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Open House |
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 Open House byElizabeth Berg Random House Canada 241 pages, 2000 ISBN 0375501002 Reviewed by Julie Failla Earhart Read our review of Until the Real Thing Comes Along No other current American author reaches into a woman’s heart as Elizabeth Berg does. The best-selling author of such must-read novels as Talk Before Sleep, The Pull of the Moon, and Durable Goods (just to name a few) has done it again with her new novel Open House. This time she tackles divorce in its earliest stages and the roller coaster ride most women take when husbands announce they are leaving. Her honest writing is like having a best friend put her arms around you and say, "I’m here. I won’t leave you. Tell me all about it." Berg writes from the heart, and in this case from Samantha (Sam) Morrow’s heart, whose husband David has just moved out of the house, leaving her to deal with their 11-year-old son Travis, and to pick up the pieces of her life. Surprised, and yet not so surprised by David’s departure, she sums it all up in one thought. "You know before you know, of course. You are bending over the dryer, pulling out the still-warm sheets, and the knowledge walks up your backbone. You stare at the man you love and you are staring at nothing: he is gone before he is gone." Sam’s first reaction is to totally re-invent herself and lead a perfect existence. She will make all their meals from scratch, serve it on real china and use the good silverware. She will never again wear sweatpants and never appear outside her bedroom without being elegantly dressed and wearing makeup, even if she is only going out to get the newspaper. She even uses David’s credit card to the limit at Tiffany’s for a new bracelet, and for an outragelously expensive china and silver service. But her new existence is short lived when Travis would rather have cold cereal for breakfast and have dinner in front of the TV, without appetizers. When Sam sinks into despair, her mother who dresses more like a teenage girl, tries to push her back into the dating world by arranging a blind date. Her best friend Rita, who lives across the country, takes her mother’s side, leaving Sam feeling more sorry for herself. Realizing she has bills to pay, Sam has two plans. First, to open her house to boarders. Second, to get a job. The boarders are Sam’s first step in opening her heart again. There are several humorous moments as Sam and Travis try to adjust to strangers living in their house. Sam really begins to achieve independence and self-awareness, truly opening her heart when she meets King, a physicist who chooses to work at odd jobs for a temporary agency. King helps her get a job at his agency, and the friendship that develops holds more possibilities than mere friendship. It’s no surprise that Oprah has chosen Open House for her August 2000 selection. Sam rises from trying to fit the mold her soon-to-be ex-husband and society carved for her, into a woman who learns to accept who she is, and to live life on her own terms. Beautifully written, Open House is heart-warming, sad, funny and poignant, full of lessons for all women. |
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