The Pull of the Moon

I am a big Elizabeth Berg fan but boy oh boy did this book get on my nerves. As a 50 ish woman I thought I would identify with Nan, the book’ s protagonist who leaves her safe home on a journey of self discovery. Nan turns out to be selfish, thoughtless, and whiny. She complains that she was under appreciated when raising her daughter but also made no effort to define a career of her own. She complains that her husband doesn’t figure out that she is desperately unhappy, when she’s taken great pains not to tell him. For heaven’s sake, she complains that she cannot buy groceries for just herself because she cannot recall what she likes. She seems to think that the world should have been figuring all this out for her. The result of her inability to simply consider what she wants in life and take the steps needed to procure it is a lot of entitled anger and wastefulness. Nan is angry with her husband and men in general. She in angry with the salon workers who ask her what she’d like done. She is angry with the department store makeup counter employee who sells her products she asks for. She charges through her journey of self discovery, throwing out cosmetics and groceries she’s just bought if she feels they do not serve this new self she is trying to discover. She stays in hotels and eats in restaurants and is entirely supported in this, we suppose, by her vilified husband. When a woman in a trailer park declines to join Nan on her trip because she fears losing her job, Nan tells her that sort of job is easy to replace. How would she know???? She’s never had a job that we hear about. I’m not sure why Nan bugged me so much, but I am very grateful that she is not one of my real life friends who is navigating middle age. From what I see, most people are able to muddle through which much more sensitivity and concern for their fellow travelers than Nan.

Inspirational and moving, clever and entertaining, and vibrant and warm. All of this describes THE PULL OF THE MOON. Actually, this book, along with WHAT WE KEEP and Jackson McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD are three of the most inspirational books you'll ever come across. The writing in all three is brilliant and concise. A must read and all three are "keepers."Also recommended: WHAT WE KEEP and BARK OF THE DOGWOOD

Always trying to grab a decent book before jumping on an airplane to the next trip, I was graced to grab this book from the shelves. Elizabeth Berg's book made my hectic world stop for 3 hours and I entered into her and Nan's world without looking back.Although only 33 myself, I identified with Nan's desire to leave behind her life and find out who she is. This book spoke to me softly and in a way a book hasn't in a long time. I heard Nan and I understood her need to find herself among the routine of her life. Sometimes you have to walk away from your routine to find yourself. I enjoyed Nan's journey and I'm glad she took me with her. Although sometimes a little too simplistic, I never felt while I was reading that I was being "suckered" into feeling for Nan. My emotions and responses that came forth as I read the book were genuine and didn't feel forced or coerced by manipulative writing. Nan's journey seemed genuine and therefore I felt genuine in relating to her magical journey.Would this same story happen if I took off from home right now? I don't know, but in many ways, I feel like a part of me went on that journey of self discovery with her.

I have never read a book that was so exquisitely tuned into the mind and feelings of the human condition. The lead character is turning 50 years old and decides to take a road trip. Oh, she's not headed anywhere special on the map, but this trip couldn't be more important. As Nan meanders across the country on those back roads that only the towns people use, she is content to pull up and set for a spell on the porch of a woman that seems to know exactly why she came, though the two have never met. She sits down to meals in diners with complete strangers and finds she has more in common with them than she might expect. Along the way she writes letters to her husband, honestly pouring her heart out to him, letting him know how their comfortable day to day saunter through life may not always have been all that was expected. The trip is a revelation for both of them in the end. This is a coming of age book, it points out the wisdom that gradually permeates the mind and spirit as we ripen with time. I can't begin to tell you how revealing Berg's insights are, I got the feeling that she went through life taking notes on all of those little things that we experience and never give a thought to, little, insidious things that can impact our outlook on life in the most profoundest of manners. Read this book and I promise you won't be disappointed, you will find yourself in the midst of more than your share of "a-hah" moments and this book will make you realize just what a comforting thing that can be. 12/10/00

There have been several times while reading a book that I identified with a character but none quite so much as Nan from Elizabeth Berg's insightful novel The Pull of the the Moon. As I read this book I couldn't help but marvel at how well the author knew me, my thoughts and feelings eventhough we've never even met. And I imagine that I'm not alone what I say that there were many other readers who felt the same way I did.Nan is turning 50 and her life hasn't turned out quite the way she expected. Now her only child, a daughter, is about to leave for college and she wonders where her life is headed. Unexpectedly Nan decides to take a trip which turns out to be a journey of discovery and self-renewal. Leaving a note for her husband and daughter, some clothes and a leather bound journal to record her thoughts, Nan takes to the road in her car not completely sure where shes headed to. And what she finds out about herself will have readers thinking, "I feel this way, " or "This is me," or "What will my life be like in the future." As for last lines, this book provides some of the most memorable ones I can remember in some time. But I won't give the lines away here, instead read the book and let me know if you agree.

If you have ever been lost especially lost within yourself, you can't afford not to read this book! Elizabeth Berg gives us a story of a woman who is lost and runs away from home to find herself. The Pull of the Moon is a well-written story that is impossible to put down.I have never read anything quite like it, and would be insulting this book's integrity if I compared it to any other book I have read. I loved everything about this book from the way it was written to the way it moved me. Words simply cannot express how wonderful this book is. My suggestion, Buy it! Find a nice quiet place and prepare yourself to experience a range of emotions and inspiration, and fall in love with this book and its values like so many others have.