Rating: 
Summary: Tender and True
Review: I just don't understand people finding this book flat or boring! It delicately probes the development of a friendship between two women who are able to share painful secrets gradually, and bonding over time during their long walks. It's about maturing marriages, lost and found children, career paths, deepening friendsship, faith and gratitude, all painted with a light, feathery brush. I would have wished to learn more of Kathleen's catholic childhood and influences on her life, but I guess Ms. Diamant doesn't know too much about that--and she never really fleshes out Pat's (Kathleen's sister) vocation as a nun--hence 4 stars only.
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Summary: Women need other women!
Review: If you think this is a book about cancer, you are wrong. It is about dealing with the past. It is about the relationship between Kathleen and Joyce, who have more in common than the love of walking. The 20 year difference between Kathleen and Joyce is quite insignificant...what is signigicant is that they listen to one another without judging. They tell one another deep, hidden secrets... 'My child died and it's my fault. I had an affair. I had one too. I have cancer.' "Good Harbor is about two women who met at the right time. Two women who walk together enjoying the beauty of Cape Ann Beach, enjoy the beauty of one another. It's about being thankful for what we have. Kathleen says...
'Thank you for my health. Thank you for books. Thank you for my garden, for the trees, for a perfumed night. Thank you for Joyce. When you see two women walking, talking, laughing, Nike's hitting the pavement at a good speed...they are probably revealing the most unbelievable secrets about one another...they are probably saving the world. Thank you for girlfriends and long walks....We are indeed one another's therapy! AMEN.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice,quick read
Review: This is the first opportunity that I have had to read a book by Anita Diamant. I really enjoyed this book. I bought it because I am an Onoclogy nurse and thought I would like to read about breast cancer from the patient's perspective. I was able to get that, but I found a lovely friendship between Kathleen and Joyce. I would have liked to see the author expand her characters, however, and spend more time focusing on the interactions between the two women. Overall, it is a nice book to read and follow and shouldn't take long to get through.
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Summary: Best book in years
Review: This is the best book I've read in years. I absolutely loved it and couldn't put it down.
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Summary: The characters are exactly life size
Review: When a first novelist produces a work that is a blockbuster bestseller, critics invariably scrutinize her next novel for signs of "sophomore slump." In The Red Tent, Anita Diamant brought to life an ancient world, spinning an epic tale out of one brief passage in the Bible. That novel was an impressive work of imagination and storytelling. And despite the fact that she breathed life into Biblical figures, depicting them as human beings with loves, hopes and fears similar to our own, her characters came across as larger-than-life -- only to be expected of figures who loom so large in our culture. In Good Harbor, a contemporary novel with a much narrower scope, the characters are exactly life size. I can't remember another novel I've read in the recent past in which the characters seemed so much like people I knew or might meet. At times I felt less as if I were reading a novel and more as if I were listening to two women ahead of me in line at the supermarket, discussing their lives and problems with no awareness of being overheard. The introduction to Kathleen and Joyce's stories is leisurely, the way it might be with any new acquaintance, too slow for many readers who have posted unfavorable reviews here. Still, the further I read, the more eager I became to learn how these women would deal with their problems. Kathleen is struggling with a diagnosis of breast cancer, and with her enduring grief over the loss, years earlier, of her younger son. Joyce is worried about the growing distance between herself and her husband, and about her twelve-year-old daughter's new sullenness. In addition, Joyce frets that she will never be able to write the book she really wants to write, instead of the commercially successful romance she has published. Several readers called the women whiny and self-involved. Frankly, I can't imagine not being concerned over a diagnosis of breast cancer, even minimally invasive cancer. Joyce's problems are less life threatening, but I found myself engrossed as well. (Perhaps only another writer could eagerly await a resolution to Joyce's writer's block.) But I was just as engrossed by the underlying theme of this novel -- the strength of women's friendships. As at least one other reader has noted, Kathleen and Joyce's friendship mirrors on a smaller scale the theme of The Red Tent. For those who haven't read Diamant's first novel, the "red