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Summary: An eye opener!
Review: This book has so much in it to make you think.
I can see why it is in so many discussion groups.
It truly gets you to evaluate your own actions and motives.I was so surprised and happy with the end.
A good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrific!
Review: The moment I finished "Open House" by Elizabeth Berg, the first thought that came to mind was terrific. Ms. Berg has her own way, and it is so great, of getting into ordinary lives & what they really feel like. This novel was so delicious & I wasn't able to put it down. It was so believable & touching. The author does such a remarkable jod of writing that would make anyone want to read. I really loved "Open House' & it will become one of my new favorites. I would definitely recommend it.
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Summary: Open House...walk right on in!
Review: This is the first novel that I've read by Elizabeth Berg. I really enjoyed the story and how the narrator(Samantha)copes with her unraveling marriage. Samantha, is easy to relate to as we follow her through her emotional roller coaster. She is open, honest, funny and sometimes a little crazy, like when she goes on a shopping spree and spends thousands of dollars at Tiffany's. After her wealthy husband, David, moves out, Samantha has to deal with her emotional 11 year old son, Travis, who just doesn't understand her; her meddling mother, who is always trying to fix her up on blind dates and her friend Rita, who lives in California, and who never liked David in the first place. She manages to make some new friends as she opens up her house to boarders, much to the horror of Travis. The boarders help with the mortgage payments, but they also offer Samantha advice and guidance in her life. With the help of King, her new friend, she manages to get some temporary jobs through an agency and begins to realize that he's more than just a friend to her. It was fun to imagine Samantha being transformed by these new experiences in her life and for her to realize that her marriage, that was taken away from her, is not what she wanted out of life after all. At the end of the book you can't help but smile when you realize that she is much better off where she is now.
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Summary: great for newly divorced
Review: I thought the book captured the essence of feelings that a woman goes through when going through a divorce. Also gives hope for the future. Good, easy read.
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Summary: Open your house, your heart and all the possibilities!
Review: I borrowed this book from a friend, she said it was pretty good, so what the heck and it turned out to be a fast paced read and a delight.
Sam, short for Samantha, is happily married, she thinks, as she is going about her happy homemaker routine when suddenly her world is turned upside down. Her husband is experiencing a mid-life crisis and feels the need to leave so he can find his bliss. He not only leaves his wife,Sam, but their 11 year old son as well,along with the house, the mortgage etc. As Sam is faced with how to survive without an income she Opens up her house to boarders.
Upon renting out rooms in her house Sam pays the bills and takes control of her life. she discovers another side to herself that she previously never had the time to explore. On her journey of self discovery, meets interesting people and finds romance in the process.
This book has the typical Oprah theme of overcoming adversity and excuse the pun......... and it's a good thing, ala Martha Stewart!
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Summary: Wonderful read!
Review: Its hard not to relate to the pain she goes through. Her crazy mother, a distant son and one angel she doesn't realize is there. Highly reccommend it!
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Summary: [Famous] Book Club book--but don't hate!
Review: Open House by Elizabeth Berg was your typical 40-something divorced-woman finding herself book that you would not be surprised to find on [a Famous] Book List. I loved it. For all it's simplicity, it is a feel-good book that gives you hope about life. Sparse but well-written, since despite its short length the book gives you a total feel for all the characters. Oh, the plot in a nutshell: 40-something woman with 11 yr. old son gets blindsided by her [stupid] husband wanting a divorce. She cracks up, gets depressed. She takes in borders/roommates to help keep up the mortgage. *Now, this is what I thought the meat of the book was gonna be, led to believe this by the book cover. But her growth/change in life comes gradually from within, realistically. I found this book to be above all, realistic in its portrayal of the anguish that comes from getting dumped. I'm not gonna tell anymore cuz that would be too revealing. But if you want a light, yet thought-provoking book--check it out!
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Summary: An occasionally predictable but thoroughly enjoyable read.
Review: This short, engaging novel focuses on the life of a 30-something woman (Sam) whose husband has abaondoned her after over 10 years of marriage. Although Sam is aware of the problems in the relationship, she has no idea how to address these issues, and she is devastated when her husband decides to leave. The book details Sam's efforts to find some way to cope with her pain, from going on a shopping spree at Tiffany's to taking in boarders to to working temp jobs to calling Martha Stewart to ask about her own divorce. Supporting characters come in the form of Sam's pre-adolescent son, her former college roommate, and a male loner who becomes one of her main supports. Although I was able to predict the ending long before I got there, I was still able to enjoy the ride.
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Summary: A compelling and poignant read
Review: Having read Never Change, Elizabeth Berg's latest novel, I knew I wanted to read one of her earlier stuff. I picked up Open House hoping that it would be as great as Never Change. And it was! Berg tells us the story of a 42-year-old mother who tries to come to terms with her divorce. She misses the comfortable and stable life she had with her husband, and the changes that occur after he leaves -- helping her son deal with the situation, help keep the house by renting rooms to strangers, relying on an employment agency to make ends meet -- make her want to have her husband around even more. But with the help of her friends, namely the adorable King, she sees that her life is far from over. There are some quite compelling and poignant moments in the novel. I love Berg's ability to create realistic characters -- characterization is one of the most important parts in fiction, and she does it flawlessly. Her writing is quite subtle, which made me feel as though the heroine was my best friend. Compelling and poignant, Open House is an inspiring novel that everyone, regardless of age, should read. I shall look forward to reading her other novels. Elizabeth Berg is a true and rare talent in contemporary fiction.
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Summary: Appealing, richly deserving of praise, insightful and a joy
Review: I read any...book with a slight degree of skeptism but I was joyfully surprised to read Open House. It is an insightful, funny and touching read, one of the few books I've read in years for which I longed for the characters when I closed the book and knew I'd hate to put it down after the last page. And I did. I found the protagonist's journey realistic in its' slow, revealing and genuinely changing nature. She comes along and grows and learns at a seemingly real pace in seemingly real ways. She doesn't end up so dramatically changed by her experience that the reader doubts the probability of it all. It's realistic and has real character depth, likability, identifiability (if there is such a word) and truth. The story is fast moving, the other characters equally real and likable. I couldn't put it down....because I simply didn't want to.
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