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The Year of Pleasures: Summary and book reviews of The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg, plus links to an excerpt from The Year of Pleasures and a biography of Elizabeth Berg.
The Year of Pleasures
by
Elizabeth Berg
Hardcover: Apr 2005,
224 pages.
Paperback: Mar 2006,
288 pages.
In this rich and deeply satisfying novel by the beloved author of The Art
of Mending, and Open House, a resilient woman embarks upon an
unforgettable journey of adventure, self-discovery, and renewal.
Betta Nolan moves to a small town after the death of her husband to try to
begin anew. Pursuing a dream of a different kind of life, she is determined to
find pleasure in her simply daily routines. Among those who help her in both
expected and unexpected ways are the ten-year-old boy next door, three wild
women friends from her college days, a twenty-year-old who is struggling to find
his place in the world, and a handsome man who is ready for love.
Elizabeth Berg's The Year of Pleasures is about acknowledging the
solace found in ordinary things: a warm bath, good food, the beauty of nature,
music, friends, and art. "Berg writes with humor and a big heart about
resilience, loneliness, love, and hope. And the transcendence that redeems,"
said Andre Dubus about Durable Goods. And the same could be said about The Year
of Pleasures.
Book Reviews
Publishers Weekly
There is little effort at cohesion--rather, a kind of serendipitous plot that goes every which way and a series of tentative, aborted romances. The impression readers will be left with is of a woman endlessly nurturing and rarely satisfied.
Kirkus Reviews
The prolific Berg champions middle-aged
craziness in an impossibly sunny soap opera....Unhappiness, in Berg's world, isn't an option.
Library Journal - Caroline M Hallsworth
Berg's talents grow richer with each book....Poignant, intimate, and hopeful, this is a novel to read, treasure, and share. Highly recommended.
The Postmistress is an unforgettable tale of the secrets we must bear, or bury. It is about what happens to love during wartime, when those we cherish leave. And how every story-of love or war-is about looking left when we should have been looking right.
Masterfully blending true events with fiction, this blockbuster historical thriller delivers a page-turning murder mystery set on the sixteenth-century Oxford University campus.
Kostova's masterful new novel travels from American cities to the coast of Normandy, from the late 19th century to the late 20th, from young love to last love. The Swan Thieves is a story of obsession, history's losses, and the power of art to preserve human hope.
What drives a man to stay in a marriage, in a job? What forces him away? Is love or conscience enough to overcome the darker, stronger urges of the natural world? The Unnamed is a deeply felt, luminous novel about modern life, ancient yearnings, and the power of human understanding.
Lisa See has written a great book! This story is satisfying on many levels, some scenes horrifying, but seemingly truthful, and her handling of the ...
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I was sorry to see that there were so few reviews. I started reading COAL and could not stop. The only thing I am going to say is that I wish ...
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The tragedy, the sorrow, the loss, is almost too much for me to recommend this; on the other hand Mistry made me believe I knew these characters. I ...
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UK Orange Award longlist announced(Mar 17 2010) Hilary Mantel, Sarah Waters and Barbara Kingsolver have made the longlist for the 2010 Orange Prize, a 20-strong list described by chair Daisy Goodwin as...
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National Book Critics Circle Awards announced(Mar 11 2010) Each March, the NBCC present awards for the finest books and reviews published in English (in the USA) the previous year in six categories: Fiction,...
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The Year of Pleasures
Publishers Weekly
Library Journal - Caroline M Hallsworth
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