For me, Elizabeth Berg is a quiet writer. She writes about women, not famous ones nor rich ones, and follows them through life changing events that unfold slowly in the novel.
Bette is on a road trip from Boston to the Midwest. "..my mind seemed to uncrinkle, to breathe, to present to itself a cure for a disease it had not, until now, known it had. Rather than the back of an airline seat or endless, identical rest stops on the interstate, I saw farmhouses in the middle of protective strands of trees, silos reaching for the sky, barns faded to the soft red of tomato soup.."
Her beloved husband had died, and she was totally lost. During their happy marriage, they hadn't needed many friends. Now, she was lost. What to do next? All the plans she had made with John were now useless.
Bette moves to a small town near Chicago and slowly recovers from the shock of the death and starts to plan her future. And, she wants to enjoy life, a piece at a time.
Part of the pleasure is to slowly return to the personality that she had when she was in college.
This novel is sad in certain portions, but Bette soldiers on, with some setbacks.
Even though I may never experience widowhood, Berg does a great job in showing what a widow would probably experience.
3 comments:
Elizabeth Berg is one of my favorite modern writers, especially for her prose and the way she describes everyday things (like the barn in the quote you shared). I haven't read this one yet, but now I'll have to look for it!
I've really enjoyed some of her books unfortunately this one wasn't one of my faves. But, I liked what you said about her being a quiet writer. She is that and I do like that her characters are just "regular" people with "regular" lives. It's easy to connect with her books on some level.
This is a fairy tale. She puts her house up for sale and in less than a week there is a bidding war ensuring she gets a fabulous price. She drives across the country and just happens across her dream house and buys it in less than a week is in; the movers conveniently have a cancellation; she reconnects with college roommates who can immediately leave their real lives to come hold her hand; the ten year old next store has the maturity of an adult and his mother lends her the family dog; and so it goes on and on. This may be a good read but it has nothing to do with reality.
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