Talk Before Sleep, by Elizabeth Berg

Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

For those of us who love to read, there are a few books that we reread for a variety of reasons. Whether it's to learn more on a subject, reread a well-written book, or simply akin to revisiting an old friend, it's something we usually enjoy.

Talk Before Sleep, by Elizabeth Berg is one of my go-to books when I want something quick, yet satisfying. It was the first of Berg's books that I'd read, and probably my favorite, for several reasons.

Talk Before Sleep is the story of friendship, told from Ann's perspective. Ann and Ruth first meet at a party. Ann was immediately put off by Ruth's good looks; she soon discovers, though, that Ruth has an honesty that is even more breath-taking than her looks. The book follows their friendship, shifting back and forth through past and present. The present describes Ruth's coping with terminal breast cancer, and how the two women, along with a small group of friends cope with Ruth's ongoing health issue.

The book feels as comfortable as the flannel shirts that L.D. - one of Ruth's friends - wears, while showing how distressing the disease is to the group.

A review in Kirkus several years ago states that "Berg...offers a sappy tale about a woman witnessing the death of her friend..." (https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...). While the book might be viewed as borderline-sappy, it came across more as telling about how friendships can help us through difficult times.

Talk Before Sleep is well worth reading, especially if looking for a quick, satisfying read.

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First, You Cry, by Betty Rollin

First, You Cry by Betty Rollin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Many of us start off by reading a book, followed by watching any movies based on that book. But there are times when we might see a movie, then, years later, read the book that the movie was based on.

In 1978, First, You Cry, by Betty Rollin came out as a made-for-T.V. movie, starring Mary Tyler Moore and Anthony Perkins. Decent movie, decent acting, as I remember. So, when I ran across the twenty-fifth anniversary copy of the book, I picked it up. It took me a while to read it.

The book deals with Betty Rollin's breast cancer diagnosis, surgery, and subsequent learning to get on with life. As anyone dealing with a cancer diagnosis, or, at least, a cancer scare knows, this is no easy feat: not the diagnosis, the surgery, nor the learning to get on with life. But Ms. Rollins lets the reader know that it is doable, that one can get on with life. Of course, First, You Cry.

The twenty-fifth anniversary copy relays that after the initial publication of the book, she endured a second mastectomy. (At this writing, she is still alive.)

While the paperback is 222 pages long, First, You Cry, by Betty Rollin is a quick read, and one that I definitely recommend.

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Talk Before Sleep, by Elizabeth Berg

For those of us who love to read, there are a few books that we reread for a variety of reasons. Whether it's to learn more on a subject, reread a well-written book, or simply akin to revisiting an old friend, it's something we usually enjoy.

Talk Before Sleep, by Elizabeth Berg is one of my go-to books when I want something quick, yet satisfying. It was the first of Berg's books that I'd read, and probably my favorite, for several reasons.

Talk Before Sleep is the story of friendship, told from Ann's perspective. Ann and Ruth first meet at a party. Ann was immediately put off by Ruth's good looks; she soon discovers, though, that Ruth has an honesty that is even more breath-taking than her looks. The book follows their friendship, shifting back and forth through past and present. The present describes Ruth's coping with terminal breast cancer, and how the two women, along with a small group of friends cope with Ruth's ongoing health issue.

The book feels as comfortable as the flannel shirts that L.D. - one of Ruth's friends - wears, while showing how distressing the disease is to the group.

A review in Kirkus several years ago states that "Berg...offers a sappy tale about a woman witnessing the death of her friend..." (https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/elizabeth-berg/talk-before-sleep/). While the book might be viewed as borderline-sappy, it came across more as telling about how friendships can help us through difficult times.

Talk Before Sleep is well worth reading, especially if looking for a quick, satisfying read.

Talk Before Sleep

I'm in the middle of rereading Elizabeth Berg's Talk Before Sleep. It was the first book by Berg that I'd read, years ago, purchased at what had been my favorite bookstore (Brigit Books in St. Petersburg, which has long since closed). Since then, I've reread it several times; it is probably my favorite of Berg's books that I've read to date.

Talk Before Sleep is the story of friendship, told from Ann's perspective. Ann and Ruth first met at a party. Ann was immediately put off by Ruth's good looks; she soon discovers, though, that Ruth has an honesty that is even more breath-taking than her looks. However, Ruth soon discovers she has breast cancer, which ends up spreading; by the end of the book, it has killed her.

There are no actual chapters throughout the book, instead leaving a gap between segments. The book dances back and forth between the past and the present. The present follows the story of Ruth's dying and death and how her group of friends - a group of women who are as different a $1,000 cashmere sweater and a comfortable t-shirt - reacts to her illness and death, as well as each other. Ruth's boss, Sarah, is the "kind of woman who can wear a perfectly tailored silk dress to take out the garbage and not spill a single thing on it...management material through and through," while L.D. "is a football-player-sized woman I've never seen in anything but checked flannel shirts and bib overalls..." Meanwhile, the flashbacks tell how Ann and Ruth met, their developing friendship, and what happens in their lives as they inch forward to the final illness.

While a review in Kirkus states that "Berg...offers a sappy tale about a woman witnessing the death of her friend..." (https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/elizabeth-berg/talk-before-sleep/), and NYU School of Medicine's Literature, Arts, and Medicine Database states that "Unfortunately, like many books with much pathos, Talk Before Sleep often missteps into the territory of bathos...the book is mortally flawed in its two-dimensional portrayal of men..." (http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/Annotation?action=view&annid=1150), there are other sites that give the book positive reviews (http://www.storycirclebookreviews.org/reviews/talksleep.shtml , http://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/talk-before-sleep ). While the men in this book might not have been as three-dimensional as the women are, I felt that it was due more to the fact that the book dealt with women's friendships during profound illness than about rounding out characters that one only sees in the periphery.

Meanwhile, for those of us who have either experienced a medical scare ourselves or of friends and family members, this book rings true in its story.