Publication
Random House Large Print (2013), Edition: Large Print, 282 pages
Collection
Call number
Large Print Fiction B
Physical description
282 p.; 6.13 inches
Status
Available
Call number
Description
"Cecilia Ross is looking for a change. She has decided to take time off from her job as a successful motivational speaker and sell her home. She moves in to a beautiful old house in St. Paul, Minnesota, complete with a big front porch, a wild garden, a chef's kitchen--and three roommates. The four women are different ages, but all are feeling restless, and want to take a roadtrip to find again the people and things they miss. One woman wants to connect with a daughter she gave away at birth; another wants to visit her long-absent ex-husband; a third woman, a professional chef, is seeking new inspiration from the restaurants along the way. And Cecilia is looking for Dennis Halsinger, the man she never got over, who recently sent her a postcard out of the blue. This novel is classic Elizabeth Berg--a portrait of how women grow through the relationships that define them, and a testament to the power of female friendship"--… (more)
Genres
User reviews
LibraryThing member julia.flyte
Cece is a motivational speaker in her early 50s. There are elements of her life that she's not quite happy with - too much travel, never having married - but changing things up feels too hard. When her best friend Penny dies she is hit hard, but it spurs her on to make dramatic changes. She turns
So a sweet book, and a quick and easy read, but it failed to resonate with me. It's the kind of book where everything happens too easily. Again and again, people abandon long-held principles after just one short conversation. Cece decides to sell her house and lo and behold! - a buyer turns up the very next day who wants to buy not just the house, but all the furniture too. Someone who doesn't like you is just hurting because of something that happened to them 20 years ago and if you can only get them to spill their secret - which they are longing to tell you and only you - they will be your lifelong friend. I felt like beating my head against a wall with the inanity of some of the plot elements. There were also parts that felt very dated, such as when Cece makes contact with a former flame but all of their correspondance is by post (which thankfully seems remarkably quick and efficient - if you wanted to tell someone you were arriving to see them tomorrow, would you really send them a postcard???).
Moreover, none of the central characters are fleshed out. We are just given little snippets about the way they dress, what they do or how they decorate their rooms in lieu of any character development. As a result, we don't particularly care for any of them. Their stories are interesting enough, but not involving in any way.
I didn't hate this book at all (and I loved the cover!), but it fell short for me of what it could have been.
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down further speaking opportunities, sells her house and moves into a house with three other women. The four will become immediate and close friends and over the course of this (short) book they will each address long held regrets in their lives. It's a feel good book about the power of friendship and how it's never too late to make changes in your life.So a sweet book, and a quick and easy read, but it failed to resonate with me. It's the kind of book where everything happens too easily. Again and again, people abandon long-held principles after just one short conversation. Cece decides to sell her house and lo and behold! - a buyer turns up the very next day who wants to buy not just the house, but all the furniture too. Someone who doesn't like you is just hurting because of something that happened to them 20 years ago and if you can only get them to spill their secret - which they are longing to tell you and only you - they will be your lifelong friend. I felt like beating my head against a wall with the inanity of some of the plot elements. There were also parts that felt very dated, such as when Cece makes contact with a former flame but all of their correspondance is by post (which thankfully seems remarkably quick and efficient - if you wanted to tell someone you were arriving to see them tomorrow, would you really send them a postcard???).
Moreover, none of the central characters are fleshed out. We are just given little snippets about the way they dress, what they do or how they decorate their rooms in lieu of any character development. As a result, we don't particularly care for any of them. Their stories are interesting enough, but not involving in any way.
I didn't hate this book at all (and I loved the cover!), but it fell short for me of what it could have been.
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LibraryThing member akblanchard
The death of her closest friend makes successful, affluent motivational speaker Cece realize that she is dissatisfied with her life. So, Cece does what any thinking woman would do: she consults her tarot cards and reads her tea leaves. Acting on the advice of her fortune-telling "tools", she sells
If you've read "women's fiction" before, you won't find anything new in this pleasant but superficial and rather contrived story.
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most of her possessions and moves in with three female roommates who quickly become her new best friends. The four women take a road trip during which they all eat whatever they want (no matter how fattening it is) and lost love is found again.If you've read "women's fiction" before, you won't find anything new in this pleasant but superficial and rather contrived story.
