Becky's Great Book Reviews Life: A Love Story by Elizabeth Berg

This gorgeous little novel was transcendent. Life: A Love Story by Elizabeth Berg was just not long enough because I didn't want it to end.

Ninety-two-year-old Flo has been told that she is going to die in the next few weeks. Having no children and her husband being dead, she decides she will leave everything (which isn't much) to her old neighbor Ruthie. The novel becomes one long letter to Ruthie about the trinkets and treasures Ruthie might find in the inherited house, and therefore a letter about Flo's life.

A cast iron pan in the kitchen cupboard becomes a story about Flo's dad's fried chicken and how corn and tomatoes make the best supper in the summer. An empty honey bear and Aunt Jemima bottle tucked away in a drawer become an anecdote on navigating communication in a marriage. A box of toy trains in the basement becomes a reminder to be kind and patient while talking with children.

In between the writing of the letter, Flo's interactions with a new friend and old neighbors enlighten readers on what kind of person Flo is: funny, kind and endearing. Flo is the best kind of character -relatable and unforgettable. I mourned the loss of Flo which one knows is inevitable at the conclusion of this novel.

Life: a Love Story is achingly beautiful without being cloying. Chocked full of little gems to hold close to the heart (like when Flo writes to Ruthie, "part of life is learning how perfect imperfect can be"), this book blooms in the heart with every page. I give Elizabeth Berg's latest a resounding five stars out of five.