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Bitter Sweet (2003)

Bitter Sweet (2003)

Book Info

Genre
Rating
4.03 of 5 Votes: 2
Your rating
ISBN
0425195791 (ISBN13: 9780425195796)
Language
English
Publisher
berkley trade

About book Bitter Sweet (2003)

4 ½ stars. A lot of sadness and separation during this book, but it was offset with such tremendous love.I wasn’t crying, but it was close. The way they felt for each other consumed me. I was so into this book. I was yearning for them to be together and they had all these obstacles. Finally they get their happy ending together. It’s about a powerful love. The main characters are 40-ish.Caution, some readers will not like this because it’s a sympathetic look at adultery. Maggie tried to avoid any connection. Eric tried to be faithful. He wanted to be faithful, but he married the wrong woman. There is also a brief scene of spousal rape.It’s about forbidden love. It’s also about people making changes in their lives to find happiness for different reasons. I love books about people make changes.Vera the bitter unloving mean mother hit home. I know people like that or who have damaged relationships due to her type of personality. Nancy the lying selfish amazingly beautiful model-type. She wouldn’t give Eric a divorce. She did everything she could to keep him, even though he didn’t love her. The story was good because of the depth of characters like these. It made the story rich. Not enough of that is done by many current day authors.Do I have complaints? Yes - in spoilers.(view spoiler)[My main complaint was that after Eric left his wife, he should have told Maggie that he was separated and that he was hurrying the divorce as quickly as possible. But he didn’t call or contact her in any way for six months! The result was she thought she was alone forever and she put up her home for sale. She planned to move away. His reason was that he promised his mother he wouldn’t talk to Maggie until he had his divorce. That was a stupid promise. I’m sure his mother would have allowed him to at least inform Maggie of his plans before Maggie arranged to move - or at least have his mother inform Maggie what he was doing. The book was full of well done conflict. It didn’t need this contrived conflict at the end.A minor complaint. Having children was the most important thing in Eric’s life. So the first time he sees and holds his baby, he takes the baby and Maggie for a ride in his truck. He had no car seat for the baby. A risk! Car seats for babies were mandatory when this was written. His action did not fit his motivations. He took time to decorate the truck with flowers for Maggie. He should have included a car seat. It’s not like he was giving them a ride unexpectedly. I’m overdoing it, I know, but some things just get stuck in my craw. (hide spoiler)]

I have always enjoyed LaVyrle Spencer's novels, but, I find myself at odds with this book. I guess I would have to say the first thing I am at odds with is the subject matter. And the second thing I am at odds with in this book is...It was flooded with what I call "artistic information" or "filler" words that took up so, so much of the story. This is a paperback book, 460 pages, and the print isn't very large. I'm sure it could have been written and contained a lot fewer pages. (between 250 & 300 pages) However, I'm sure some readers like the "artistic information" though. An example...page 297."They drove south, to Newport State Park, and along the shoreline of Rowley's Bay where the harbor appeared as a jigsaw puzzle of ice, the beach a crescent of white. Swells of windrows, which eventually fell beneath their own weight,, and cracked into great sheets that shifted back and forth, the cracks enlarging to ponds where goldeneyes, mergansers and buffleheads consorted. The ice hit upon itself and chimed in the empty bay. White-winged scoters swam along the ice-edge and dove for food beneath the glass. From the distance came a garbled yodel. "O-oaowa-wa-wa." A flock of birds lifted from the water, their long, thin tails trailing behind like giant stingers--old squaws, summer residents of the Arctic Circle on southern holiday in Door County....."It went on somewhat like that for a page and a half. I had to regroup to figure out what happened before all the "artistic information" began. All-in-all it was a "Bitter Sweet" story, but not my cup of hot green tea with a spoon of sugar, and a few drops of cream, from a china creamer with pink roses on the sides. I decided to award this book 3 "Bitter Sweet" chocolate stars.This book is a part of my personal library, I found it at a second hand bookstore. Ms. Spencer retired from writing in 1997, I think.

