Book Review: The Year of Pleasures

Sigh. I just love Elizabeth Berg's writing style. It's like pulling a warm, heavy blanket over you and snuggling down for a long nap. This latest read, The Year of Pleasures was sad and sweet. She talks about the ordinary day-to-day stuff, calls attention to it and makes it special. In this story, a newly-widowed middle-aged woman makes a new life for herself in a small town. She is feeling great loss as well as hope as she finds her way again. I love that she never loses sight of who she is or abandons what she wants for herself, in this next chapter of her life. One quote, in particular stands out to me. In the story, the widow, Betta, is trying to befriend the bitter, cotchety old woman from whom she purchased her 'new' house. The old woman refuses to play along...

"There is a story about a Navajo grandfather who once told his grandson, "Two wolves live inside me. One is the bad wolf, full of greed and laziness, full of anger and jealousy and regret. The other is the good wolf, full of joy and compassion and willingness and a great love for the world. All the time, these wolves are fighting inside me." "But grandfather," the boy said. "Which wolf will win?" The grandfather answered, "The one I feed."

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0812970993/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link