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When is a marriage worth saving and when is it best to let go? When do half-truths turn into full-blown lies? When does betrayal end and passion begin?
Say When is a compelling, complex novel that takes readers into the heart of a modern marriage where companionship and intimacy, and denial and pain, so often collide. "Of course he knew she was seeing someone," begins the story of Frank Griffin, a man who's willing to overlook his wife's infidelity-- he would let her have this, this thrilling little romance --for the sake of keeping his family intact. But when the forty-year-old Ellen requests a divorce on the basis that she has finally found true, romantic love, Griffin must decide whether to fight or flee...or search elsewhere for the kind of life he always dreamed of.
With Elizabeth Berg's trademark blend of rare insight, raw emotion, and hard-won wisdom, Say When is a work of startling revelation that no reader will soon forget.
Critiques (4)
Critique du Publishers Weekly
Husbands frequently tune out their spouses, but Frank Griffin makes valiant attempts to ignore Ellen, his wife of 10 years, when she announces she has a lover and wants a divorce in this endearing, undemanding novel by Berg (True to Form, etc.). Griffin (he goes by his last name) struggles to hold on to his normal life-namely his house and his eight-year-old daughter, Zoe-while repairing his relationship with Ellen. Refreshingly, Berg tells the story from Griffin's point of view: he refuses to leave home, insisting that he and Ellen live as roommates, and tries to wear her down with small acts of kindness. A decent man and a good provider, Griffin is also-he comes to realize-a less-than-exciting partner at times, dismissive of his wife's attempts to get him to read poetry and see art movies, or try anything new at all. Eccentric, shy Ellen, an isolated, stay-at-home mother whose only friend is the waitress at her regular diner, has her own flaws. In trying to live out her adolescence 20-plus years too late, she flaunts her new romance in ways that evoke either disdain or pity for her na?vet?. Some readers may feel she gives up her quest for more freedom too quickly; others will appreciate the way she explores her complicated feelings about her marriage. Griffin, meanwhile, makes changes, too, trying a stint as a shopping mall Santa and winning a few dates. Berg has a talent for dialogue, and her skillfully crafted interactions between characters-scenes with tomboy Zoe are always a bright spot-are homey and convincing. These days, separation and divorce are commonplace, but a book that treats those subjects with Berg's tenderness and understanding is not. Agent, Lisa Bankoff. (June) Forecast: Berg's novels are high-quality comfort food, and sell accordingly. In returning to the theme of divorce, which she explored in the bestselling Oprah pick Open House, she is on particularly solid ground. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Critique de Kirkus
Breaking up is hard to do, and breaking up with Santa almost impossible. Frank Griffin has an inkling that his wife Ellen is fooling around with Peter, her basic auto mechanics course instructor. After ten years of marriage and the birth of their adorably precocious daughter Zoe, Ellen tells Frank she wants a divorce. She explains, coolly, that she never "believed in romantic love" until the ponytail-sporting mechanic came along and dazzled her. She asks Frank to move out, but he won't budge. Problem is, he still loves her. They reluctantly agree to live as roommates, alternating nights out. In an effort to stifle the probing questions of her inquisitive eight-year-old, Ellen tells Zoe she's taking a quilting class that often runs implausibly late. Frank throws out his wedding ring and tries directing his energies toward becoming a part-time mall Santa. More from spite than anything else, he begins dating the Christmas coordinator, Donna, a blond divorcÉe who is incredibly understanding of his needs. Most of the time, though, Frank sits around inventing nicknames for Peter (Oil Pan King, Mr. Points and Plugs), wallowing in the muck of his own unrequited desire for Ellen, and having exhaustive, watered-down-feminism chats with Zoe. Fed up with the fights and relentless sarcasm, Ellen decides to get her own apartment. What follows are fruitless yearnings, the immeasurable comfort of good ice-cream, overtly metaphorical dreams, bouts of self-help dating, and the limited strivings of Frank to understand where it all went wrong. The story, for all its nuances, hinges on just two questions: Will Ellen's relationship with Peter last? Can Frank's cunning use of passive aggression and belittling jabs lure Ellen home again? The answers arrive just in time for Christmas. Contrived and sentimental, though Berg (True to Form, 2002, etc.) writes neatly packed and fluid prose. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Critique de Booklist
Popular author Berg (True to Life [BKL Mr 1 02]) will thrill her fans with this sweet, often humorous novel about loss and reconciliation. Staid, routine-loving Frank Griffin is dealt a horrific blow when Ellen, his wife of 10 years, tells him she has been having an affair and wants a divorce. Who, he poignantly wonders, could know her as well as he does? He refuses to move out of the house and makes snide comments about her auto-mechanic lover (the "greasy paramour") as the two eventually settle into an awkward routine as roommates. Just so he will have somewhere to go on the nights she is not with her lover, he signs up to play Santa at the local shopping mall and meets Donna, an attractive photographer. He throws away his wedding ring and makes a halfhearted attempt to start up a relationship with her, but although she outwardly appears to have it all over his wife--Donna is a wealthy, talented, and classic beauty--he has to admit to himself that he has never met anyone who appealed to him more than Ellen. Berg keeps her story light and funny, shading in the particulars of their relationship with just the right kind of domestic detail. Her insights into the way marriage can sometimes make its partners feel safe and sometimes imprisoned are all the more effective for her deft touch. Joanne Wilkinson
Critique du Library Journal
Berg explores the impact of separation on a tightly knit family that seem so typical they could be the people next door. Griffin battles the drifting away of his wife, Ellen, in a movingly introspective search from denial of the situation through acceptance. The emotions of their eight-year-old daughter, Zoe, are well captured by David Colacci's reading. It is only Ellen's voice that is not clearly addressed, but her husband's memories and feelings reflect the depth of love and loss, desire and emptiness in their relationship. Painfully real but also good humored, this is quick and easy listening; the characters will stay with you.-Joyce Kessel, Villa Maria Coll., Buffalo, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
