Thursday, January 31, 2013

HOME SAFE by Elizabeth Berg

Finished We 1/30/13

"Ann Tyler Lite"
Helen Ames has been a widow for almost a year, and she is rather unsuccessfully dealing with her loss. Dan handled all of the practical details of their marriage, and tended to coddle Helen. Now, Helen tries to make her adult daughter, Tessa, the focus of her life, but a surprise 'beyond the grave' gift from Dan introduces radical change.

One of the themes of Elizabeth Berg's sentimental novel is similar to O. Henry's 'Gift of The Magi'. Both Dan and Helen secretly acknowledge each other's deepest desire for life after retirement. However, Dan doesn't make it quite that far.

Berg writes in a highly conversational style, and it's almost impossible not to like her characters or their situations. But, nothing gets 'dark' enough, and it seems that any level of emotional pain is quite bearable. This is something that never happens with an Ann Tyler novel. Her characters can be overwhelmed by problems, and her books, as a result, seem more reality based.

(Dan dies at the breakfast table, and Helen is at the sink with her back turned. She hears a coffee cup crash to the floor, and without turning, exclaims, "Dammit Dan, I just bought that cup"! Her last words to her loving husband of twenty-five years.)

Dream Home with a tree house.
Lighted astrological signs on the master bedroom ceiling
Tiny rooms, room-sized closets

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