week. It is a fun book especially for someone who is going through a divorce. This is a quirky read ~~ of a woman's self-discovery as she deals with the aftermath of her husband's leaving, her best friend and mother trying to fix her up with dates, a new friend she meets, and entering work force for the first time in 20 years ~~ and so forth. It is a light read, easily read in one day, full of laughter and grace. I highly recommend it for a light read if you're in the midst of troubles.
Rating:
Summary: I'd much rather count sheep to put me asleep...
Review: Pass this one up folks. I thought this book was about a woman who finds strength by moving on with her life after her divorce by opening her house and her heart to others. This book is actually about her day to day activities including crying a lot (sadness & happiness), eating a lot, absolute boredom because she does absolutely nothing, and spending a lot of time on the phone. There is no character development in any of the people she opens her home to and they really have only a slight, if any, influence in her new life. After reading this book I thought Sam, the divorcee, was rather weak and needed to get a life - She needs to be with someone too much. Anyway, Maeve Binchy's Tara Road is along the same lines - a dependent woman facing life alone after a divorce - It is a much more interesting book that keeps you turning pages. There is extensive character development that pulls you in - and the main character learns and changes throughout the book to become a rather strong/independent character. I'd recommend Tara Road over Open House any day... Enjoy!
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