Rating: 
Summary: More Balance, Please!
Review: I read this when it was first published and couldn't put it down. However, a lingering, annoying problem has stayed with me and it has colored my opinion of the book. As a breast cancer survivor, I was very dismayed that the author depicted an unbalanced view of radiation treatment and of the breast cancer experience in general. While her character had a very rough time of it, physically and emotionally, not everyone does. (AAnd for some it is even worse!) For me, the experience was not nearly as difficult to endure. If Diamant would have depicted a breast cancer support group throughout the book in which women suffering from a wide range of scenarios reflected on their varied experiences, I feel the book would be more successful, and helpful as well. As is it, a reade who has not had breast cancer leaves with a too-scary and very slanted picture of the breast cancer experience.
Rating: 
Summary: A book you can skip
Review: A member of my book group described this as a good book to read on an airplane, because if the plane goes down, one thing you won't regret is that you don't know how the book ends. Everyone in the group found this book disappointing. Many found it boring. The things that came up in the book--lack of communication in a marriage, death of a child, breast cancer, extramarital affairs--do happen to women. However, their concatenation in the book's two main characters makes me wonder if this book was conceived as a careful marketing strategy: identify a list of key "women's issues." and string them together in such a way that a broad spectrum of women can find something to connect with. I was also struck by the quotidian nature of the writing. It seems very lightweight. I don't think the manuscript would have been published if it hadn't come from the author of "The Red Tent." Speaking of which--I read "The Red Tent, " but was not blown away by it. I was intrigued by the alternative view of the biblical story of Dinah, but I found the book somewhat tedious in its endless descriptions of bleeding and birthing. I was not expecting "Good Harbor" to be great literature. However, I was hoping for better than mediocrity.
Rating: 
Summary: A small, compelling story well- and lovingly-crafted...
Review: As a huge fan of The Red Tent, Diamant's previous work, I was eager to read Good Harbor. What I found was a novel as concentrated in focus as The Red Tent is epic in scale yet that was written with as much care and creativity. Good Harbor is a warm, thoughtful exploration of the lives and friendship between two seemingly disparate women. The name of the book comes from a location in the coastal New England town where the characters reside. Kathleen, a life-long resident and children's librarian recently diagnosed with breast cancer, which killed her beloved sister, meets Joyce, a younger woman living out her dream - sort of - of a second home near the coast in the same town. The two strike up a friendship as Kathleen deals with her recovery from her illness and past tragedies and Joyce tries to find the self that she feels has been lost. There is genuine caring and empathy between the women, and the instant bond that is formed seems completely realistic and understandable. And while events do not take place on a grand scale, the women change, grow and make mistakes throughout the course of the novel, emerging at the end the same yet different. It's a marvelous story, very well-written, detailed, interesting and enjoyable, sustained by the warmth and strength of the friendship. While Good Harbor is incredibly different from The Red Tent, that is not a handicap in anyway, just a testament to Diamant's strength as a writer. And despite the shift in scale - a much smaller span of time, locale, etc. - many of the same themes emerge. It's not a sweeping epic in traditional terms, but in a way, it focuses on a similarly dramatic time in the lives of the central characters and is treated with the depth and breadth necessary. Diamant has again lovingly created a tale of dynamic women and a compelling, worth-while novel.
Rating:
Summary: An aborted attempt to recreate women's rich friendships.
Review: It is easy for a reader to get spoiled, so much so that s/he expects the same caliber of excellence in subsequent novels. And that is exactly what happened when "The Red Tent" was published. Anita Diamant wove a very rich tapestry with strong characters, an interesting plot and an altogether memorable story. Her subsequent novel, "Good Harbor" suffers from a weakness in plot, insubstantial main characters and too much extra "stuff" thrown in, which may have been meant to embellish the story, but just adds un-needed side trips. Kathleen is an interesting woman. Her trials with a bout of cancer, her unresolved grief about the loss of a small child, and her newfound friendship form the possibility of a strong plot. But it does not develop well. Joyce becomes something of an enigma and, out of the blue, is involved with an immigrant drug dealer. This seems to be the impetus for Kathleen to rediscover her strong, personal capabilities and to come to Joyce's rescue. It all just doesn't seem to fit well.
Rating:
Summary: A dimmed Diamant
Review: I came fresh to this novelist. That is to say, I read Good Harbor without having read Diamant's first historical fiction book, The Red Tent. Though Good Harbor also focuses on women, it is a contemporary novel set in the seaside town of Gloucester in Massachusetts. The story involves two characters. Kathleen, a librarian in her late fifties, recently diagnosed with breast cancer, and Joyce, a fortyish romance novelist who wants to break out of that genre and write mainstream fiction. Both women are in their words, "lapsed Jews," who ironically meet at synagogue. Along Good Harbor's beach their friendship takes off as they walk off the stress and woes of their lives. Joyce's husband is career- absorbed and her teenage daughter now sports her "'tude" whenever possible. Also, in her just-bought home, there is a statue of the virgin, Mary, in her garden and as a Jew, she is not sure what to do to get "rid of Her Holiness." Kathleen, on the other hand, has a concerned husband, who at every turn to take Kathleen to her radiation treatments. Still, Kathleen ruminates about her deceased sister and her little boy, Danny, who, like a dead dog in the room, everyone steps around but no one ever talks about. Though the book does deal with women's issues, I wondered what to make of Joyce and if felt like Diamant didn't wonder what to do with her too. I also took issue with some of the lines delivered about the mother of Jesus - some of them were just a little too cavalier for my taste. At times Diamant was disrespectful of Christianity - something that would not be tolerated were the plot lines reversed. If you're looking for a fast read, you'll be pleased - there's lots of "white space" between the lines and the front cover of the book is lovely to look at, but I came away from the book not nearly as satisfied as I thought conversations between two women could be.
