Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Dream When You're Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg

Overall Recommendation: Sure. I think this is a nice story. Its not going to change your life, but I enjoyed it.


What I liked: This is the story of three sisters during WWII. They are young adults living at home. I liked the sisterly interactions, I think they could have been more developed as individuals, but they were believable characters.

I liked the interaction of their family. I liked all the letter writing and the routine of their lives.

What bugged me: It seemed to me that Elizabeth Berg had a list of all the 1940's research she did, and she made sure to cram in every little reference to the era, pop culture, figure of speeches, propoganda. It felt forced. We know its 1943 already. It felt like she wanted to keep pointing out what was going on around the characters. But the story is so entwined with the war, you don't forget what year it is. All the references to clothing trends, rations, war posters, bonds, it just got a little distracting.

I also didn't like the ending. I don't want to "give it away," but I just thought it was a little disappointing.

2 comments:

kim said...

hey kam,
thanks for the book rec. i know it wasn't tops on your list, but i do love books about this era and like that it's about sisters, so figure i'll read it.

Kammy T said...

I'm glad because I want to know what someone else thinks of the ending. I didn't like the way it resolved. I can't wait to hear if you like the book!