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LibraryThing member Dianekeenoy
I love everything that Elizabeth Berg has written. This is no exception. Finished reading in one sitting.
LibraryThing member MEENIEREADS
Like a cool sorbet this book is what a dear reading buddy calls
"a palate cleanser" book. This would be a light read after one or
two intense books are finished.
This book is filled with what are some daydreams of
ladies over a certain age.........I am sure many have dreamed
of taking a few treasured
front door and leaving a house and all it's problems behind.
Living a Golden Girl's life style with some great buds who really
get you is another. How about a road trip with these pals
and some adventures thrown in? To say nothing of "the one
that got away" all of a sudden popping up in your life and
dying to reconnect with you?
Good deeds are done to off set all this good fortune in the book
as main character Cece volunteers at
a hospice and is able to help in making a 30 something patient there
reunite and marry his fiance.
The gal pal characters are amusing and well drawn. In fact
Cece's story is tolerable because she does have a sarcastic
sense of humor and observation. My favorite comment in the book
is Cece remembering an interview she saw with some almost famous
fiery feminist from the old days who is still going braless. She says you
would have to be a far less superficial person than she not to fixate on all
that "lowness"!
All in all, short and sweet like a nice sorbet!
"a palate cleanser" book. This would be a light read after one or
two intense books are finished.
This book is filled with what are some daydreams of
ladies over a certain age.........I am sure many have dreamed
of taking a few treasured
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things, closing thefront door and leaving a house and all it's problems behind.
Living a Golden Girl's life style with some great buds who really
get you is another. How about a road trip with these pals
and some adventures thrown in? To say nothing of "the one
that got away" all of a sudden popping up in your life and
dying to reconnect with you?
Good deeds are done to off set all this good fortune in the book
as main character Cece volunteers at
a hospice and is able to help in making a 30 something patient there
reunite and marry his fiance.
The gal pal characters are amusing and well drawn. In fact
Cece's story is tolerable because she does have a sarcastic
sense of humor and observation. My favorite comment in the book
is Cece remembering an interview she saw with some almost famous
fiery feminist from the old days who is still going braless. She says you
would have to be a far less superficial person than she not to fixate on all
that "lowness"!
All in all, short and sweet like a nice sorbet!
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LibraryThing member amanderson
This wasn't as great as I recall other Elizabeth Berg books being - I think Range of Motion is my favorite so far. But still this is pretty decent. It's about a older woman whose best friend dies, so she decides to reinvent her life and do things she's been meaning to do for years - like take a
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road trip with her now deceased friend. This includes selling her house, clearing out her accumulation of stuff, and moving in with three women sharing a house. She bonds with them, they're in a state of flux as well, she makes a garden, they take a road trip, they make and repair relationships and experience the small pleasures and large difficulties of life. Typical Berg. Show Less
LibraryThing member hklibrarian
Wonderful book that dovetails where I feel I am in my life right now. A different flow altogether. Fantastic read!!!
LibraryThing member PattyLouise
Tapestry Of Fortunes
By
Elizabeth Berg
My "in a nutshell summary...
Cece loses her best friend and this provides her with a chance to change her life.
My thoughts after reading this book...
Cece and Penny were the best of friends. They spent tons of time together always talking about what they would do
And that's exactly what she does with her new group of friends.
What I Ioved about this book...
OMG...I totally loved the food descriptions...the flower descriptions and Cece's quilts. Yum!
What I did not love...
Not sure this book was one I loved. It was ok. I wanted it to be more but it wasn't. I didn't really like the characters...I don't like women on a road trip...reminds me of Thelma and Louise...and I don't like scenarios of women living together...not for me.
I hated when Cece sold her beautiful house and furniture to live with other women and just have a bedroom. Ick...
Final thoughts...
I probably didn't appreciate this book as much as I should have.
By
Elizabeth Berg
My "in a nutshell summary...
Cece loses her best friend and this provides her with a chance to change her life.
My thoughts after reading this book...
