OPEN HOUSE by Elizabeth Berg

Finished Sa 9/28/19

This is a hardback that I borrowed from Janny. She said that this was one of her favorite authors, and if I liked Ann Tyler Elizabeth Berg would be a shoo-in.  She was right!

Samantha Morrow is a woman who was happy, satisfied, and content in her marriage in upper-class, suburban Massachusetts. Until her husband, David, walks out. 

Sam and David; son- eleven year old Travis

Veronica- Sam's mother

Rita- Sam's friend who lives in California

Lydia and Thomas- a couple in their eighties. Lydia is Sam's first roommate.

Edward- an older gay man who becomes Sam's roommate.

Lavender Blue- a college student who becomes Sam's roommate. This young woman is depressed and has a very negative outlook. She leaves and was never a good fit.

King is an overweight young man who falls in love with Sam. He has a graduate degree from MIT even though he takes temp jobs that are far below his capacity.

Sam takes temp work suggested by King. This is also the reason that she takes in boarders. I think she also wants to recreate a 'family'. And, she does. 

For almost the entire novel Sam would take David back in a second, but she finally realizes that the relationship is dead. She wants someone who can accept her for who she is and allow her to grow. David would not allow this...ever.

The writers page on Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Berg_(author)

From the book's page at Amazon:

"Samantha's husband has left her, and after a spree of overcharging at Tiffany's, she settles down to reconstruct a life for herself and her eleven-year-old son. Her eccentric mother tries to help by fixing her up with dates, but a more pressing problem is money. To meet her mortgage payments, Sam decides to take in boarders. The first is an older woman who offers sage advice and sorely needed comfort; the second, a maladjusted student, is not quite so helpful. A new friend, King, an untraditional man, suggests that Samantha get out, get going, get work. But her real work is this: In order to emerge from grief and the past, she has to learn how to make her own happiness. In order to really see people, she has to look within her heart. And in order to know who she is, she has to remember--and reclaim--the person she used to be, long before she became someone else in an effort to save her marriage. Open House is a love story about what can blossom between a man and a woman, and within a woman herself".

I loved the book and will read more by Elizabeth Berg. I thought the writing was chock-full of wry humor and charming insights.