The Art of Mending
by Elizabeth Berg
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Book Summary Information
Author: Elizabeth BergEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-02-28
ISBN: 034548648X
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Reviews of The Art of Mending
Book Review: A Lukewarm Reading Experience
Summary: 2 Stars
This is "light reading" to the point that it may insult your intelligence. The book has a very casual, superficial, and lighthearted approach to some very heavy issues. The book involved a lot of detachment. The characters are completely detached from one another and from reality. The author also seems detached from her characters, from reality, and from her readers themselves. All of this ambivalence might leave readers feeling detached from the whole story as well. Towards the end, I really felt as though Elizabeth Berg just wrote this novel to collect another paycheck from her publisher. (In an interview with the author at the end of the book, she does actually seem to imply that writing this book was more of a duty than a pleasure since she was under contract). Unfortunately, her approach to this book as a job rather than an artistic endeavor really comes across in her writing.
The characters are ridiculously one-dimensional and the plot is predictable in a very disappointing way. The main character Caroline is extremely frustrating in her selfishness, self-absorption, and dangerously extreme simplemindedness. Perhaps she was intentionally portrayed in this manner, but her behavior made for a difficult read. The underlying themes of abuse, familial neglect, grief, and mourning aren't given the amount of emotion, sensitivity, and thoughtfulness they deserve.
There were a few bright spots sprinkled here and there. Some of Berg's imagery is absolutely beautiful and many of her metaphors are sheer poetry. But overall, the book is very formulaic, and most of it reads like the script for one of those infamously awful made-for-tv movies on Lifetime.
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