Helpful Score: 4
I absolutely loved RANGE OF MOTION! I thought the main character's faith and devotion to her husband was very touching, almost romantic. I found myself looking forward to her conversations with the "ghost woman" and her interaction with her neighbor. Both of the supporting characters came across very "real." Even though there as a lot of sadness in the book,I found it to be very poignant and ultimately uplifting.
This was not a challenging read, but a very satisfying one. Berg was almost poetic in her writing about everyday things. A joy to read!
This was not a challenging read, but a very satisfying one. Berg was almost poetic in her writing about everyday things. A joy to read!
Helpful Score: 3
Readers who thought The Bridges of Madison County was a romantic book should try this story of honest and enduring love from the author of Talk Before Sleep (LJ 3/15/94). The first-person narrative describes an ordinary woman caught up in unusual circumstances. Lainey is a wife/mother/office worker whose life is suddenly changed when her husband is sent into a coma by a freak accident. The only one who believes that he will one day wake up, she visits him daily, bringing him stimulus from everyday life in an attempt to reach him. "I line up the little spice bags all across his chest. All across his University of California T-shirt are requests from the kitchen. Come back, says the curry, the oregano. And me." Lainey is sustained through her ordeal by the support of two special women: Alice, who lives next door, and Evie, the ghost of the woman who lived in Lainey's house in the Forties. A touching and enjoyable read, this novel is romantic without being a romance. Highly recommended for popular fiction collections.?
Helpful Score: 3
"I can tell you how it happened. It's easy to say how it happened. He walked past a building, and a huge chunk of ice fell off the roof, and it hit him in the head. This is Chaplinesque, right? People start to laugh when I tell them..."
So begins the exquisite new novel by New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Berg. As Jay Berman lingers in a coma, his young wife, Lainey, is the only one who believes he will recover. While he lies motionless, she hopes to reach him by offering reminders of the ordinary life they shared--sweet-smelling flowers, his softly textured shirt, spices from their kitchen. And throughout her ordeal, Lainey is sustained by her relationships with two very special women, each of whom teaches her about the enduring bond of friendship and the genuine power of hope.
So begins the exquisite new novel by New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Berg. As Jay Berman lingers in a coma, his young wife, Lainey, is the only one who believes he will recover. While he lies motionless, she hopes to reach him by offering reminders of the ordinary life they shared--sweet-smelling flowers, his softly textured shirt, spices from their kitchen. And throughout her ordeal, Lainey is sustained by her relationships with two very special women, each of whom teaches her about the enduring bond of friendship and the genuine power of hope.
Helpful Score: 2
Elizabeth Berg just gets it! I loved this one too!
Helpful Score: 1
Another winner by Berg. Lovely, realistic story; she really knows how to portray inner emotions with words- not an easy task.
