Customer Reviews

Until the Real Thing Comes Along: A Novel (Random House Large Print)

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

Don't be put off by the negative reviews.I'm a big Elizabeth Berg fan and found this book to be just as wonderful as the rest. Her books touch me - I cry with a smile on my face. As usual, can't wait for the next book to come out.

Some of these reviews remind me of those of Tom Wolfe's *A Man in Full*. Just as *Bonfire of the Vanities* was impossible to follow in such a way as to make everyone (including idiots) happy, Elizabeth Berg has become a victim of her own genius. Her novels are so beautiful and so accessible that when she shows the range of her talent and builds on her previous work (instead of simpy imitating it), the result is bound to confound lesser readers. Berg's novels compare favorably with the best written in the last twenty years by or for men or women, and this is one of her best.

Elizabeth Berg is one of my favorite writers but this book seemed like a "B" movie script. Patty, the main character, wants a home, a husband and a baby. When given the opportunity to have all of these, she continually passes up the chance. The reader is never really clear WHY that is- the character's motivation is really weak. And why she is stuck on Ethan, her now gay, once boyfriend other than the fact that he's beautiful- who knows? Why wouldn't she want to move on? Too much dialogue, not enough character development, very sappy (did she have to throw in the Mother with Alzheimers? What was up with that?). Pass on this Berg. Try Pull of the Moon or some of her other books. Seems like she tried write a book quickly and missed the quality she captured in her other novels.

This was my second book by Elizabeth Berg. I had read 'Pull Of The Moon' and loved it plus I had heard so much about other books by Berg.

Until The Real Thing Comes Along is about a 37 year old woman, Patty, who is afraid that she will never get married and have children. Her character basically is dull. She works at a job in which she has no skill and is making no money. She is in love with someone who can't love her because he has come out of the closet. Patty doesn't deal in reality, she deals in dreams and wishes. While reading this book I couldn't believe this was a story that Berg made up. You have heard the saying, "Truth is stranger than fiction?" I wonder if this is a real life story written in the form of fiction? Because although the writing is great and is what keeps you reading, the story and characters are a little hard to believe. I gave it a 3 because of Berg's writing ability.

Somehow, even as an avid reader, I had never heard of Elizabeth Berg before I read this book. I settled down on my couch to read a few chapters with no particular expectation except to be pleasurably diverted on a warm summer evening. Several hours later I found that I had finished the entire book without effort or interruption. Whenever I discover a writer who has that kind of effect on me, I go into binge mode and read everything else I can find by her. Within the past 2 weeks I've also read The Pull of the Moon, Range of Motion, and Talk Before Sleep, all of them superb. Berg truly understands women and is a graceful, insightful writer, one of my new favorites. So get this book, make yourself comfortable, and immerse yourself into Elizabeth Berg's world. Once you start reading, you won't want to stop.

I read a brief summary of this book a few months ago and put it on my Christmas list: I opened it this morning and just finished it. It was a quick, easy read that I couldn't put down. Unlike the reader from Boston ("Berg bashes women"), I thought the main character(Patty) very accurately depicted both pregnancy and Alzheimers. I felt every bit as emotional and "whiney" during my pregnancy, and the accounts of her Alzheimers-stricken mother rekindled painful images of my own grandfather's battle with this debilitating disease. It was the first Berg novel I've read- and it won't be the last! I recommend it.

Patty really wants to settle down, get married, have a baby, and get that house with a white picket fence. She is in love with her best friend and former fiance, unfortunately, several years ago, Ethan broke their engagement because he's gay. Ethan even sets up Patty on a couple of blind dates, one of which is probably a good match for her, but since Ethan is in her heart, she has no room for anyone else, and he manages to marry her best friend.

Patty, not wanting to accept life without Ethan, proposes that they instead have a baby since neither is in a serious relationship and both want to be parents. Ethan surprisingly goes along with it in a moment of despair, and Patty is bummed to discover that a single encounter results in a pregnancy (she wanted more practice).

I really was disappointed with the storyline. I found Patty's character to be really sad and lonely and so willing to settle by wallowing in self pity. The ending only proves how sad and lonely Patty is destined to remain, particularly with her best friend so happily married and pregnant herself.

I gave this book two stars because I felt generous. When I got close to the last page, I thought "Will it never end?" I was very tempted to just chuck it, but still hoping it might get better, I pressed on. No luck-- it didn't get any better. This book is about Patty Ann Murphy, a woman who feels like a "runner-up in life"-- always coming in second. Well, no wonder. She sets herself up for failure--- she loves the wrong man, but instead of admitting it and moving on, she seems to relish the unhappiness she feels because Ethan is unavailable. This woman is a glutton for punishment. She hashes and re-hashes her feelings toward him-- I got the impression she was enjoying her misery. Then there is the baby thing--- we all love babies- or most of us do. But her fixation is almost to the point of unhealthy obsession-- and so we have pages and pages of baby discriptions. The writing is overly dramatic-- everything is phrased as if it is great drama, instead of a story where not much happens to a woman who sells real estate except she gets pregnant, then acts as if no one had ever done it before. Not a good read.

I have read only one other Elizabeth Berg, Talk Before Sleep, and fell in love with her writing after this book. For my next Berg selection I chose Until the Real Thing Comes Along and have to admit I was highly dissappointed. I give the book 3 stars only because I was able to finish the entire book in a few days as it did keep something of my attention.

From the moment I started reading this book, though, I wanted to smack some reality into the main character, Patty. Patty was in love with her best friend and refused to even try to give love a shot with other men. This frustrated me as I found Patty whining more and more about her missing love life and her want for her best friend Ethan and I wanted to tell her you will never get him to marry you so stop obsessing!

I continued reading the book just to find out if Patty ever found her dream man or ever had a baby, but finished the book with a feeling of dissatisfaction. I felt the book ended with an ending that was empty. I feel Berg left us with a simple ending and characters that readers could not totally connect with. I am moving on to Range of Motion and hope this one is better than Until the Real Thing Comes Along.

I started with Open House which is much deeper and more profound, but I still enjoyed this shorter book. What I like most about Berg's writing is her ability to capture personal thoughts and feelings of real people with all their vulnerabilities and problems. I agree with those who thought the mother plot was a bit much, but the central plot was very well done with the usual cast of oddball characters. I wanted to find out more about Mark, but the Ethan character was well-drawn. Now that I've read one of her best and her supposed worst (which is still quite good), I'm motivated to read her others. The writing and characters make Berg a terrific writer and her books great reads. If you don't want to read this one, at least try one of her others to see what you've been missing.