Rating:
Summary: The American Experience
Review: It would be impossible to expect something like The Red Tent in a second novel. This book is different from her first effort in that she tries to focus on the American Religious Experience. She hits upon a variety of issues and topics that follow contemporary society - the death of a child and the unwillingness to talk about it, the onset of cancer and the unwillingness to talk about it, the teen years and the generation gap, questions about faith and marriage. In a nutshell, it is a coverage of many complex issues, and Ms. Diamont does well to hit on all of them. The characters are great and she develops them well. I would recommend this book quite highly even though it may hit a nerve or two for some people. It is a timely novel with timely contemporary issues.
Rating:
Summary: Quick and very good read.
Review: After having read The Red Tent I was intersted in reading Good Harbor. From reading the preview I knew that this was going to be nothing like The Red Tent. Kathleen and Joyce are two woman who are tough points in there life and need someone to talk to and slowly tell each other what has been going on with them for there life. Now while the writing style was nothing like The Red Tent, it was still a very enjoyable book with a good storyline. It takes a tone in a modern world with good characters. I am looking forward to more from this talented author.
Rating:
Summary: A story all its own
Review: How tempting to read a second novel and expect it to be just as the first. It's like saying the second kiss is the same as the first: it can never live up to the memory. This said, Good Harbor is a totally different experience than Ms. Diamant's first novel, "The Red Tent." The beginning chapters before Kathleen, school librarian, recently diagnosed with breast cancer, and Joyce, frustrated serious writer who's just penned a "sleazy" romance novel, meet were a little difficult for me to follow. I found that I couldn't tell which woman was which, but I think that had more to do with me than with the author. Each of these women is in desperate need of a close friend. Joyce and Kathleen are lonely, in long-standing marriages that only slightly feed their intimacy needs. They are mothers in different stages, trying their best to be loving parents and spouses. We live with them as they share their story with each other. Good Harbor becomes a character in the story, a welcoming, non-judgmental haven where Kathleen and Joyce feel safe to tell of their sorrows and joys and disappointments. It's not a perfect novel. The story sometimes drags, and I would find myself hoping to come to a better place in the story. The better place always came after a short time. Ms. Diamant is a very good writer; there were some beautifully poetic lines. The other characters in her story often suffer from lack of development, but after all, it is the story of Joyce and Kathleen. We should continue to watch Ms. Diamant for more women's stories.
Rating:
Summary: Diamant celebrates the joys of female bonding.
Review: "Good Harbor" is a novel about two women who give one another emotional support at a difficult time in their lives. Kathleen Levine is fifty-nine, and a long-time resident of the seaside town of Gloucester, Massachusetts. She has just been diagnosed with breast cancer, the disease that killed her beloved sister. Kathleen is frightened and lonely as she faces an uncertain future. She also suffers pangs of guilt stemming from unresolved issues in her past. Joyce Tabachnik is a forty-two year old writer who has just purchased a vacation home in Gloucester. She has her own problems: an adolescent daughter who has become increasingly irritable and rebellious, a husband who is so preoccupied by his work that she rarely sees him, and doubts about her professional future. The women meet and an immediate bond is formed. They share their fears and doubts as they take walks along the beautiful seashore known as Good Harbor. As time passes, Kathleen and Joyce learn a great deal from one another. They try to accept the past and look towards the future with increased confidence. "Good Harbor" is easy to take. Diamant vividly describes the beautiful scenery of Gloucester and I can see why this glorious locale might be very therapeutic for women in distress. Joyce and Kathleen are pleasant company. They are intelligent and funny, and Diamant sympathetically depicts Kathleen's and Joyce's doubts about themselves and the state of their marriages. The passages about Kathleen's fears concerning her medical condition as well as her reaction to radiation therapy are particularly effective. The book is fast-paced and the dialogue flows smoothly. The novel would have been even stronger without some of the soap-opera elements that Diamant threw in. I was particularly put off by the surreptitious and sordid affair that Joyce has with a stranger. Joyce is too bright and emotionally together to risk her life and well-being by going to a remote location with a man whom she doesn't know. In addition, Diamant (who has written a number of books with Jewish themes) inserts references to Judaism in this book that come across as artificial. The "Jewish theme" doesn't fit in well with the rest of the narrative and the character of the woman rabbi is saccharine and a bit irritating. These quibbles aside, most women will enjoy being in "Good Harbor," watching Joyce and Kathleen help one another through hard times.
Rating:
Summary: Subtle, Character-Driven
Review: Anita Diamont has written a relationship book that is both well written and subtle in describing a burgeoning friendship between two mature women. This book tells us without actually hammering at us that it takes work to establish and nourish a friendship. The two women are near opposites with only their religion in common, but over the course of a summer in Glouchester, MA, they cement what will, no doubt, be a life-long friendship. The author's writing style is wonderfully simple and the book is fast paced. It is a book that you will take with you wherever you go hoping to catch a few minutes to read another page or chapter.
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