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Book Summary and Reviews of Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg

Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg

Home Safe

A Novel

by Elizabeth Berg

  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Readers' Rating (4):
  • Published:
  • Apr 2009, 272 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Beloved author Elizabeth Berg tells the story of the recently widowed Helen Ames and of her twenty-seven-year-old daughter Tessa. Helen is shocked to discover that her mild-mannered and loyal husband had been leading a double life. The Ames’s had saved money for a happy retirement, planned in minute detail, but that money has disappeared in several big withdrawals—spent by Helen’s husband before he died. What could he possibly have been doing? And what is Helen to do now? Why does Helen’s daughter object to her mother’s applying for a job—and why doesn’t Tessa meet a nice man and get married?

What Helen’s husband did with all their money turns out to be provocative, revelatory—and leads Helen and her daughter to embark on new adventures, and change.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Berg gracefully renders, in tragic and comic detail, the notions that every life—however blessed—has its share of awful loss, and that even crushed, defeated hearts can be revived." - Publishers Weekly

"Her warmth, humor, and forgiving eye for human nature, mixing wry observation with heartwarming moments, make this a pleasant read." - Library Journal

"Neither insipid nor mawkish but definitely phoned-in." - Kirkus Reviews

This information about Home Safe was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Jeanette

Heartwarming
This is a great heartwarming book that makes you feel just like a hot bowl of soup on a cold winters day!

Susan

One of My Favorite Reads!
If only I could rate this book greater than a 5! This is my first book from this author and I resented the moments that life got in my way when I had to put it down! The story is so well told, full of highs and lows, and constantly moving. While very descriptive, it never became monotonous. Every character and emotion became lifelike and believable to me. I would love this to become a movie! Thank you Ms. Berg for such a quality, entertaining read. Now, to decide which of your books to read next! Absolutely loved it!

J. McClanahan

Home Safe
I know this book has gotten glowing reviews, but personally, I found it heard to get into, and was waiting for something besides almost endless personal reflection throughout the book. Maybe I'm just used to a faster pace, but the book seemed tedious to me. Much more could have been said in fewer words. It's like the author in wandering almost endlessly through personal reflection as she seeks to figure out her life now that her husband has died and she is experiencing writer's block, not to mention her angst about her supposed helplessness. In the end, she does discover that she is stronger than she thinks and that she can overcome her writer's block and embrace her new life. It's not without merit but it was just not for me.

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Author Information

Elizabeth Berg Author Biography

Photo © 2003 Joyce Ravid

Elizabeth Berg is the New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including The Story of Arthur Truluv, Open House (an Oprah's Book Club selection), Talk Before Sleep, and The Year of Pleasures, as well as the short story collection The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted. Durable Goods and Joy School were selected as ALA Best Books of the Year. She adapted The Pull of the Moon into a play that enjoyed sold-out performances in Chicago and Indianapolis. Berg's work has been published in thirty-one countries, and three of her novels have been turned into television movies. She is the founder of Writing Matters, a quality reading series dedicated to serving author, audience, and community. She teaches one-day writing workshops and is a popular speaker at venues around the country. Some of her ...

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Link to Elizabeth Berg's Website

Other books by Elizabeth Berg at BookBrowse
  • The Year of Pleasures jacket
  • The Story of Arthur Truluv jacket

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