A review by theseventhl
The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg

2.0

Eh. I mean, it was a compelling story and I finished it very quickly. But a lot of the supporting cast were no more than props to make the MC feel better about herself, the ending lacked any sort of true satisfying emotional conclusion, and I think the decision to have the story told from the perspective of Laura and not Caroline took away from the younger sister's narrative. Laura served as a manageable cipher for readers to see a flawed and toxic family dynamic from the eyes of someone who only realized in retrospect how terrible her sister was being treated... but then the story can't trust Caroline to tell her own story through her own POV.

Having Laura be a quilt maker was such a lazy metaphor for piecing her family together. Her being a quilt maker didn't even serve the plot in the end, just was a distraction during pivotal scenes (spacing out because her spaghetti looks like a cool pattern while her sister is trying to talk about how their mother abused her - really? I'm supposed to like this woman???)

I think the most believable relationship is between Laura and Pete. They argue, they fight, they make up, they do silly stuff and make out in the parking lots of fast food joints. Steve, Laura's brother, popped in and out during the first half of the book but didn't stick around, and as a consequence became very forgettable and not crucial to the story.

I dunno. It's a quick read and it's well written for the most part, but other than that, it's very fluffy with little emotional substance.