Say When

By: Elizabeth Berg

Narrated by: David Colacci

Griffin is a happy man. Settled comfortably in a Chicago suburb, he adores his eight-year-old daughter, Zoe, and his shy wife, Ellen. Ellen is as dependable as she is dependent on him for his stability and his talent for gently controlling the world they inhabit. But when he wakes one morning to hear of his wife's love affair with another man and her request for a divorce, Griffin's view of life is irrevocably altered.

Overnight, he goes from being Ellen's husband to being her roommate, from a lover to a man denied passion and companionship. Now he must move on or fight for his marriage, forgive his wife or condemn her for her betrayal, deny or face up to his part in the sudden undoing of his seemingly perfect life.

From the New York Times best-selling author of Open House and True to Form comes a brilliant novel that charts the days and nights of a family whose normalcy has been shattered. With startling clarity and a trademark blend of humor and poignancy, Say When follows a man on an emotional journey to redefine his notions about love and happiness and asks questions relevant to any contemporary couple: when is a relationship worth saving and when is it better to let it go? Might a man and a woman define betrayal differently? How honest are we with those to whom we are ostensibly closest?

©2004 Elizabeth Berg (P)2004 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"These days, separation and divorce are commonplace, but a book that treats those subjects with Berg's tenderness and understanding is not." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Novelist Elizabeth Berg has created a tender, truthful look at an ordinary marriage in turmoil. David Colacci's reading captures the wry, self-deprecating humor that makes us believe it." ( AudioFile)

Real

I feel as if I am going through this dilemma as the story unfolds. Not many authors can write on this level.

Story told from the husband’s point of view about a woman that tells her husband out of the blue that she wants a divorce and tells him she wants him to move out. He refuses to leave and tells her that if she wants to leave he can not stop her.

Not Earth Shattering

I so much enjoyed Berg's "Open House" I was looking forward to this tale. It's not that I am dissappointed, but just that it wasn't terific. Maybe because it was a man's story of a broken marriage. It was intersting, but he never came out to admit his faults as much as he should have. I don't want to spoil it for those not having read it, but I was surprised about Ellen's (the wife) actions in the end. In reality, she also never identified her own issues as much as she should have, either. Why did they go through all the fuss?

Marriage is worth fighting for

This book showed there is hope for troubled relationships if both parties willing to grow.

My Christmas present to myself! berg’s books always cheer me up when things look bad.

In a world full of war and hate and sorrow, Say When reminded me that people are basically good. thank you!