Read an Excerpt

Elizabeth Berg has many, many fans who will be very happy with her
latest novel, OPEN HOUSE. This time her protagonist, Samantha,
watches her husband pack up his stuff and, with no further
discussion, leave their house, their marriage, and their son. What
does Sam do with her broken heart and open credit cards? Well, she
hits Tiffany's and spends thousands of dollars on a silver service
that she doesn't really need. Her first reaction to her newfound
freedom is to change the way she lives: flowers on trays, and
breakfast in bed for her son --- elegance all around. However, this
flight of fancy doesn't last long when her soon-to-be-ex closes off
her accounts; and instead, she is forced to take in boarders and
recreate her life in ways she would have otherwise thought
unimaginable.

All through OPEN HOUSE the reader gets the sense that everything is
going to be okay. Maybe it's Sam's sense of humor, her ability to
say exactly what she is feeling, her devotion to her son, or her
friends' abilities to make her feel better. There is never a real
sense of portending doom --- rather, we wait to see exactly what
wonderful things Sam is going to find out about herself and what
adventures she is going to find herself in now that she's out of a
loveless match that was clearly holding her back.

Like a less philosophical Anne Tyler, Berg manages to offer us a
main character that we can all relate to. She could be anybody that
we know, anywhere in the United States. This Everywoman moves
forward because she knows she has to, for the sake of her son and
herself (but herself second, of course --- she is a contemporary
American woman, after all!). Sam's resilience and witty banter
makes OPEN HOUSE a fun and easy read with great heart and open
mind. Old fans and new will certainly enjoy this inspirational
book.