What We Keep

Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ FOR ANYONE THAT HAS A MOTHER!
Review: ...wheather you are close to your mom or have never met her before, this book will help explore, understand, respect and accept the relationships between mother and child. I am not a mother yet, but after reading this book - I have more understanding and respect for what my mother had to go through and what she had to give up. I called her the minute after finishing it and told her how much I loved and appreciated her!

Elizabeth Berg intimatley involves us with her characters, the reader comes to know the family extra-ordinally well. You will completley feel the emotions of the young sisters as well as the adult versions of the pair. I have never read any of her other books, but am anxious to do so now. I thought the story was well written and much better than I had expected going into the book. I completed it in one afternoon if that says anything!

Every mother and daughter would greatly benefit from reading this book. It brings us to a closer understanding of eachother -reminds moms of how things are for their young children and gives forsight into a mommies mind for those that haven't had their own kids yet! It was a wonderful reminder that sometimes we go through so much hurt and pain - and often we don't know the real reasons why- and don't take the time to find out. We miss out on so much sometimes and dwell on what we have lost- but we have to remember that what we lost is not important- what matters is what we keep.

Rating:
Summary: Mothers and Daughters..
Review: are so special. This book has everything in it to satisfy the literary soul. Childhood romance, heartache, sisters relationships, fathers and daughters, friendships and more. I love books where things aren't what they seem and also has important life lessons. This is my first Berg book, and I look forward to more!

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Summary: A Tale of Mothers and Daughters!
Review: As a daughter and mother of a daughter, I am always intrigued by the thought of a book which explores the nuances of these relationships. But if I was looking for a sweet read depicting mother knows best and daughter is listeneing, I should have read something else. For in What we Keep, the author relates the story of a mother and her two daughters in an overwhelmingly sad story.

The opening pages of this book begin on an airplane ride as Ginny, Marion's younger daughter and sister of Sharla, explains to another passenger the nature of her trip West. Ginny is meeting up with her sister to visit the mother they haven't seen in 35 years. Then in a series of Ginny's reflections throughout the plane ride, we learn the how and why Marion left her daughters when they were only 14 and 12. Naturally thoughout the book we hear and feel Ginny's struggles with this trip, her recollections of their family life and how she will ultimately feel about her mother.

I found this to be one of Berg's more difficult books for me to read perhaps because I had such a wonderful bond with my mother. And I found msyelf dragging through the book not because I didn't want it to end but because it was so painful for me to think about what Marion did despite the fact that I somewhat understood her actions. And at the end I was waiting for parts of the puzzle to be solved and it finally left me wondering why this happened and what the future held for these three women after this meeting.

I did find this book evoked some of the same feelings I found in other books by Elizabeth Berg like Durable Goods which explored feelings among siblings and Joy School which described the painfgul days of a first love. And sections of it detailing what its like for a woman to grow older and what we expect from mothers were so beautifully written that I found myself crying.

Although this wasn't one of my favorite books written by Elizabeth Berg, pleae do read it and decide for yourself. Even a book by Berg which I liked less than her others is still a most worthwhile read.

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Summary: Berg's books are a rare treat...
Review: Berg's books are a rare treat, literature to savor and ponder. I have read all of her books to date and have not been disappointed yet - I share them with all my reading family and buddies.

In her latest book I really appreciated the portrait of a mom in the 60's not able to fit into the expected role as so many women in those days did not and many of them who did not run away from their family as the mother in this story, probably should have - they and their families would have been better off in the long run. The story shows the relationship between the daughters as sisters, friends and as they come to terms with the impact of their mother abandoning their lives and ultimately come to accept, understand and forgive as they meet with her 35 years later when she is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Bravo, Berg! I hope you are working on another book already since I am a reader who cannot get enough.

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Summary: Another good vacation read
Review: Found this book from a used book cart for $1 while on vacation. It looked like a great vacation book and it didn't disappoint. I was really drawn into the story and could not put it down!

The only major complaint I have is that the information revealed about the father at the end of the story was totally *not* believable based on his character as developed throughout the story. It was totally from left field and felt like it was thown into the story simply for effect.

That aside, this was the first book by this author and I'm looking forward to reading some of her other works.



Rating:
Summary: Breaking free of cages
Review: I found the most interesting relationship in this book was between the two sisters, Ginny and Sharla. The story details their struggle with their mother but their true touchstone in life and anchor is each other.

I also related to the mother's, Marion, struggle. The call of breaking free of whatever cages we surround ourselves with is tempting but the price paid once the cage is escaped can be very very high. In this case, Marion had no access to the key to climb back in a newly expanded cage and was left on the outside looking in.

"And I did not want to understand my mother. If I understood her, I might have to forgive her. And at some critical time I became very much invested in not forgiving her-we all did. It became an underpinning in our reduced family, a need, even; just as there seems to be a terrible need for family feuds to continue. In a way, it is as if your refusal to forgive is too much a part of you for you to lose it. Who would you be without it? Not yourself. Lost, somehow. Thinkk of how people tend to pick the same chair to sit in over and over again. We are always trying to make sure we know where we are. Though we may long for adventure, we also cherish the familiar. We just do."

Rating:
Summary: If you're a mother or a daughter - this is a must!!
Review: I read this in one Sunday, which I hated to do becuase then it was over! I took many breaks from about half way through to the end because I was so moved I was sobbing...big loud sobs - so glad nobody was home that day. I'm a mother of two daughters and I grew up in the late 50's with a younger sister. I related to so much of the time period that the nostalgia had me calling my sister four or five times. I felt the pain of the girls and the pain of the mother's dilemna. I love everything Elizabeth Berg has ever written, but I have to say this is my favorite - right up there with Never Change - another beautiful tear-jerker. This book spoke to me! FANTASTIC...the problem now -what on earth can I read that doesn't pale after Elizabeth Berg?

Rating:
Summary: Not one of Berg's best
Review: I've read many of Elizabeth Berg's books and have found that while some are wonderful, others are merely okay. WHAT WE KEEP unfortunately fell into the latter category. The main character is Ginny, a middle-aged woman who is flying out to California to meet the mother she has not seen in 35 years. Although Ginny had written off the relationship with her mother long ago, she made this trip at the request of her older sister, Sharla, who may or may not have cancer. As Ginny flies across the country, she recollects her childhood, reviweing the events that led to her and her sister's estrangement from their mother.

The majority of this novel is told in flashbacks. Although Ginny and Sharla's anger towards their mother was understandable, the resulting 35-year estrangement seemed to be an extreme reaction. Furthermore, once the novel returns to the present day, the reunion between Ginny and Sharla with their mother happens too quickly and too easily. Although the story was engaging at times, ultimately, I did not find it to be believable, and I was disappointed in the end.

Rating:
Summary: This one is my favorite!
Review: I've read nearly all of EB's books and i found this one to be my favorite so far. I felt like I was living in the house with Sharla and Ginny and could picture Marion and Georgia so clearly. The end of the book kind of left me hanging...but i truly enjoyed every page!

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Summary: It Makes You Smile.
Review: If you've ever experienced fond memories of your childhood and disturbing ones, as well, you will definitely appreciate this book. Elizabeth Berg wrote this with profound imagination and a wealth of heart and love.

Ginny and Sharla are wonderful as young girls, and they are equally as amazing as adults. The depth of their anger and mistrust to the depth of their forgiveness is a learning experience for these characters, even for the reader.

Find a shade tree on a warm fall day. Make sure the breeze is just right, and don't forget that sun tea. Because while you read, you will get mad, smile, and laugh. Most of all you will understand. Enjoy.

Joy.