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Summary: A novel about finding one's self
Review: This was my second read by Elizabeth Berg. An amazing talented author, I plan to read all her books eventually.Open House is about a very well known thing, divorce. In this story, Sam's husband has just left her. Sam's first reaction is to make David pay for his actions so she takes the charge card to Tiffany's. As the story progress, Sam realizes that she needs to make a new life for her son and herself. Sam opens her house and takes in some roommates in order to pay the mortgage. Through her roommates and new friend, King, Sam begins to reclaim herself and remember what was within herself before her marriage. This novel was an Oprah selection, I can see why it has been chosen not only by Oprah but by numerous other book clubs as there is so much to discuss within the novel.
Rating: 
Summary: So So
Review: I thought this book was okay. just okay. I liked it because you can really feel what everyone feels. It touches you and makes you feel happy/sad. The only reason I thought it was bland is because it was sorta slow paced. Once I put it down...it stayed down for a couple of days.
Rating: 
Summary: Two perspectives
Review: By chance, I read this book in the same week that I read "The Monk Downstairs," and "Bones Would Rain from the Sky." Each informed the others in interesting ways. "Open House" and "The Monk Downstairs" could almost be two results of the same class writing assignment. Each concerns a single mother, her own single mother, and a man who has been out of the social dance for some time, finding their way back into love. I had to wonder what the appeal was to each of these authors in pairing a recently bereft woman (with precocious child) with a socially inexperienced man (who nevertheless is sexually adept), or the appeal of a man who is employed at the lowest levels but is actually just short of genius. Both books were very appealing, but odd in the same ways. "Bones Would Rain from the Sky" is meant to be about forming deeper relationships with dogs, but has much to say about relationships of all sorts and provided an interesting counterpoint to the two novels.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Fast Read
Review: I felt like Elizabeth Berg had somehow written a partial biography of my life. As I read this, I found myself frequently laughing out loud or saying "yes!" about something Sam experienced. It is hard to believe it's fiction, because it seems like a true story.
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Summary: Picking Up the Pieces After Divorce
Review: In Elizabeth Berg's novel, Open House, Sam (Samantha) must pick up the pieces of her and her son's life after her husband walked out on her. In the opening chapters, Samantha is full of sorrow and then rage as she charges up her husband's credit card at Tiffany's. As Sam comes to terms with the reality that her husband will not be coming back home, she realizes she has to make ends meet and satsify the mortgage payments. So she decides to open her house to roommates. Through the experiences with her new roommates, Sam finds the person she used to be and like. By opening her home, she was able to open her heart also. This was my first Elizabeth Berg novel and I plan on picking up more by this talented author.
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Summary: Easy read that needs more character development
Review: I was intrigued by Elizabeth Berg's books and thought I'd check this one out. Like some others, I was completely expecting the bulk of the book to be in her relationships with her boarders, yet got nearly nothing of the kind. I was hoping her to have more meaningful, developed relationships with those people. I was also surprised to see that Sam's miscarriage didn't affect her more deeply; in the next paragraph we were on to some other trivial matter, like buying more Joy perfume (which can go for nearly $800 an ounce) or Tiffany silver. Predictable, yet I enjoyed it for something a little less heavy.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: This book was interesting and easy to get into. You can really feel what the characters are going through, even you may have a completely different life. This was one of my favorite Oprah books.
Rating:
Summary: Easy reading!
Review: This book was a great, light, read that has stayed with me long after I finished reading it.
Rating: 
Summary: [...], flat characters, predictable story line..
Review: I was very unimpressed by this book, how has this woman gotten other things published? The book went way too fast to the predictable ending, the author didn't spend enough time developing the characters, the plot was stupid: Newly divorced woman tried to "find herself" and pay off her mortgae by taking in borders. If the author had concentrated more on the boarders, developing the characters more, not using so many dumb stereotypes, like she picked the characters out of sitcom, then maybe...this book would have been worth something.
Rating:
Summary: Truly Uplifting
Review: I like books with closure. I am not a fan of a book that leaves me hanging in the end wondering how the characters I have come to love are going to fare when I have closed the book and gone. This book made me feel close to our heroine Sam and let me know her and love her, and in the end let me leave her without guilt.
Sam's struggle with her husband's decision to leave her for another woman, and her sometimes insane ability to rise above her overwhelming loneliness and hurt, leads us on an enriching tale with heart-wrenching twists and turns. But in the end Sam makes us feel better for our adventure, and hopeful for the future.
This book is one of the best I have ever read (and I read ALOT)and I would recommend it to anyone.
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