Good Harbor

By: Anita Diamant

Narrated by: Linda Emond

Anita Diamant's international best seller The Red Tent brilliantly re-created the ancient world of womanhood. Now Diamant brings her remarkable storytelling skills to Good Harbor - offering insight to the precarious balance of marriage and career, motherhood and friendship in the world of modern women.

The seaside town of Gloucester, Massachusetts is a place where the smell of the ocean lingers in the air and the rocky coast glistens in the Atlantic sunshine. When longtime Gloucester resident Kathleen Levine is diagnosed with breast cancer, her life is thrown into turmoil. Frightened and burdened by secrets, she meets Joyce Tabachnik - a freelance writer with literary aspirations - and a once-in-a-lifetime friendship is born. Joyce has just bought a small house in Gloucester, where she hopes to write as well as vacation with her family. Like Kathleen, Joyce is at a fragile place in her life.

A mutual love for books, humor, and the beauty of the natural world brings the two women together. They share their personal histories, and help each other to confront scars left by old emotional wounds.

©2001 Anita Diamant, All Rights Reserved (P)2001 Simon & Schuster, Inc., AUDIOWORKS Is an Imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Good Friendships

Most women long for the kind of relationship the two main characters in this story developed. That being said, I was a little confused in the beginning of this book. I needed to rewind a few times to keep straight between Joyce and Kathleen. Their lives were interesting but Diamant did not do as good a job telling this story as she did in The Red Tent. They each had their own issues and I did not see them helping one another as much as the story would have you believe. There was just something missing that would result in the closeness they developed. I have not written Diamant "off" as an author, but I long for the job she did in her first novel.

Good, not great

I loved "The Boston Girl" by this author. ( highly recommend it on audio !) Unfortunately, this isnt as involving, perhaps because the (2) main characters, Kathleen and Joyce, are not too sympathetic. Honestly, I felt they were a bit whiny. Everything turns out great for everyone, so any intended life lessons are lost. Pleasant but not memorable. Great narration, though.

Take me to Good Harbor!

This story was so vivid, the descriptions of the coast of Massachusettes made me want to take a trip there. It was a wonderful story...and anything by Diamant is a good read!

Enjoyable

It took a little while to get into the storyline, but once there, I enjoyed the story of these two women. It was predictable in places, but overall the message of friendship came through loud and clear.

The lives of women

For me, the woman characters created by Anita Diamant are some of the best in contemporary fiction. They are rich, complex and compelling. I always understand more about myself and my family thru her novels. I thank her.