Cece and Penny were the best of friends. They spent tons of time together always talking about what they would do
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and see and experience...someday. When Penny becomes ill...Cece finally realizes it's time to do what she said she always wanted to do...sell her house...find her long lost love...and take a road trip!And that's exactly what she does with her new group of friends.
What I Ioved about this book...
OMG...I totally loved the food descriptions...the flower descriptions and Cece's quilts. Yum!
What I did not love...
Not sure this book was one I loved. It was ok. I wanted it to be more but it wasn't. I didn't really like the characters...I don't like women on a road trip...reminds me of Thelma and Louise...and I don't like scenarios of women living together...not for me.
I hated when Cece sold her beautiful house and furniture to live with other women and just have a bedroom. Ick...
Final thoughts...
I probably didn't appreciate this book as much as I should have.
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LibraryThing member cfk
Tapestry of fortunes begins with the death of Cecilia Ross' best friend. Cece finally steps back from her career as a motivational writer and speaker and completely recreates her life and, in doing so, triggers a series of events/changes for her 3 new room mates.
LibraryThing member nyiper
Ohhhh-------she has done it again. Elizabeth Berg just cannot disappoint me. This is simply another one of her wonderful books---her way of writing about feelings and emotions, the ups and downs of living, are very appealing, at least to me. Now, I can just look forward to her next book....
LibraryThing member Trekeive
different than what I usually read, inspiring
LibraryThing member gmillar
I'm writing about the CD production of this book that I have just finished listening to. I suspect a lot of the excellence of what I heard is due to Barbara Caruso's fine job of performing what she read but I loved the story too. If a reader is honest with herself, she must find some of herself in
Loved it!
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at least one of these characters. Should that reader be male, he should feel something stir in his feminine side. It is a super story and the little gaps in its progress that Ms. Berg left vacant all go to making something for us to think about. A good book should always do that.Loved it!
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LibraryThing member writestuff
Cecelia Ross is reeling when her best friend dies of cancer. A motivational speaker who often does not follow her own advice, Cece feels lost and alone. Impulsively she decides to take a leave of absence from her work, sell her home, and move into an apartment with three female roommates. She also
Tapestry of Fortunes explores female friendship and healing from loss, as well as rediscovering connections with others.
Elizabeth Berg has long been a favorite author of mine when I want to sit down and read a novel with strong female characters. So I was a little disappointed with this latest effort. I really wanted to love Cece and her new found friends, but everything felt very contrived to me. I couldn't fully believe how fast the friendship between Cece, Joni, Renie and Lise developed...and the impulsive decision for them to pick up and make a long journey together felt a little unbelievable.
Despite these shortcomings, I did finish the novel and it was an okay read for me. Berg's prose can be spare and insightful, and I liked the themes of change and personal growth which she explored in the book. Readers who have loved previous work by this author might be a bit disappointed with Tapestry of Fortunes - but if you are looking for a light, quick read, this one might just appeal to you.
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receives an unexpected postcard from an old boyfriend - a man who she once loved and has never truly forgotten.Tapestry of Fortunes explores female friendship and healing from loss, as well as rediscovering connections with others.
Elizabeth Berg has long been a favorite author of mine when I want to sit down and read a novel with strong female characters. So I was a little disappointed with this latest effort. I really wanted to love Cece and her new found friends, but everything felt very contrived to me. I couldn't fully believe how fast the friendship between Cece, Joni, Renie and Lise developed...and the impulsive decision for them to pick up and make a long journey together felt a little unbelievable.
Despite these shortcomings, I did finish the novel and it was an okay read for me. Berg's prose can be spare and insightful, and I liked the themes of change and personal growth which she explored in the book. Readers who have loved previous work by this author might be a bit disappointed with Tapestry of Fortunes - but if you are looking for a light, quick read, this one might just appeal to you.
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LibraryThing member vnesting
A bit preachy at times and lacking the thoughtful, well developed plot and characters that I remember from Berg's early works. And even though the main character really annoyed me at times, this was comfort food pure and simple, and sometimes that's all you really want from a book.
