The Year of Pleasures [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Elizabeth Berg (Author), Sandra Burr (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 5, 2005

Betta Nolan moves to a small town after the death of her husband to try to begin life anew. Though still dealing with her sorrow, Betta nonetheless is determined to find pleasure in her simple 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 with whom she reconnects, a young man who is struggling to find his place in the world, and a handsome widower 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, and art. Above all, The Year of Pleasures is about the various kindnesses people can - and do - provide one another. Betta’s journey from grief to joy is a meaningful reminder of what is available to us all, regardless of what fate has in store. This exquisite book suggests that no matter what we lose, life is ready to give bountifully to those who will receive.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The familiar protagonist of Berg's 13th novel (after The Art of Mending) is a Boston widow of several months, 55-year-old Betta Nolan, who fulfills her dying husband's dream of moving out to the Midwest and starting a new life. "It will give me peace to know that what you will do is exactly what we talked about," says John commandingly before dying of liver cancer; Betta, an author of children's books, sells their Beacon Hill brownstone and takes off, buying an oversized Victorian in the small town of Stewart, Ill., 49 miles from Chicago. Lonely, she finds herself tracking down three former college roommates from the late 1960s, Lorraine, Maddy and Susanna, whom she ditched once she met John. The women reappear one by one and help give her the courage to open a shop called What a Woman Wants (it'll sell "all different stuff that women loved. Beautiful things, but unusual too. Like antique birdcages with orchids growing in them"). Meanwhile, she begins to make friends in town, notably with attractive young handyman Matthew and natty oldster Tom Bartlett. Berg is a pro at putting together an affecting saga of interest to women of a certain age, yet here she seems to be writing in her sleep. 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.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Berg is a true women’s writer whose latest exploration of one woman’s joys and sorrows will not disappoint. Her 14th novel (after 2004’s The Art of Mending) asks how we can find personal connections and transform our lives. Unlike many novels, it actually provides satisfying, if slightly formulaic, answers. Critics agree that the characters, from a college student to Betta’s single-mom neighbor, stand out for their empathic, realistic portrayals. Berg’s poetic language and command of small details relating to character and scenery impressed critics as well. Yet Year of Pleasures may not be Berg’s best effort to date. A few reviewers criticized a relatively weak plot with its obvious message about love, life, and finding the pleasures in ordinary things—even if it’s all true.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio on CD Unabridged; Unabridged edition (April 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593557736
• ISBN-13: 978-1593557737
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 6.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (132 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,188,967 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

111 of 120 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 Stars Isn't Enough For This Book!, April 6, 2005

By 

Nancy R. Katz "NancyK18" (NJ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Year of Pleasures: A Novel (Hardcover)

Elizabeth Berg is one of my most treasured writers since I read her first book Talk Before Sleep. Each time I am about to begin her newest book I wonder if I will enjoy it as much as the book before her last one or the book before that one and so on. And each time I am almost never disappointed because each book is filled with wonderful characters and emotional sagas written from the heart. And once again I have fallen in love not only with this writer but her latest book The Year of Pleasures which features a main character on the brink of a new change in her life.

Betta Nolan is a fifty something woman who up until her husband's death enjoyed a good life. Madly in love with her husband, Betta lives in Boston where she enjoys an almost solitary profession as a writer of children's books. Able to travel and enjoy the companionship of her husband, both she and her husband, who was a psychiatrist, never thought their time would be cut so short when he became terminally ill. With no children or relatives and few friends, it is as if they lived unto themselves in the world around them. But life stood in their way and when Betta's husband realizes she will live out her days without him, he urges her to strike out and make a new life for herself elsewhere. So when her husband dies, Betta honors her promise to him and does exactly what he urged her to do. Locking the door of her home, she sets out in her car to find a new place to live in and to grow as a woman alone but hopefully never lonely. And in the first year of widowhood, with some bumps along the way, this is exactly what Betta does finding not only a home but friends and a business which is an inspiration not only to her but to other woman in the area.

