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.
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.
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by Lynnette Krause Moving and Entertaining Elizabeth Berg never fails to move me. She knows how to touch on every emotion there is and she has such a way with words. She knows how to make me laugh, cry, or just smile at those little ordinary things that we all take for granted in life. I... Read More
Rated of 5
by Becca My thoughts I agree with most of what susan said except I do not see how their relationship was unrealistic. What do you consider a realistic relationship? Hating each other and wanting to get out of it every day of your life? They never said that they did not... Read More
Rated of 5
by Susan Disappointment This is my first Elizabeth Berg novel. I was excited to read it because of all the great reviews. I was very disappointed, even to the point of being uninterested in ever reading her again. I did feel that Ms. Berg must have done alot of reasearch... Read More
Before she became a full time writer Berg was a
registered nurse (also a waitress, chicken washer, rock
'n' roll singer and information clerk) which gave her
the inside track when writing Range of Motion,
Talk Before Sleep and Never Change which all
deal with differing health crises.
Most of her novels stand-alone, but three feature the
same character - the young pre-teen/teenager and 'army
brat', Katie Nash. Berg says that she never meant to
write a sequel, let alone a trilogy, but 'there was a
time when I was lying in the bathtub, and I thought
about Katie, and I got out of the bathtub and started
writing about her to see what she was up to.'
...
Filled with laugh-out-loud humor, struggles, triumphs, and plenty of midnight trips to the fridge, Good Grief is a funny, wise, and heartbreakingly poignant novel from one of fiction's freshest and most exciting new voices.
In a single week, a family leaves behind its past and a daughter awakens to the future in Emily Chenoweth’s intimate and beautifully crafted debut novel.
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Publishers Weekly
Library Journal - Caroline M Hallsworth
of 5
by Lynnette Krause
of 5
by Susan
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