Anita Diamant whose rich portrayal of the biblical world of women illuminated her acclaimed international bestseller The Red Tent, now crafts a moving novel of contemporary female friendship.
Good Harbor is the long stretch of Cape Ann beach where two women friends walk and talk, sharing their personal histories and learning life's lessons from each other. Kathleen Levine, a longtime resident of Gloucester, Massachusetts, is maternal and steady, a devoted children's librarian, a convert to Judaism, and mother to two grown sons. When her serene life is thrown into turmoil by a diagnosis of breast cancer at fifty-nine, painful past secrets emerge and she desperately needs a friend. Forty-two-year-old Joyce Tabachnik is a sharp-witted freelance writer who is also at a fragile point in her life. She's come to Gloucester to follow her literary aspirations, but realizes that her husband and young daughter are becoming increasingly distant. Together, Kathleen and Joyce forge a once-in-a-lifetime bond and help each other to confront scars left by old emotional wounds.
Given the breadth of Anita Diamant's bestselling biblical epic, The Red Tent, it seems natural that her second novel has a much closer focus. Set in the small Massachusetts fishing town of Gloucester, Good Harbor is a slow-paced study of female friendship. Here Diamant can luxuriate in the development of just two principal characters: 59-year-old Kathleen Levine, a children's librarian who is undergoing radiation therapy for breast cancer, and a 42-year-old romance novelist, Joyce Tabachnik, who has bought a summer retreat in Gloucester in the hope of finally writing a "serious" book. The two meet at temple after a service presided over by a newly hired female rabbi. (What joy it must have been for Diamant, who chronicled so much oppression of Hebrew women in The Red Tent, to casually include the presence of female clergy.) Kathleen has no real confidante aside from her husband, Buddy; Joyce is facing estrangement from both her business-minded husband, Frank, and her soccer-obsessed daughter, Nina. What the women are lacking, they find in each other. As their intimacy grows, Diamant sometimes tells us what we already know, breaking into a conversation, for example, to announce how well things are going ("They smiled at each other. They were going to be okay."). This is a moving story nonetheless--short on incident, but with carefully drawn characters and fluid, matter-of-fact prose. --Regina Marler
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
The secrets we choose to keep or share:
Listening to this book was enjoyable, as I could hear two distinct voices sharing their stories and crises. Both of the main characters, Kathleen and Joyce, faced difficult times throughout the novel, yet manage to find an inner core of strength to move on. Each woman also seemed very real, with her foibles and insecurities. I also liked the way religion was woven through the story yet didn't overpower it in any way. Though I didn't always agree with some of the choices the characters made, that angst... more info
Do Not Miss Reading This Fabulous Book:
As a breast cancer survivor and a woman who treasures her friendships with other women I loved this book. I can't believe some of the negetive reviews. I was not one who loved The Red Tent although I thought it was very well written. I loved Good Harbour and didn't want it to end. Please put this book on your list of must reads.....
Beautiful Story - Plot Not the Point:
This book is not about the plot. It's about friendship, love, family, and what that all means. Incredible. I sent it to my mother, who also has gone through radiation therapy for breast cancer, and I can't wait to bond with her just a little more over this book.
Not her best...:
I picked this up because I love Anita Diamant, but this book wasn't her best. There were too many unresolved parts of the plot, and one resolution that felt weak. The end was also a little too trite.
