What We Keep – Elizabeth Berg

Overview

A middle-aged woman is reconciled to her estranged mother after a 35 year absence.

What I thought

 When I was young I really, really liked Judy Blume books. She had an amazing knack of presenting ordinary, recognizable characters and reflecting back situations or characteristics that we otherwise wouldn’t talk about or think about. Funny thing is I’ve read them so many times that every so often in my adult life there’ll be a situation that’ll make me think “Oh that’s like in Blubber”, or “That’s so Deenie”!

Anyway, Elizabeth Berg seems to be writing Judy Blume books for people who have outgrown them, or at least feel too embarrassed to read them on a train. This is a compliment, although at times the “Blume-ish” (straightforward and direct, nothing there to trip up a reader) nature of the prose got on my nerves a little. Well, to be completely honest, I was so interested in finding out what happened that I read it at top speed, which left me a little unsatisfied (whose fault was that then?) Probably should read it again soon, but hey, I’ve lent it to someone already.

The story was narrated by the middle-aged Ginny reflecting back on the year she turned 12. I felt the adult’s character wasn’t portrayed with anywhere near as much depth as the 12 year old, (hence the adolescent fiction feel). Although Berg hinted at the adult’s world (drinking scotch and soda on the plane, a dislike of flying, an intense clinging to her own growing daughters), the adult felt one-dimensional, a product solely of her mother’s choices.

Now I understand that when you’re traveling across the country to see someone you haven’t seen in 35 years you would be thinking a lot about them and that relationship, but I still wanted more substance to be hinted at. There was a character on the plane, Martha, sitting next to Ginny when the narrative began, and I expected there to be more dialogue between them, a revelation of character and history. After a few paragraphs though Martha goes to have a sleep in a row of empty seats…seems like she found the older Ginny as uninteresting as I did!

The young Ginny did have a quite refreshing and honest voice about her life and family, particularly about the role of women in the 1950s, although I wish that had been explored in more depth. I can’t believe…well, yes I can…although it’s hard…that a mother would cook French toast for one daughter and then pancakes for the other. This was a time before shaker-jacks, when everything had to be made from scratch. Heck! I’d give ‘em both a bowl of cereal and tell ‘em to like it or lump it!

And, ironically, is kind of the whole point of the book. 

Read it if…

You liked Judy Blume. Or if you’re looking for a good, not too challenging weekend read.