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Title: Disappointing
Review: I have been an Elizabeth Berg fan in the past, and so I was disappointed in her latest "Year of Pleasures." I felt it was rather clumsily written; the dialogue of the characters often did not ring true (especially in the case of the middle school age character--it seemed as though she was trying to mimic the rhythms of how she has observed kids nowadays conversing, but at a great distance). Also, really skilled writing should (in my opinion) almost force the writer to come to the point of view of the character. Well, I did feel for Betta in the beginning, but my liking for her soon wore thin. Maybe because her relationship with her husband as described in the book sounded cloying and annoying; couples who completely shut out the world to the exclusion of all others simply are irritating to everyone around them! Being aware of this annoyance the whole way through kept me from being really drawn into the story. It just didn't come alive for me.
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