tent" that she imagined for her Biblical characters was a tent to which the women retreated during their menstrual periods, there to refresh themselves both with a respite from constant work and with the companionship and conversation of other women. For many women readers of that novel, the red tent became symbolic of the place of calm, comfort and renewed energy that women's friendships offer in our own lives. This was true for me. My best friend and I feel that we have created our own little red tent, and the five women comprising our fiction critique group -- who have become good friends in the years we have met together -- feel the same about our circle of writers. One reader reviewer felt that if not for the success of Diamant's first novel, Good Harbor would never have been published. I think this is very possible; there is not a huge market for quiet novels like this one. And I can imagine Diamant's agent and publisher urging her to turn her talents instead to another grand historical epic. Nor is Good Harbor stylistically perfect. The descriptions of the main characters involve some cliched "as she looked in the mirror" lines (though as others have said, the descriptions of Gloucester and the sense of place are superb). I was disconcerted by a couple of overly abrupt viewpoint changes. And there may be some contrivance in the plot -- though by definition a novel is contrived. But these are minor flaws. Women readers who treasure strong women's friendships may well treasure this quiet depiction of one.
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Summary: Relationships
Review: After reading Good Harbor, I couldn't believe the lukewarm reviews I had read before ordering it. Boy, am I glad I ignored them based on how much I had liked The Red Tent! Good Harbor is a fast read, full of excellent character development based on human relationships and the strengths and weaknesses of such. Diamant deals realistically with friendship, marriage, death, and religion. A little of somethiing for just about everyone. The combination of Catholicism and Judaism, I thought, was excellent. She also develops the two main characters, Kathleen and Joyce, giving them both strength while emphasizing their differences. Excellent book! I would highly recommend reading this.
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Summary: Great Read
Review: This book is just the book to read about the beautiful gift of friendship. It is wonderfully descriptive in the knowing of two women who become necessary in each other's life. They become good friends and show us the real meaning of friendship. They know when to talk and when to listen - and the end is just wonderful. Don't miss this read!
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointing read.
Review: I chose not to read the Red Tent as I was not interested in the subject matter, but picked up Good Harbor thinking it would deliver a good read. By the end of the book I questioned why I hadn't laid it down before as I found the characters contrived and at best, unlikely. Kathleen and Joyce's friendship takes off far too quickly for my taste, they are bonded in an immediate velcro-like relationship without ever having had the chance to get to know each other. Reminds me of high school infactuations, "falling in love " on the first date. The book speaks about the tragedy of familial loss, but not soon enough, and readers will likely be long gone before the meat of the book is presented. There are far, far better books out there right now. All in all, a very disappointing read.
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Summary: Just when you were about to give up on women friends...
Review: this book reminds you of why it's worth it to sift through the catty, competetive aquaintances to find one or two true female companions. I loved The Red Tent and was wary of a contemporary novel, but my concerns were unfounded. I couldn't put Good Harbor down either, even reading with a flashlight into the night after a day at the beach with three kids! I immediately passed it along to my dear friend who finished it just as quickly. We both decided the best line of the book was when the characters were discussing certain tragedies in the lives of women which are the price to pay for the miracles of having two x chromosomes - "It sucks and don't let anyone try to tell you different." Sometimes all the hormonal BS is worth it just to have one good girlfriend to tell all your deep, dark secrets.
Rating:
Summary: A Treat for Women
Review: This novel is so interesting from start to finish. Set in beautiful Gloucester, Ma., one of my favorite places on earth, this is the story of two women who become fast friends when each realizes that an ear and good advice is necessary in their lives. The stories of each woman is very well expanded so that thereader feels like she gets to know the characters. The ladies utilize the beach and its surrounding area as a place of tranquility and calm. Their almost-daily walks lead to a great understanding of other peoples troubles and how we are really never alone in our problems. A great read!
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