Art of Mending [Paperback]

Elizabeth Berg (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: BALLANTINE BOOKS @ (1988)
• ASIN: B000SI2RL4
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (94 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,156,768 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elizabeth Berg won the NEBA Award for fiction for her body of work, and was a finalist for the ABBY for Talk Before Steep. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications, including Ladies' Home Journal, Redbook, and the New York Times Magazine. She has also taught a writing workshop at Radcliffe College. She lives near Boston, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The sins of the past... (3 1/2 stars), May 11, 2004

By 

Diane Moore - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Art of Mending: A Novel (Berg, Elizabeth) (Hardcover)

I usually don't give half stars, but I feel that it was almost good enough to be a 4, but not quite.

Elizabeth Berg can always be counted on to discuss the deeper issues in life, and describe them in a way, that makes you want to drink in her writing. She touches on alleged abuse, the makeup of families, and even death in this story. Her books are always quick, I can usually finish them off in no more than 3 or 4 sittings.

It starts out with a memory of three siblings: Steve, Laura, and Caroline. The year is 1960, and they are going to the fair. This short chapter was describing how Laura and her sister were not really close, no one is really close to Caroline. She is too hard to understand. She is a "brownnoser," someone who is always giving their mother gifts.

Fast forward forty years. Out of nowhere, Caroline wants to talk to Laura and Steve, about some things that have happened in the past, things that have been bothering her. These are things that their mother may have done. Both Laura and Steve are dumbfounded, because they weren't aware of anything in the past that was less than pleasant.

As the story unfolds, we realize that there may have been abuse that went on with Caroline and their mom. Even though they start remembering things that do not fit perfectly with their sugar-coated memories, Caroline is still Caroline. Who do you believe? The woman who loved and cared for you all of these years, or your dramatic and difficult sister? As the secrets unfold, you realize who is telling the truth, and who wants to hide from the past.

Even though I wasn't that satisfied with the way the book ended, I am always pleased with Berg's style. Though others have described her as "too wordy," I feel that, that is the most beautiful part of her works. The pieces that pull you into the story and these character's lives. I recall one paragraph,
"...Maybe it was the tender irony of the way that we, blind ourselves, offer our arm to others, hoping to ease the crossing. Maybe it was the odd surges of love one can feel for an absolute stranger. Or maybe it was the way we give so little when it's in us always to give so much more. Thomas Merton wrote about feeling a sudden awareness of a profound connection to others, understanding that 'they were mine and I theirs.' I loved reading things like that, things that pointed to our oneness and, by extension, our responsibility to others."

It's the fact that she is my magnifying glass to the beauty in life, the armchair philosopher, full of wisdom, that keeps me coming back.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an Author,I am Glad I Discovered, June 16, 2004

By 

K. Hemmer "kathehemmer2" (Syracuse, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Art of Mending: A Novel (Berg, Elizabeth) (Hardcover)

Laura,a middle-aged woman,who makes quilts as a
work/hobby,(hence the title)comes from an average middle
class family,or so she has thought.She returns to her
homestead,where her father has become hospitalized.
Laura has a brother Steve,and a sister Caroline,a moody
woman.
Neither daughter has been close to their beautiful
mother,or to each other over the years.
A family secret-created so the children will not know
the suffering in the family,has been slowly
destroying this family.
Once you begin reading you cannot put this book down,
until you see how the situation is resolved.
At times,your mind plays tricks on you and you are
unsure yourself,how to deal with the raw, overwhelming
emotions of Laura,Caroline,and their Mother.
Laura's husband Pete is able to put a compassionate look on
the situation and offer advice from a distance.This is
beneficial to Laura.
In the end,it will be up to the children and the
parent,to settle an old score that left some members
damaged.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Give this book a chance, July 16, 2004

By 

BookwormLD (Upstate NY, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art of Mending: A Novel (Berg, Elizabeth) (Hardcover)

I think other reviewers are unnecessarily harsh in their reviews of this book. One of my definitions of a good book is one that makes me think. A quote: "As for mending, I think it's good to take the time to fix something rather than throw it away. It's an antidote to wastefulness and to the need for immediate gratification. You get to see a whole process through, beginning to end, nothing abstract about it. You'll always notice the fabric scar, of course, but there's an art to mending: If you're careful, the repair can actually add to the beauty of the thing, because it is testimony to its worth." (14) This book is about a family's decision whether or not to repair (mend) their relationships after there has been a great tear through the fabric of their lives. It makes you think about whether there are relationships in your life that need mending.