Anita Diament's recent best seller, THE RED TENT, established her as a writer who can
weave intriguing, intimate tales surrounding women's relationships. Based on characters
from the book of Genesis, THE RED TENT brought to life customs and plumbed emotions of
women in a sheltered, rigid society. GOOD HARBOR is as modern as RED TENT is historical,
but Diamant's story telling skills continue to resonate with the warmth and truth that
lies in the sometimes complex relationships between women.
Kathleen Levine is a dignified librarian in her late 50s, who lives in Cape Anne,
Massachusetts with her husband of many years. Her life has been turned upside down upon
learning that she has breast cancer. Joyce Tabachnik is nearly 20 years younger and, with
the proceeds from her first published novel --- a romance under a pen name she refuses to
divulge even to her local book club --- she has purchased a cottage on Cape Ann. She sees
the small rundown former rental as her own private writer's colony from which she will
take long hikes on the dunes, write five pages a day and publish a "real" book
under her own name.
Joyce is active in her local synagogue, and Kathleen is a former Catholic who's sister, a
nun, died of breast cancer 15 years earlier, but Kathleen's health crisis leads her to
seek the solace of her husband's faith and she returns to Temple where she meets the
ebullient Joyce. The friendship that grows between these two fascinating women is the
basis for an engaging plot, as the two women's lives both take compelling turns.
Do not fear that this becomes a tragic tale. Kathleen's cancer is not life threatening,
but its presence is an overpowering shadow on her life, which provokes her to reexamine
her priorities not only with others but within her family, especially with her two grown
sons who have moved away to follow their careers. Joyce's troublesome relationship with an
adolescent daughter and a career-driven husband is causing her to take stock of her
marriage while she struggles to write a new novel.
Diamant brings both women alive on the page by alternating between the two women's
perspectives. The deep relationship grows as they take long walks at Good Harbor beach and
begin to bare their intimate histories and help one another heal old wounds.
--- Reviewed by Roz Shea (HOST BKPG ROZ)
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