The Year of Pleasures is one of those books like Pull of the Moon which reached out to me, took hold of me while I was reading it and will remain with me always. The emotions of losing a beloved husband and lifestyle and how one reacts is surely different for every woman who unfortunately experiences this event. And for Betta perhaps even more since the death of her loved one came at a time when life was somewhat winding down and plans for their golden years together was just around the corner. Although Betta wonders as many others do if there is ever a good time to lose a mate?

At first Berg provides readers with all of the grief one must go through at this time and then slowly shows us how people in this position must grieve and then move on to give a new meaning and purpose to their lives. While I think that perhaps there was a bit of coincidence and unreality about some of the events -- would one really leave all that they know so quickly, in Berg's more than capable hands, readers are given an adventure in how to give meaning to one's life alone and feel good about the next stage of their life as well. And so Betta experiences a year of pleasures despite that the circumstances never suggested this is what it would be when her husband first died.

Many years ago, I read Widow by Lynn Caine which told the true story Caine's story of being a young woman left with two small children when her husband dies. And more recently this year I read Home Away from Home by Lorna J. Cook where a younger childless woman was suddenly widowed and found for almost a year that she couldn't sleep at the home she shared with her now deceased husband. While both of these books wee excellent and insightful reads, there are emotions and passages from The Year of Pleasures which truly gibes the reader an undeniable sense of what it must be like and feel like to be a widow.

The Year of Pleasures now takes its place among my very favorite reads by Elizabeth Berg, which include The Pull of the Moon, Durable Goods, Joy School, True to Form and The Art of Mending, With The Year of Pleasures it is as if Berg has gone full circle in describing the stages of a woman's life. One can only hold the breath to see what she will write about in her next book.

I urge you to read this book and see if you don't fall madly in love with this author. Read it and see if her characters don't become friends of yours that you worry about and wonder how life is treating them now. Most of all revel in the writing which may find tears in your eyes or a smile on your face.

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars flight of fantasy, June 27, 2005

By 

episcocrank (New York, New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Year of Pleasures: A Novel (Hardcover)

I picked up this book because I, like the protagonist, lost my husband to cancer at 55. I guess I was expecting a story I could relate to. Instead, I found an oddly sugar-coated fantasy that left me feeling inadequate rather than nourished.

Within four months of her beloved husband's death, Betta had sold her Boston home for $1.9 million, serendipitously found and paid cash for another house she loved halfway across the country, been instantly befriended by people of all ages, summoned several long-neglected friends to her side, sailed with barely a ripple through her first holidays without her mate, whipped up countless elaborate meals, been interviewed on a radio program, started dating, and established the boutique of her dreams in the evidently WalMart-less town. By the same point in my own bereavement, I was still barely able to utter a coherent sentence, was subsisting on take-out food, and certainly was in no condition to purchase high-end real estate or start a business. In my experience, recovery from the loss of a spouse doesn't proceed so quickly or so sparklingly. I know widows' experiences vary greatly, but I've not yet heard the likes of this story in real life.

51 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, a truly beautiful novel for midlife women, May 3, 2005

By 

C. L. Ferle (Midwest Reader and Writer) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Year of Pleasures: A Novel (Hardcover)

What a wonderfully written book, and near-perfect for anyone who suddenly finds herself past her 50th birthday and wondering what's next. While this tender novel is about dealing with grief and the loss of a beloved husband, it is also about change and reinventing yourself at midlife, no matter what your situation. It simply speaks volumes to anyone in this age group.

Elizabeth Berg is a sensitive and highly skilled writer who avoids falling prey to the ridiculous whims of commerical publishing. Berg refuses to season her story with gratuitous elements or outlandish situations. She relies instead on the poetry and gentle beauty of the ordinary. This is never easy to pull off in a novel -- yet this particular skill of Berg's brings true depth, intelligence, and a touch of domestic magic to "The Year of Pleasures."

After reading just a few pages of the novel, I found myself caring about the fate of the main character. It didn't take long for me to be pulled into her situation. I found myself asking, what would I do if I suddenly found myself in this character's shoes? Could I start over in a new place? I am so grateful that someone recommended this book, as I haven't had much luck finding a good novel centered around a middle-aged woman. I was very disappointed in the over-hyped "The Mermaid Chair," but this book rekindled my faith and made me grateful for Elizabeth Berg.