(Image from Barnes & Noble)

When Samantha Morrow's husband, David, asks for a divorce, she doesn't quite know what to do.  A Tiffany's shopping spree at his expense only fills so much of the hole in her heart.  Samantha's mother starts pushing eligible bachelors at the 42-year-old, but what Samantha really needs is money to support herself and her young son.  Renting out the extra rooms in her home seems like an easy way to bring in some needed income.  Although not all of Samantha's renters turn out to be keepers, others become not just company for the lonely woman, but dear friends.  Through her interactions with them, Samantha begins the painful but necessary process of rediscovering herself and reconstructing her shattered life.

Open House by Elizabeth Berg is a wise, but approachable book about transformation and second chances.  Both sad and hopeful, the story moves along quickly enough to keep the reader's interest despite being a take-your-time literary novel.  The characters are a little cliché; they're also likable and relatable.  Prose-wise, Open House is, in turn, raw, funny, and beautiful.  I didn't love the book, but I did like it.

(Readalikes:  Hm, I can't think of anything.  Can you?)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language (a handful of F-bombs, plus milder expletives) and sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find