Not my favorite of her novels. Don't get me wrong; I LOVE her style, her voice, her characters, and the way she writes. I love WHAT she writes, time and again!
The setting in this novel was very realistic in the beginning and middle. what happened during the war was spot-ON, and the characters were amazing. the research the author did for this time-period made me SO happy!
but... the ending was all wrong. there was NO WAY someone would make the decision one of the sisters did, not in real life.. no matter what!! I just don't think that could/would happen. Sorry... I mean, these sisters really loved each other, no matter how much fighting they did, true. But to give up something that means SO MUCH to you, just to make another happy? Even to keep them alive...? Nope, I don't think so. Not only would this decision NOT have cleared things up completely, as is seemed to in this novel, but there would have been some residual mental issues. Possibly even bad repercussions!! People have feelings, and a decision like this would have effected everyone, very badly, in the entire family. I don't see how the father allowed it, and no one saw through her reasoning!
The way the sister made everyone go along with her decision was completely left out of the book, as well. Possibly, IMHO, because there's no way she could have made everyone else go along with it, irregardless. NO argument would have been enough. None. --And then, 60 years were skipped; NOT FAIR, Mrs/ Berg!!
I do still recommend this novel, for all those who love this era, or would love to learn more about it. But when you read this novel, for goodness sakes, bring a box of kleenex! I teared up off and on throughout the entire thing. WOW, so heartfelt and sad, but wonderful.... until the ending. lol ( )

Dream When You're Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg; (5*)

I think that perhaps this is my favorite Berg. I loved this book.
Kitty lives with her five brothers and sisters in a small house in Chicago in the 1940's. She is waiting for the day her boyfriend, Julian, comes home from the war. But other things are happening in their lives. Her sister's unexpected announcement, one of her brothers does something drastic for the war effort, and Kitty meets another man that could change her destiny forever.
Although some people have complained that the book is slow I savored the slowness. It took me back to another time when people weren't in such a hurry and did the best they could with what they had. Also I noticed in the acknowledgments that Berg had talked to her relatives and other WWII veterans so I felt the book was well researched. This is a lovely glimpse of days gone by.
And yes, I love this novel ..... even though both of Kitty's fiances end up marrying someone else and she ends up a spinster. I think she found happiness in her life. ( )

This book was fine. It tells the story of an Irish-American family living in Chicago during World War II. It's essentially a novel of the homefront, and in parts, it was really engaging. But in others, it was heavy-handed and awkward, and I found the ending just so odd and off-putting, that I finished it dissatisfied. Overall, though, it's not a bad read. And it's another hardcover off my shelf that I can now purge :) ( )

I would've given this book 4 stars if it weren't for the ending. The idea that both of the men Kitty dated, one of whom she was madly in love with and engaged to, ended up with her sisters instead is ridiculous. With Julian it was understandable because he and Kitty never really loved each other and Julian and Tish (the youngest sister) fit together really well. But Hank marrying Louise (the middle sister)? That was beyond ridiculous not only because Kitty and Hank were crazy about each other, but Louise and Michael had been so in love before he was killed in action. Plus I can't see Louise doing something like that to Kitty, no matter how hard Kitty pushed and pretended she didn't mind. Of course we really never find out how exactly we went from Louise being a complete wreck over Michael's death in 1945 to her marriage to Hank in 1946, which in my opinion was a bit of a cop-out on the author's part.

What I did like about this book was how the historical detail gave me a sense of what it was like on the homefront during WWII. I appreciated all of the letter-writing that went on. I miss writing and receiving letters, and it made me want to sit down and write to someone. ( )

My books clubs author read for the month of December is Elizabeth Berg so I selected this title and got it on loan from my library.

You see. I adore Big Band music and when I close my eyes I can imagine an orchestra playing many songs from this era... including the title of this read.

When you read throughout history, it seems in times of trouble, regretful longings go hand in hand and in the mix nostalgia forms or maybe it is the other way around.

In this beautiful read we have three sisters in the Irish Heaney family, whom nightly write to soldiers who are fighting overseas in WWII.

There's bobbins pins and flirting on streetcars. There's USO Centers and Bob Hope radio skits. And, then there's the heart-wrenching reminder of walls draped with the American flag.

Fast forward many years later to 2006. As this story closes, you have the lead character believing that some people don't give a dam about her generation, which was 'Long Ago and Far Away', so what better thing to do than 'Dream When You're Feeling Blue.'

Reviewed for Net Galley ( )