LibraryThing member Mrsmommybooknerd
Berg knows how to write about women for women. She understands the fragility to female friendship and also the way that women sometimes become quick friends. In Tapestry of Fortunes Berg writes another beautiful story about looking back and embracing your destiny. I loved and was frustrated by all
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the characters for various reasons. Cece was the one to start the chain reaction of taking a trip into her past and she brought her three very different roommates along for the ride. All of the women needed to search for something in their futures as well, so they embarked on a journey together. With laughs, tears and empowerment as a reader you get to be the fifth passenger on the trip. All of the women benefited by becoming friends and all looked into their past to find the answers they needed. With a voice true to Berg, she shares a story about how somethings your fortune does come true! 3 stars Show Less
LibraryThing member sandra.k.heinzman
I loved this book and I related to it right now. It made me want to get out of my "rut" of a life and go for my dreams. But, alas, I can't do that right now. Maybe in a few years. I loved the story, the characters, the writing, the quotes. Highly recommend it.
LibraryThing member sandra.k.heinzman
I loved this book and I related to it right now. It made me want to get out of my "rut" of a life and go for my dreams. But, alas, I can't do that right now. Maybe in a few years. I loved the story, the characters, the writing, the quotes. Highly recommend it.
LibraryThing member sandra.k.heinzman
I loved this book and I related to it right now. It made me want to get out of my "rut" of a life and go for my dreams. But, alas, I can't do that right now. Maybe in a few years. I loved the story, the characters, the writing, the quotes. Highly recommend it.
LibraryThing member sandra.k.heinzman
I loved this book and I related to it right now. It made me want to get out of my "rut" of a life and go for my dreams. But, alas, I can't do that right now. Maybe in a few years. I loved the story, the characters, the writing, the quotes. Highly recommend it.
LibraryThing member sandra.k.heinzman
I loved this book and I related to it right now. It made me want to get out of my "rut" of a life and go for my dreams. But, alas, I can't do that right now. Maybe in a few years. I loved the story, the characters, the writing, the quotes. Highly recommend it.
LibraryThing member sandra.k.heinzman
I loved this book and I related to it right now. It made me want to get out of my "rut" of a life and go for my dreams. But, alas, I can't do that right now. Maybe in a few years. I loved the story, the characters, the writing, the quotes. Highly recommend it.
LibraryThing member sandra.k.heinzman
I loved this book and I related to it right now. It made me want to get out of my "rut" of a life and go for my dreams. But, alas, I can't do that right now. Maybe in a few years. I loved the story, the characters, the writing, the quotes. Highly recommend it.
LibraryThing member lhaines56
reead for a book club read in 2013. very good. first time reading eliz berg.
LibraryThing member phyllis.shepherd
Another reviewer's comment perfectly summarizes this book: "If you've read "women's fiction" before, you won't find anything new in this pleasant but superficial and rather contrived story." It's a great book to read when you need a break from more challenging fiction and just want to be
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comfortably entertained. Show Less
LibraryThing member Dannadee
Although Berg writes beautifully and this was an easy read, it was lacking in substance. In the beginning I was thinking what a nice story. I was rooting for CeCe to find herself in wake of her best friend's death. But the deeper I thought, the more I felt there was so much missing and too many
I went into this thinking 3.5 stars. In the end, not quite 3.
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incidences falling perfectly in place all wrapped up with a neat & tidy bow.I went into this thinking 3.5 stars. In the end, not quite 3.
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LibraryThing member Whisper1
While I adore the writing of Elizabeth Berg, and appreciate her slow style of description writing, this book fell short in many ways. I liked the characters of four women who, in mid life, during a pivotal time in their lives lived together in a large house. Unlike college-dorm living, they got
But, the book lacked a plot. The description of each life and what they longed to find at the end of the rainbow, fell short. Taking a road trip, each of the characters chose a person to visit with whom they had unfinished business. Along the way, the adventures were cute, but not enough to make this an enjoyable read.
I didn't connect with the book, but that doesn't mean I won't continue to continue to read more of her writings.
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along very well.But, the book lacked a plot. The description of each life and what they longed to find at the end of the rainbow, fell short. Taking a road trip, each of the characters chose a person to visit with whom they had unfinished business. Along the way, the adventures were cute, but not enough to make this an enjoyable read.
I didn't connect with the book, but that doesn't mean I won't continue to continue to read more of her writings.
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2013
ISBN
0804121001 / 9780804121002