Loving her more and more.

 I've now read 9 books by Elizabeth Berg, there is something about her gentle writing that appeals to me and I look forward to bed time, when I'm reading one of her books.

'Open House' revolves around Sam, Samantha. When her husband said he was leaving her, it came as a big and unpleasant surprise. This is one of those books written in the 'true voice,' that makes you feel you're there at the kitchen table with the characters going through the painful divorce. I so admire Elizabeth Berg's style, to me she is so talented in putting words together to form the most breathtaking sentences. 

This is not your book of the older woman left, who then meets the handsome young man, who just happens to be her gardener, oh no, not at all. I laughed at her mother's advice of getting a pedicure and then getting out there! I loved Sam, her resilience in the face of adversity, planning to do something totally foreign to her. 

But she does have to find a way to support herself and her eleven year old son. Hence the 'Open House,' when she decides to take in lodgers, some rather quirky, like 'Lavender Blue' the girl who lived in the basement, a metaphor for the lost and aimless in love,  and one that proved to become an unexpected friend.  We learn about her lodgers and their relationship with Sam and her son. I love the conversations between the characters, nothing false but like real people talking, there is the element of comedy.. She meets up with King, who helps her by directing her to an agency, so she has some part time jobs, dog walking, furniture moving and telemarketing. King is a friend that really helps her, as she attempts to survive this new way of life. 

The one criticism I have, is that it ended too quickly, but I was saved from being lost as I had another Elizabeth Berg book waiting for me, as of course I would.

Chrisxx