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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Poignant and gripping tale of a marriage in decline, April 27, 2005
After his wife Ellen tells him that she is having an affair and wants a divorce, Griffin makes it difficult for her to turn her back on their marriage. He does not want to be a weekend father to their precocious daughter, Zoe. Rather than move out, he stays, and they become unlikely roommates, as he attempts to come to grips with the breakdown of his marriage and what would cause his wife to turn to a much younger man.
Told in the first-person, from Griffin's point of view, it provides a refreshing and poignant look at how time can cause complacency and a sudden jolt can bring about immense change in a relationship. He performs many acts of kindness in an effort to win her back, but as Ellen tells him, it is too little, too late.
An impulsive decision to become a department store Santa has a profound effect on Griffin, as he forges new friendships, attempts to jump back into the dating pool, and strives to understand what led Ellen astray and figure out if perhaps his lack of spontaneity drove her away.
Eventually, the stress of remaining together as roommates (and Griffin waiting up for her after her dates with "Opie") takes its toll, and Ellen branches out for a little independence by getting an apartment. The setting might have changed, but the same problems are still there. As a reader, we are kept guessing until the very end how the relationship will unfold and the effect it will have on Zoe.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Searing Story of a Failing Marriage, March 26, 2005
Okay, I'm going to go against the overwhelmingly popular opinion of most of the other reviewers and say that I fell in love with this book on the first page--rather, I fell in love with the character of Griffin on the first page. Elizabeth Berg's SAY WHEN chronicles the story of the marriage of Ellen and Griffin, and the affair that causes them to reevaluate their relationship. The novel is written from Griffin's point-of-view and is a searingly honest portrait of the effects of infidelity which, as it turns out, are not wholly negative. Throughout the course of the novel, Griffin is forced to examine his feelings and actions in regards to his wife and face tough questions: Did he unknowingly drive her into the arms of another man? Is there anything he could have done to prevent her affair? Does he really even know his wife? With her trademark humorous, sarcastic prose, Elizabeth Berg once again offers an ingenious novel that touches issues close to every human heart.
I was astonished at Berg's ability to so successfully write from the point of view of a man. Griffin is a multi-layered, realistic character; in him, I saw some of my own husband's traits (only the good ones, of course). He is a brilliantly-honed character that incites sympathy in the reader; likewise, Griffin and Ellen's eight-year-old daughter, Zoe, is equally realistic and sympathetic. Zoe is intelligent, strong-willed, and incredibly observant; with her amazingly revealing dialogue, Berg deftly illustrates the true depth of Zoe's feelings.
The only character I was unable to warm up to was Ellen, Griffin's wife--which perhaps was intentional. I found her to be unreasonably cold, selfish, and unloving. I suppose she is a true representation of what may drive a woman to cheat, but I was constantly wondering throughout the novel why in the world Griffin continued to love her, why he even married her in the first place. Thus, the ending of the novel--which I won't reveal--I found to be unsatisfying and somewhat unrealistic.
But I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I sympathized with Griffin's plight and was amused by the sharp, strong dialogue between the characters. I have only read one other Berg novel--but after reading this book, I will definitely read more.
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
SAY WHEN - Berg's best to date, May 28, 2003
By A Customer
Elizabeth Berg is a wonderful novelist with an uncanny way of writing about life's quiet, everyday moments--the ones that make up the fiber of life. I loved True to Form, Never Change, and Open House, and also her novels featuring the young female character first introduced in Durable Goods. SAY WHEN, her new novel, is exquisite. It takes on a subject so many of us have had touch our lives in some way--infidelity--and examines not only what it can do to a marriage, but to a family, and to a husband in particular. Moving, beautiful writing and a thought-provoking message--I can't say enough about this book. Just terrific!
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