Say When

In Elizabeth Berg's Say When, this woman's fiction novel deals with the changes in a relatioship from a male's POV.  It all started when Frank Griffin's wife Ellen said she wanted a divorce, a few weeks before the Christmas season. That started the ball ralling for Frank and Ellen as they started to go their separate ways in a trial seperation. For Ellen, she found love with a younger man and needed time and distance to think things through. As for Griffin, he dealt with the ramifications and tried to set things right with their daughter Zoe, who was caught in the middle. And they had to put her needs first. Frank finds a job at a mall Santa and meets Donna who works there, while Ellen had trouble sleeping at their home and decides to move out in her own place. There would always be there for Zoe as a tomboy, who's been dealing with some hard times of her own. Frank remembers pieces of their life together as learns about love and relationships from the people closest to him, when it comes to the healing heart. At Christmas time, he asked Ellen if they could start over and try again to make things right with a happy ending fit for the holidays.


This was a beautiful and emotional woman's fiction novel that deals with the topic of divorce and how Frank told his story from it. I did care for Frank on how Ellen tore his world apart in the beginning and how it made his sense of it through the story. I cared for Zoe and her spunkiness. I did like how Frank and Ellen managed to turn things around toward the end. I loved the  Chicago locations during the cold  winter holiday seasons with vivid scenic settings. This would make you want for Frank and Ellen to pull through as it would pull your heart strings real taut, make you cry for Zoe's sake, take a deep breath and sigh with nonstop action, drama, suspense, and a hint of romance to wrap it up with a bow.

Do you know when to Say When to call it quits for something worth fighting for?