Novels
Split-Level (excerpt)
© Sande Boritz Berger
ChapterOne: August 1974
I am breathless from a morning of tedious phone chatter—talk that I've talked before. Long conversations about how the wallpaper is starting to lift in the powder room—a bathroom with a small pedestal sink shaped like a clam- shell and a very low commode. Most likely no one will ever powder there; it’s hard enough to maneuver your body, let alone relieve yourself in the miniscule space. Still, I like the way powder room sounds; and Rona Karl, my first real friend since I've moved to Winchester Heights, has taught me a great deal about home décor. I follow Rona's lead like a migratory bird that has strayed from its flock. My wings flutter and dip above what were once sprawling potato fields over lawns of struggling grass, to a cul-de-sac known as Daisy Lane. Erected like dominoes, the look-alike colonials stand in a tight little arc; their red brick chimneys pop against the pale blue sky and wave toward the twisted steel dividers of the L. I. E. ...read more
(seeking representation)Princess of Avenue T.
© Sande Boritz Berger
Chapter One: Mira 1939
In stocking feet, Mira Kane leaned into the gilded vanity mirror to apply the final touches of her make-up. She was on her third coat of mascara. Apply wet brush to cake, make creamy, over and over again until her long black lashes looked as though they'd taken flight. But that's how Betty's looked and Joan's and of course Jean's. She had studied the pages of Modern Screen over and over again. She had the technique down to a science. ...read more
Evermore: Memoir of a South Shore Girl
© Sande Boritz Berger
Chapter One
I grew up in a town with fast cars and slow walking girls. But some people, like Mother, act as if I'm still growing. She's oblivious to the fact that I'm nearly eighteen. I would have hoped, by now, she'd have dropped the young lady—a prelude to everything she says to me. Doesn't she realize I've been through a lot this year—that my life will never be the same? ...read more