The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg,229 pagescelebrate the author; women unbound challenge
As a family plans its annual reunion, centered around a Minnesota country fair, one sister, Caroline wants to discuss what happened to her while growing up. Her brother, Steve, and sister, Laura, had very different experiences and have some difficulty dealing with this new reality.
The story was very realistic, with the interactions and personalities of generations of families trying to get along. At one point, Laura wonders if she would like Caroline if she met her, as opposed to having to get along with her since they were sisters.
This was my first Elizabeth Berg book, and I enjoyed it. The writing and characters drew me in, nobody was perfect, they were just dealing with each other the best way they knew how.
Elizabeth Berg was born December 2, 1948 and is my choice for December author for Celebrate the Author. Becky hosted this challenge here. She is planning a new edition for 2010 for anyone interested. This book completes this challenge for me.
The books and authors I read are:
January:
Shannon Hale Book of a Thousand Days
February:
Jerry Spinelli Stargirl, The Library Card
March:
Penelope Lively Moon Tiger
April:
Barbara Kingsolver Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
Beverly Cleary Dear Mr HenshawAnne Michaels Fugitive Pieces
May:
Jodi Picoult Nineteen Minutes
Joshua Ferris Then We Came to the End
July:
Alice Munro - The View From Castle Rock
August:Alice Munro - The View From Castle Rock
Sarah Dunant - In the Company of the Courtesan
Robertson Davies - Fifth Business
December:
Elizabeth Berg - The Art of Mending
If you'd like to read another book by Elizabeth Berg, you should try A Talk Before Sleep. It's wonderful! But have a new box of tissues handy! :-)
ReplyDeleteLezlie
I notice you've read Anne Michaels' Fugitive Pieces - did you see the movie? wonderful wonderful. I recently read her new book Winter Vault that was nominated for the Giller Prize. I still dream about it - it affected me deeply. I wrote a bit about it on my book blog My Reading Diary
ReplyDeletelove the Christmas songs quiz
Thanks for the review! This is one of those that I would read for the cover alone!
ReplyDeletelezlie - I like a good tissue book. thanks for the rec, I'd like to read another book by Berg
ReplyDeletejanice - I didn't see the movie, but then I wasn't that fond of the book. Well, I guess it was just the second half I wasn't so fond of.
Glad you liked the quiz
pam - she's a quilter in the book!