Range of Motion

Rating:
Summary: Another fast read by Elizabeth Berg.
Review: RANGE OF MOTION by Elizabeth Berg is the story of Lainey, whose husband Jay is in a coma due to an icicle falling on his head and knocking him out. Lainey sees the humor in all this, and at the same time tries to deal with a future that may not include the love of her life. Her emotions are up and down and she prays and hopes that he will awaken one day. She tries all sorts of things to bring him out of his coma, bringing to the hospital things from home that may stir his mind and help bring him out of the coma. She also spends a lot of time reminiscing about time spent with Jay, the romantic things, the every day things.

At the same time, Lainey notices how her two children are dealing with this tragedy. The oldest Sarah does not seem to be coping well at all, and at times refuses to even see Dad.

Lainey struggles with her emotions, and gets support from her neighbor Alice, who is going through some rough times of her own. The book gets into Alice's troubles, where she is worried that her husband is having an affair with someone at work. The conclusion to this subplot was rather interesting, and I was glad that it got resolved! (The reader was not left hanging).

I think this is my 4th book by Elizabeth Berg, and as with the others I enjoyed reading it a lot. However, I don't feel this is my favorite of her books. I was expecting something with more substance. The book was well-written as all her books are, but I felt that she could have delved more into Lainey's past with Jay and maybe got more into detail about the relationship with the two daugthers. Overall, though, this was a good read!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: This being the first Elizabeth Berg that I have read, I had some pretty high expectations. My mom got me this book for Christmas last year and I only got around to reading it last week. I have to say that it is one of the most engaging books I have read in a really long time.

Jay Bermann is walking to work one winter day when a huge block of ice falls off a roof and knocks him into a coma. His wife Lainey, the only one who believes that he will recover, tries in every way to revive him with his favorite shirts, spices, etc. Her enormous persistance to get him to recover is aided by the help of two extraordinary women. The wondeful style of this book makes it romantic without being romantic. The reader is in a rush to figure the outcome of the story, while at the same time they are reluctant to see it end. I look foreward to reading other books by Elizabeth Berg.

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Summary: Fantastic and moving
Review: This is one of the few books that have brought me to tears... tears rolling down my face, dripping across my nose and onto my pillow. Elizabeth Berg never handles a situation like you'd think it would (or probably should) be; she handles it in the way in which it would truly happen. What would I really think if my husband were in a coma? No really, what would I be THINKING? It's an incredibly complicated concept, even more heart-wrenching than other books about actual death that I've read. She has a wonderful, intimate way of bringing the same hurt, confusion and intensity of emotions her characters experience into the mind and heart of her readers. It's a very genuine thing that keeps me reading her stories with open ears.

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Summary: Gets under the surface of things, and sticks with you
Review: This was the first book I read by Elizabeth Berg. It was one of those happy accidents where you decide to try that book in the bargain pile by an author you don't know, and it turns out to be one of your favorites. I love the tenderness of Lainey's relationship with Jay, how she so deeply misses him, the images of how hard it is to have your partner in the terrible limbo of a coma, and how hard it must be to be the only one who believes he'll ever wake up. Lainey's internal dialogue is very interesting, how her view of the world both evolves and doesn't while she deals with her situation. And as with all of Elizabeth Berg's novels (at least the several I've read), you can't help but find cause for optimism at the end, no matter what happens.

The images that stick with you are the way she uncovers the beauty, the poetry, in the most everyday things. That's a hallmark of her writing. It tends to point out why you should tell your partner and your children why you love them, why you should remember to look at the sunset, stop to catch snowflakes on your tongue, etc.

Just read it. Especially for this book, but to some degree for all of her novels, it's hard to describe the charm of Elizabeth Berg's writing.

Rating:
Summary: Berg at her best
Review: Range of Motion was my third Elizabeth Berg novel (Talk Before Sleep and Until the Real Thing Comes Along being the other two) and I must say this is by far my favorite. I loved this book from the opening line to the finishing sentence. Berg portrayed her title character, Lainey, with great sympathy and passion for what she loved. I loved Lainey all the way through the book and she remains my favorite fiction character. Throughout the novel Lainey is dealing with her husband being in a coma after a freak accident along with taking care of her two daughters and helping her neighbor cope with a failing marriage. I cried along with Lainey and smiled at her happy moments the entire time keeping the faith that Lainey's husband would one day wake up along with her. For any fan of Berg or any reader interested in a truly great book, I highly recommend Range of Motion.

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Summary: "Range of e-motion"
Review: Elizabeth Berg has a wonderful way with words that women can easily relate to. She seems to know each of us intimately. Our secrets, our longings, our personal and private pain. While not all of us will be called to experience the heartache of caring for a comatose loved one, in Range of Motion, Elizabeth helps us to realize that life does not always give what we expect, but the friendship of women can serve as a strong shield against the cruelties that life hurls our way. Elizabeth is a master at meeting us where we are in life. You will laugh, you will cry, you will feel anger and fear as you immerse yourself in Range of Motion, and if you are like me, you will find it difficult to put the book down until you have absorbed the very last word.

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Summary: Great Time Span Writing!
Review: All my friends are talking about Elizabeth Berg books. I picked this one up, despite the fact they told me to start with others. In this book I found a warm, real character who deals with her tragedy and her life in a realistic way. I was most impressed with the way Berg covers time span. The story could have drug on and on to cover the time spent in a coma, but she handled it so well! Time gaps were well explained, 24 hours felt real... she is an excellent story teller and time keeper!

Rating:
Summary: Range of Motion by Elizabeth Berg
Review: Range of Motion is the story of Lainey Berman & how she copes with the freak accident of her husband Jay. Now in a coma for 3 months, Lainey faces her darkest fears: what if Jay never wakes up? In the course of trying to deal with this, Lainey also struggles with her 2 daughters, the oldest of whom is pulling herself away from Lainey and shutting herself off. One of the factors that helps Lainey cope is the dear friendship of her next door neighbor Alice. While Lainey is dealing with the pain of losing her husband to the coma and wondering if he will ever come out of it, Alice suspects that her husband is having an
affair. Depsite the fact that Lainey's plate is full of her own troubles, she is able to pull through and return friendship
to Alice as well. Berg's writing is simple yet wonderful, as she has you feeling that deep, sinking feeling, that Lainey must be experiencing. Range of Motion is a great story about friendship, love and the human spirit.

Rating:
Summary: Get it!
Review: This is a book that is good summer reading, or winter break, vacation time... Berg's stories are so much fun. Set aside some time and sit down with one of them, you'll be impressed.

Rating:
Summary: Eeegads...
Review: Skip this one and read Berg's other books. This is a weepy, predicatable story that stretches out for far too long.