Home_Birther's Full Review: Elizabeth Berg - Durable Goods: A Novel
I first became a fan of the author, Elizabeth Berg, with her brilliant novel, TALK BEFORE SLEEP. It was a book that I read quickly in the span of only 2 1/2 short hours and left me wanting more of this wonderful author and her equally appealing characters. I eagerly anticipated each of Berg’s new releases and attempted to read her earlier published works. However, as I only purchase books in hardcover, it was an effort to locate many of her older novels and only yesterday, did I manage to read her very first novel and the subject of this review, DURABLE GOODS.
DURABLE GOODS is the story of Katie. She is both the narrator and main subject of the book. A 12 year old girl on the brink of puberty and life. Her mother has died of cancer and she and her 18 year old sister, Diane, live with their father on a military base. Their father, a disciplined military officer, is a man who insists on order in his job and personal life and is prone to frequent violent outbursts. Katie and Diane live in a virtual state of limbo...never knowing what mood their father will be in when he returns home, or if they will have to pick up and move to a new base, a new state and a new life.
Like many abused children, Katie and Diane have reached a state of near acceptance or ambivalence about their life and father. They are resilient and learn to adapt their behavior and emotions to minimize the chance of a beating and to cope with transitory military life. DURABLE GOODS encompasses one single yet critical summer in the life of both girls. A summer between life as they know it and life as it will become.
Diane, at 18, realizes that she is on edge of adulthood and freedom. Brave with that knowledge she becomes rebellious and moves further away from her childhood and her abusive father. Risking his wrath and beatings, she asserts herself and her imminent independence. 12 year old Katie, the narrator, struggles with her sister’s new independence and begins to feel even more isolated from her family. She is a lonely child still mourning the loss of her mother. She fears her father and finds his occasional displays of kindness confusing. She is also living in that awkward in-between stage...between childhood and puberty. Waiting impatiently for her breasts to bud and to grow hairs in all the right places. Attempting to make herself more like her much admired and defiant older sister, Diane and her one friend, Cherylanne, who lives next door.
When Katie needs to escape her loneliness and her father, she finds her way to Cherylanne’s house and family. Cherylanne is 14 years old...a full two years older than Katie. Her mother, Belle, was friends with Katie’s late mother and is Katie’s sometimes surrogate mother. Cherylanne is enamored with fashion, beauty and glamour. Firmly in the midst of physical and emotional puberty, she is somewhat embarrassed to have the younger Katie as her friend and often makes her feel unwanted and neglected. The resilient Katie is undaunted by Cherylanne’s frequent rejection and like her relationship with her father, she learns to accommodate and adapt to Cherylanne’s changing moods. Praising and complimenting when it is expected and fading into the background when necessary. An unequal friendship that fulfills the needs of both.
As the novel draws to an end, Katie’s older sister, Diane, embarks on one final rebellious act which moves her towards freedom and escape from her tyrannical father. Quite unexpectedly, Katie is drawn into her sister’s adventure. It is during this brief but enlightening episode, that Katie realizes that she is not as dependent on Diane and Cherylanne as she previously thought and that she is strong and capable. She also realizes that while she fears her father and the uncertainty of their life, she also loves him. Emotions which are both unsettling and unexpected.
Elizabeth Berg writes in a very simple, yet eloquent prose. Berg has an uncanny ability to capture the way that people truly feel and think. She writes about her characters and their emotions so skillfully, that you care deeply about them and their fate. Her description of Katie attempting to connect with her dead mother while lying under her bed (her one safe haven) are so real, it is heartbreaking. Berg, who grew up on various military bases, describes the transient life of a military family and inevitable loneliness in a very believable manner. Whether she also lived the life of an abused child, I do not know. However, as someone who knows what it is like to both love and hate your parents, I can attest to having had many of the same feelings and thoughts as Katie, the voice of DURABLE GOODS. This is a credible story of adolescence and childhood abuse.
Although her novels are short, Berg always manages to convey life or circumstances in such a way, that it leaves you thinking about your own life and the way in which you live each day. She does not preach, but instead allows you to discover the message behind the words, story and characters. In DURABLE GOODS her character Katie’s description of her home and how she feels when she enters another person’s house, made me think about the true meaning of home and family. Their importance in your life...even when the circumstances are lacking or the characters are flawed. DURABLE GOODS also reminded me of my own resilience and self-preservation as a child growing up in a dysfunctional environment.
DURABLE GOODS, like all of Berg’s novels, is a quick read. At only 192 very short pages, it is what I term a “bathtub book”. It does not require a tremendous commitment of time and you don’t have to be afraid that you will never finish it. You can easily read it in a very long bubble bath (adding hot water as necessary, of course). I read it in a little more than 2 hours. If you don’t like the pruning effect of a long soak in the bath, pack DURABLE GOODS in a picnic basket and read it under a tree on a lazy afternoon or take it with you to the beach while you work on the perfect tan this summer.
In addition to DURABLE GOODS, Elizabeth Berg has written several critically acclaimed books, including: TALK BEFORE SLEEP; RANGE OF MOTION; THE PULL OF THE MOON; and JOY SCHOOL. I have read and enjoyed them all with the exception of JOY SCHOOL, which I have not yet read as it is the sequel to DURABLE GOODS. Now that I have completed DURABLE GOODS, I look forward to reading JOY SCHOOL and experiencing more of Katie and her life over the next few hours. Time to go draw myself a nice hot bubble bath...
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