Barbara M. reviewed on + 152 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I've read the "Katie series" ("Durable Goods," "Joy School," and "True to Form"). When I was checking one of the Katie series out at the library, the librarian commented how Elizabeth Berg was one of her favorite authors. I enjoyed the Katie series and decided to read some of Berg's other books. "Talk Before Sleep" was published a year after "Durable Goods." "Talk" doesn't really have a plot (although the same perhaps could be said about the Katie books). The story is about the relationships a group of women have with their friend Ruth, who is in her early 40s and is dying from breast cancer.
As some Amazon reviewers have noted, the Ruth character was unlikeable--self-centered, rude, insensitive, and apparently without moral scruples. Hard to care about someone like that. Ann, the narrator, recalls her first interaction with Ruth. Ann describes Ruth as drop-dead gorgeous and someone who doesn't care what people think about her. As I was reading, I kept thinking that Ruth's personality seemed to fit someone who was 20-30 years older. I also found it hard to believe that Ruth had such a devoted group of friends who would take care of her given how unlikeable she seemed to be.
The characterization of "LD," Ruth's lesbian friend was very much a stereotype--a large, masculine woman who wore flannel shirts and denim.
Many of the one- and two-star Amazon reviewers of "Talk Before Sleep" state that this is not Berg's best work so I won't give up on her (yet).
As some Amazon reviewers have noted, the Ruth character was unlikeable--self-centered, rude, insensitive, and apparently without moral scruples. Hard to care about someone like that. Ann, the narrator, recalls her first interaction with Ruth. Ann describes Ruth as drop-dead gorgeous and someone who doesn't care what people think about her. As I was reading, I kept thinking that Ruth's personality seemed to fit someone who was 20-30 years older. I also found it hard to believe that Ruth had such a devoted group of friends who would take care of her given how unlikeable she seemed to be.
The characterization of "LD," Ruth's lesbian friend was very much a stereotype--a large, masculine woman who wore flannel shirts and denim.
Many of the one- and two-star Amazon reviewers of "Talk Before Sleep" state that this is not Berg's best work so I won't give up on her (yet).
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