Elizabeth Berg is my favorite modern-day novelist. Put shortly, almost every sentence she writes I think, “I wish I wrote that.” That, to me, is a sign of a pretty darn good writer. Her books drip in character development, but she comes up with some pretty amusing plots, too. I hope to eventually read all her books.
I put a dent in my checklist this weekend because I read TWO of her books in the past 72 hours. It was really fun - it’s been awhile since I entrenched myself in a good ol’ work of fiction, not to mention two. They were very different, but I recommend them both.
The Year of Pleasures is about a recent widow who, at her husband’s request, moves to a small town and starts her life over after he dies. Sounds depressing, but it’s not. It’s fun. Here’s Berg’s summary from her own pen keyboard:
 ”This is a novel about starting life over, and purposely enriching that life with the many pleasures, especially the small and free ones, that are always available to us. It also challenges the notion that a widow must or should behave in a certain way; and it shows how love does not die, but rather changes form.”
The Art of Mending - well, you know what? I’ll just paste her synopsis here directly:
“A woman’s grown sister makes allegations about abuse she claims to have suffered at the hands of their mother when they were growing up. The book is about the way that everyone in a family has a different experience of it. The narrator must decide if what her sister is saying is true, and what her obligations now are-to her family of origin as well as to the family she has with her husband. “
Sounds depressing, and well, it kind-of is. But I couldn’t put it down. I turned off my bedside light at about 11 p.m. (started the book at around 9), and I was wide awake at 5 in the morning, totally unable to sleep (I’m getting to that enjoyable “everything aches” stage of pregnancy). So I went to the living room and finished the book, then went back to bed at 7. Miraculously, Chickpea slept until 9 a.m.
So if you’re wont of good fiction, I highly recommend anything by her! I really do love her stuff.
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
sounds interesting… I may have to check her out next. Right now, I am into a series of novels by Bodie & Brock Thoene, have you heard of them? very talented Christian husband & wife team who write historical fiction together. They have several series, but the one I am in the middle of (A.D.Chronicles)is written from the perespective of both obscure and prominent people touched by Jesus during his time on earth. Well-written and very thought-provoking!
Leave a Comment