Open House: A Novel (Oprah's Book Club) 
asked by dignified1 on November 6, 2006 6:29 PM
Oprah Book Club® Selection, August 2000: The narrator of Elizabeth Berg's Open House calls divorce "a series of internal earthquakes ... one after the other." She ought to know. Samantha is abandoned by her husband in the opening pages of this three-handkerchief special, and the resultant tremors keep her off-balance for most of the novel. There are practical problems aplenty, of course, including a shortage of money and an 11-year-old son to raise. But Sam's sense of emotional bereavement is far worse, despite the fact that her husband had been giving her the conjugal cold shoulder for years: I miss David so much, yes I do, I miss the presence of another person in my bed at night, even if he doesn't touch me; the reliability of someone else being there in the morning, even if they only shave and stare straight ahead into the mirror while you lean against the bathroom doorjamb with your cup of coffee, chatting hopefully. The loneliness in her "as constant and as irrefutable" as circulating blood, Sam begins to rebuild her life. She finds herself a job and takes in a couple of boarders to help meet her mortgage payments. (One of them, a depressed student named Lavender Blue, informs her that "life was nothing but one major disappointment after the other"--the sort of homily that Sam is understandably reluctant to hear these days.) She also starts dating, with disastrous results. Yet this comically kvetching heroine does manage to find love in the ruins, and by the time Open House winds down, it's hard not to believe that she's much better off. Throughout, Berg alternates her snappy and sappy registers like a real pro. And the conclusion, which most readers will be able to spot a mile off, seems just right--the light at the end of the post-matrimonial tunnel. --Anita Urquhart
Reviews
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Although an "Oprah" book, this book is not downright depressing as the older Oprah book club selections tended to be. The character is someone you probably know - if not yourself! Easy to like her, easy to understand her problems. Although the book is about a middle aged woman coming to terms with a divorce, it has manny funny and amusing parts, and is just a very enjoyable read. I guess not Book of the Year, but a book you'll want to keep reading nonetheless.
reviewed by mike on November 17, 2006 7:33 PM
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A good easy read. Touching and moving about a womans's ability to pick herself up and move on. Loved how she developed friendships with all of the unusual characters and how her relationship with her son evolved throughout the book.
reviewed by costa on November 19, 2006 5:58 PM
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The main character, Samantha, goes though the ups and downs of many households today. She survives the challenges of child rearing, divorce, dating again, financial obligations, day-day-day stresses and comes out on top. Her character is strong and so is her will power.
When David leaves and eventually falls in love with a much younger woman, Samantha takes it all in stride, continually proving to herself that she can make in this world without him. To make financial ends meet, she takes in two borders, Lydia and Lavender Blue. Lydia is an older woman and just the sweetest senior one could ever hope to meet. She has a steady boyfriend and proves to all of us there is still love, life, hope and happiness in the twilight years. Now, Lavender Blue, is something else. She is young, funky and reminds one of a modern day flower child, a product of the 60's misplaced in a time warp.
In the end, of course, David, finds his fling with a younger woman was not all he envisioned it to be. Assuming that Samantha is waiting at home in grief and mourning over his absence, he returns ready to resume their life together. Will Samantha take him back?
This book was also a movie, but personally, I preferred the book because you could come to your own conclusions about the characters' personalities rather than have them bared before you on the screen. What I liked most about the book was Berg's witty sense of humour. What I liked least about it was the almost predictable ending.
I also recommend a couple of Berg's other books: "What We Keep" and "Talk Before Sleep." She has written many others, but these were among the top.
When David leaves and eventually falls in love with a much younger woman, Samantha takes it all in stride, continually proving to herself that she can make in this world without him. To make financial ends meet, she takes in two borders, Lydia and Lavender Blue. Lydia is an older woman and just the sweetest senior one could ever hope to meet. She has a steady boyfriend and proves to all of us there is still love, life, hope and happiness in the twilight years. Now, Lavender Blue, is something else. She is young, funky and reminds one of a modern day flower child, a product of the 60's misplaced in a time warp.
In the end, of course, David, finds his fling with a younger woman was not all he envisioned it to be. Assuming that Samantha is waiting at home in grief and mourning over his absence, he returns ready to resume their life together. Will Samantha take him back?
This book was also a movie, but personally, I preferred the book because you could come to your own conclusions about the characters' personalities rather than have them bared before you on the screen. What I liked most about the book was Berg's witty sense of humour. What I liked least about it was the almost predictable ending.
I also recommend a couple of Berg's other books: "What We Keep" and "Talk Before Sleep." She has written many others, but these were among the top.
reviewed by ivan on November 24, 2006 1:29 AM