Do You like book Bitter Sweet (2003)?

I liked this book, and it was my very first LaVyrle Spencer book. I remember seeing LaVyrle Spencer books on my Mom's bookshelves, in bookstores, in women's bags, etc., over the years, but had never read her until now. I found this particular book at our church rummage sale, so I scooped it up to read. I'm excited to read her other books, only because this was a love story (which I like), but I just had a hard time getting past the marital affair of the romance in this story. Even though Ms. Spencer "justifies" their love for each other (i.e. they always loved each other, and were meant to be together), I still had a hard time with my morales. I'm such an old-fashioned girl. Anyway, the style of writing and the characters are great, so I will definitely be looking for more LaVyrle Spencer books wherever I go.
—Barb

This was a sweet romance that is all about Maggie's "what if" guy - her first love. Nothing can be that simple though. The story made complex by his marriage, her disfunctional relationship with her mother, and her daughter's growing disapproval of all the changes Maggie is making.My main problem with this story is the non-chalance stance of adultery. The characters give it minimal thought, justifying it with their history, and the existing discord in the marriage. My feeling is that if the marriage was that bad, there should have been a separation. Then it may have been technically still been an affair since there was no divorce, but it wasn't actively cheating on a spouse.Overall, this was a good beach read for someone looking for a simple love story.
—Sarah (Workaday Reads)

Há momentos de cartase em nossas vidas. Alguns deles são frutos de circunstâncias sobre as quais não temos qualquer ingerência, outros dependem necessariamente de uma atitude nossa para que as mudanças ocorram, mas não é por isto que as consequências advindas de nossas ações podem ser controladas, às vezes elas são amargas, às vezes elas são doces...Bitter Sweet trata sobre isto. Sobre mudanças, sobre recomeços, sobre segundas oportunidades. Uma história linda, humana, que mostra os dois lados do amor.A heroína Maggie Pearson ficou viúva precocemente e de forma trágica. De repente, seu casamento feliz se desfez e a sua filha de dezessete anos está saindo de casa para ir à univerdade. A solidão e a sensação de perda é inevitável.O herói Eric Severson retornou há alguns anos à sua cidade natal para integrar os negócios da família após a morte de seu pai. Ele largou um diploma universitário para se dedicar à próspera atividade da pesca turística e fazer o que mais amava. Consigo ele trouxe uma esposa e um casamento sob uma faixada de felicidade prestes a ruir.Maggie é orientada pelo seu psiquiatra a manter contato com seus antigos amigos com o objetivo de afastar uma possível depressão. Assim, ao telefonar para uma amiga, desencadeia-se uma série de reencontros com pessoas do seu passado, entre elas, Eric, seu primeiro amor. Logo Maggie está de retorno à sua cidade, em confronto com a sua mãe, e também envolta em uma série de lembranças. De repente, com ajuda das pessoas certas, ela decide fixar moradia no lugar, abrir uma pousada e ali dar um novo impulso à sua vida, no entanto Eric não estava em seus planos...Eric e Maggie lutam bravamente contra os sentimentos que os dominam, mas a atração é muito forte, o amor volta com tudo. Ambos estão cientes de que o amor é proibido, mas como dominar algo que parece ter vida própria?As decisões são tomadas e os resultados nem sempre são felizes. Maggie e Eric terão que enfrentar muitos obstáculos, mentiras, desilusões, perdas, para só assim vislumbrarem o lado doce da felicidade.Achei tocante a abordagem sobre os anseios lançados sobre o casamento e o quanto deles são produtos de nossa imaginação. De igual forma, as relações familiares, especialmente entre mãe e filha, são confrontadas de uma forma realística, e deixa um considerável aperto no peito. Certamente um livro imperdível. Recomendo com louvor.
—Lizzy

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