Open House

Rating:
Summary: Another Great One From Elizabeth Berg
Review: Elizabeth Berg is one of my favorite authors. I have loved every book that I read by her and Open House did not dissapoint me at all. Her descriptions of a woman going through a divorce are right on the money and I loved the great cast of Characters in this book.

Samantha Morrow seems to be living the perfect life, shes a housewife and stay-at-home Mom, but one day her husband decides that he is going to up leave her which was totally unexpected. Her Husband cuts off her credit due to the fact that she bought out Tiffany's on her husbands charge card. Sam does not want to uproot her son from his home so she decided to take in borders and through the help of King she finds a job.

The Characters in this book are great and I loved the tranformation Samantha makes with her life and herself.
I would recommend this book to anyone along with anything else that Ms Berg has written.

Rating:
Summary: Charming
Review: I loved reading this book just as I have loved reading all of Berg's other books (I was especially moved by Talk Before Sleep). Berg creates characters who are loveable and real, but in Open House, I was disappointed by the lack of depth she allowed her heroine and her compatriots. That aside, there are genuinely poignant moments in the novel that capture your heart as well as moments that are so amusing you'll laugh out loud. I was especially appreciative of Berg's easy, straight-forward writing style - I read Open House start to finish in one evening over a cafe latte. In a complex world, it's a complete delight to have the opportunity to drop into someone else's world for an evening and then leave it feeling satiated. I would highly recommend Open House as a "feel good" read.

PS. I'll never think of Martha Stewart in the same way ever again! Thank you Elizabeth Berg.

Rating:
Summary: Would give it zero stars if I could
Review: This book was horrible. I couldn't finish reading it, which is saying a lot because I hate to waste my hard earned money on a book that I can't read. I can't believe this was an Oprah choice. Not that I read books or do anything else because Oprah suggests it. I read another one of her book choices and found it to be an entertaining read. But not this one.

The characters in this book seemed shallow. Sam seemed to be more of a ditz than a woman crushed by an estranged husband. The son seemed very immature for his age. Maybe this was just from the way he was written.

OK, I can't say much more because I didn't read the whole book. I will say I tried though, it just wasn't worth my time. The only reason I'm writing the review is to advise others to not even waste their time on this poorly written book.