Book Reviews of Good Harbor

Great book. I especially reccomend it to anyone who has had their lives touched by breast cancer -either their own or a loved one. Also a great story about friendships and the healing powers friendships have.

Set in the small Massachusetts fishing town of Gloucester, Good Harbor is a slow-paced study of female friendship. Here Diamant can luxuriate in the development of just two principal characters: 59-year-old Kathleen Levine, a children's librarian who is undergoing radiation therapy for breast cancer, and a 42-year-old romance novelist, Joyce Tabachnik, who has bought a summer retreat in Gloucester in the hope of finally writing a "serious" book. The two meet at temple after a service presided over by a newly hired female rabbi. (What joy it must have been for Diamant, who chronicled so much oppression of Hebrew women in The Red Tent, to casually include the presence of female clergy.) Kathleen has no real confidante aside from her husband, Buddy; Joyce is facing estrangement from both her business-minded husband, Frank, and her soccer-obsessed daughter, Nina. What the women are lacking, they find in each other. As their intimacy grows, Diamant sometimes tells us what we already know, breaking into a conversation, for example, to announce how well things are going ("They smiled at each other. They were going to be okay."). This is a moving story nonetheless--short on incident, but with carefully drawn characters and fluid, matter-of-fact prose.

This was a very good book about women friendships.

Lovely story of the power of friendship.

By the author of "The Red Tent." Not as endearing, but good characters.

This was a satisfying read...the story of two women at different points in their lives, relying on each other for support and guidance.

An excellent story....you will not be disappointed.

A great read! I love how the dynamic friendship between the women grows and the characters are realistic. It also explores how a life-altering event (such as being diagnosed with breast cancer) can become the catalyst for working out other issues in your life and uncovering hidden fascets.

Not bad. Diamant's other book, The Red Tent, was much better.

Not having read "The Red Tent", I had no particular expectations of this book. I found that while not big on action, the relationships between the two women and their families was enough to make "Good Harbor" a very satisfying read. (And it IS a very nice beach, too!)

Very enjoyable read.

Not a whole lot of substance here, but a sweet, quick "chick-lit" read.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The women in the book remained a part of my spirit for weeks after I read it.

LOVED it!!!! I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever had a best friend with whom they have been able to share their hopes, dreams, expectations, and regrets. Anita Diamant explores the gift of friendship in an honest, enlightening, and hopeful spirit. Joyce and Kathleen are 2 women with whom I would love to share a walk on the beach at Good Harbor!It's a story of love, forgiveness, loss, and the amazing resilience of the human spirit. A wonderful read for women! A wonderful read for breast cancer survivors! And a wonderful read for anyone who has ever lost someone they love. Powerful!

Did not enjoy this book nearly as much as The Red Tent. Not bad...just not exceptional.

"Graceful and entertaining." - The Toronto Sun

This novel of contemporary female friendship is by the acclaimed author of The Red Tent.

A woman's life is changed after a diagnosis of breast cancer.

A tale of comtemporary female friendship set in a beach town in Massachusetts. A good read from the author of "The Red Tent."

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