Good Harbor: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: This book was wonderful. I loved the Red Tent for its wonderful insights into women's issues, but Good Harbor related to modern day women's issues, cancer, loss, guilt and redemption. The characters were wonderful, I would love to meet Kathleen, Joyce and Buddy in person. Anyone who values a true friend will enjoy and treasure this book.

Rating:
Summary: Good Harbor
Review: Ms. Diamant should stick to writing non-fiction. The Red Tent was acceptable but this is down-right stilted, boring writing. What will these publishers continue to promote from first-time fiction writers who just happen to hit it big the first time around!

Rating:
Summary: A Comfort Book!
Review: During this time of uncertainty in the world around us, I quickly and happily immersed my self in the life of "Good Harbor". I found myself easily drawn into the characters and the world around them. This novel addresses many important issues - friendship, love, parenthood, the environment and careers. As so many of us are realizing these days, there is much about our lives that is out of our control. However, we can control how we relate to the people and the environment closest to us. The story of "Good Harbor" illustrates and helps us experience the importance of accepting our lives and appreciating the world that is in our own backyard.

Rating:
Summary: I really liked it!
Review: I really liked this book. The characters were well developed. I felt like I knew them. I liked the relationship between these two women. I could smell the ocean and feel the sand on my feet from Anita's words. Anyone who has ever walked a beach and felt comfort will love this book.

Rating:
Summary: Pleasant but forgettable
Review: I read this as an unabridged audiobook. Not having read "The Red Tent" I had nothing to compare "Good Harbor" to (for good or bad). Overall I all enjoyed listening to this in the morning but I wasn't nearly as emotional as I'd expected it to be which is good, I guess, because I expected it to ruin my makeup. On the downside, this is a book I won't remember come next week . . .

It was a nice, gentle tale about the distance that can develop between couples that often goes unnoticed but it was also a book about the power of friendship between women and the special bond and sharing that occurs when two friend's just "click".

Both women came across as very realistic but somehow I always remained at a distance from them both. Joyce's attitude towards her "romance" novel (which paid for her summer home ~ I'd love to know who her agent was as new romance novelists are typically paid a slaves wage!) rubbed me the wrong way on more than one occasion though. Her troubles with her bratty daughter were very realistically portrayed and her loneliness well done but in the end I still sympathized much more with Kathleen's character (though, in the end, she nearly lost me as well).

This isn't a book I'd read again but I am interested in picking up "The Red Tent" after reading many of the reviews here.



Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I enjoyed her first novel and was a little disappointed by Good Harbor. Never felt interested in the characters and no real desire to finish the book

Rating:
Summary: undemanding reading for the beach
Review: The frame for this book is a new unfolding friendship of two women, Kathleen Levine, a librarian and Joyce Tabachnik, a writer. Both women are married and have families.

The story starts slowly with descriptions but once that is over the narrative flows easily with a dialog that feels authentic. The structure feels a bit mechanical but becomes more integrated with the plot as the story unfolds. The chacters evolve according to the textbook but they never really take off.

There are no challenging thoughts to be found in this book and on the whole it feels a little flat but cozy. It may be a relaxing reading for a woman on a day when she does not wish to think about anything in particular.

To choose a different setting and time from her previous book will not spare Diamant any comparisons. This is not a bad book but it definitely exhibits a beginner's touch. The attempt to focus on female issues is too obvious and the book leaves me in a friendly mood but without any engagement in the lives of these two women.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely different for Diamant
Review: Good Harbor is a lovely story but definitely a different style for the author for those of us who read The Red Tent and might have expected the same here. Avoid being disappointed by knowing to expect a change with this story. It is well written to read nicely along. You get to know the characters well, not that you will necessarily like what they do, but that's what makes the story. This is worth your time to read and enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Comfortable book
Review: Like others here, I loved 'The Red Tent' by Diamant. 'Good Harbor' has its own merit, which in my opinion, is the profile of the kind of relationship most of us have if we are lucky. The kind of friendship that is comfort, honesty, and trust, but like real relationships, Joyce and Kathleen's friendship in 'Good Harbor' has its problems too. This novel isn't as compelling or captivating as 'The Red Tent' but I still enjoyed reading it. Hey, no one can hit every single one out of the ballpark.

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.