What We Keep. By Elizabeth Berg. Children judge their parents harshly.
Children only gain compassion when they wrestle with adult concerns of their own.
With her latest offering, many readers will be left wishing she had allowed herself more time. She recalls her father's Old Spice cologne, her mother's late-night pacing, her sister's bossiness. Berg is at her best when she uses details like these to illuminate her characters and hint at the growing tension that leads to the mother's eventual dramatic choice and her daughters' anger. Ginny shines while she remembers the curious, sensitive girl she had once been and the events leading up to what she saw as a mother's betrayal. But Berg's portrait of Ginny as an adult comes up short.