Once Upon a Time, There Was You

April 11, 2011
In Berg's anemic new novel, John and Irene Marsh, though divorced for some time, remain adoring parents to daughter Sadie, who is about to start college. Both parents are now in their fifties and trying to sort out dating and relationships, with varying levels of success. But when Sadie is kidnapped, their separate lives quickly cleave, and coping with the tragedy means that they must come together as a family. When Sadie is safely returned, and rushes into marriage, John and Irene are forced to deal with their own failures, and finally start to understand where they went wrong (as well as what they did right). Unfortunately, Berg doesn't give readers a reason to like care for any of her players, much less to invest in their relationship. And the kidnapping, both exploitative and anticlimactic, is too contrived, nothing but mechanics, the most obvious of inciting incidents. If Berg (The Last Time I Saw You) is out to plumb the depths of the modern marriage in the hopes of touching the profound, it fails to come across here.

Starred review from May 15, 2011

The prolific Berg delivers the goods in this perceptive novel about a divorced couple reunited when their daughter goes missing.

Eighteen-year-old Sadie spends most of the year in San Francisco with her mother Irene (neurotic, funny, lonely) and a few weeks a year with her architect father John in their native St. Paul. When Sadie returns home from one of these visits, she convinces Irene to let her go rock climbing with a group of friends—at John's urging, Irene agrees. However, neither of them know that Sadie is in love and is instead meeting Ron for a romantic weekend. Ron's late, Sadie's furious, she gets a lift with a stranger and the worst happens—the stranger kidnaps her, threatens her life and locks her in a windowless shed. When Sadie doesn't return home, Irene panics and calls John, who hops on the next flight to San Francisco. As soon as they are together, it is clear why they divorced—they infuriate and mistrust one another, they share no common language. By this time, Berg has built their respective back stories: their equally tragic childhoods, their mutual terror of marriage, their miserable attempts at relationships in the 10 years since their divorce. After days of contemplating her impending death, Sadie is rescued by the police (thanks to Ron), and when she finally calls home, she has some news for her parents—she and Ron have eloped. Though grateful Sadie is alive, relief quickly turns to anger and disbelief that their level-headed girl could do something as foolish as get married. All of John and Irene's dysfunction comes to bear on the issue, and Berg fashions an affecting portrait of divorce, of a couple for whom love was not enough. The seemingly romantic title refers to John and Irene and their too-late realization that they didn't know how to make love grow, though now there may be a chance for John back in St. Paul with a pretty widow, and a younger man for Irene.

Berg's masterful portraits and keen insight makes for a memorable read.

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November 1, 2010

Divorced couple John and Irene barely speak--until something awful happens to their beloved 16-year-old daughter, Sadie. Classic Berg, who's always beloved if not always tip-top best seller; with an eight-city tour.

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2011
An enchanting and empathic storyteller, Berg delights in the eccentricities that shape complex personalities and excels in decoding the chemistry and paradoxes of relationships. She is also an avid appreciator of the pleasures of food, funny and assuring on the subject of age, and an advocate for kindness. All these elements are at work in her latest comedy of marriage. Irene and John stayed together long enough to have Sadie, whom they adore. John, who restores old buildings, still lives in Minnesota. Irene and Sadie live in San Francisco, and Sadie is 18 and ready for college. She is also secretly in love. John is, too, though things with Amy, a charming chatterbox, are precarious. Irene, who works for a tempestuous caterer, has just broken up with another bad match generated by her hilariously loopy personal ads. All is droll and intriguing until Berg swerves, briefly, into the realm of terror, thus dramatically deepening questions about fear, love, family, and what one makes of ones life. Bergs tender and wise novels are oases in a harsh world. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: With more than 20 books, Berg reigns supreme as a best-selling fiction writer, and library favorite, of charm and substance.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)