`AS GOOD AS IT GETS' REALLY IS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, April 11, 1993                   TAG: 9304090439
SECTION: HORIZON                    PAGE: F-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Reviewed by JANICE ZENNER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
`AS GOOD AS IT GETS' REALLY IS
AS GOOD AS IT GETS. By Judith Greber. Crown. $20.
Is there anything on this earth better than a good marriage, or anything quite so horrific as a bad one? And, in the end, what really constitutes a "good marriage?" Is it one that simply lasts, or is there growth? And what of love? And sex?
In her fictionalized anatomy of a modern marriage, "As Good As It Gets," Judith Greber sorts and defines these questions then lets us answer them for ourselves. And she does it so well.
The story unfolds alternately through the sensibilities of Hallie and Ted Bennett. From their humorous first night of wedded bliss in 1960, to the engagement party of their first-born in the '90s, Ted and Hallie's marriage follows a course familiar to us all, reflective of the changes in our society in that same three decades.
Through Hallie's eyes we experience the sexual revolution of the '60s and the horror of illegal abortion, the joy and pain of motherhood, the selfishness of the '70s, the more-money-than-love of the greedy '80s and the coming to terms with it all in the '90s.
The story of a 30-year marriage is by no means extraordinary, but in this case, the telling of it is. We care about the characters and their lives and ultimately, their lives give us perspective on our own. And it's about respect: self, mutual and for others.
Reading this book was reminiscent of my first John D. MacDonald experience. Remember? Expecting a detective story, you got instead a gem-filled little treatise on Life within the plot. Judith Greber does that, too, and with a touch more humor.
I can't remember a character in fiction I've truly liked more than Hallie Bennett. She's no Scarlett O'Hara but then, thank God for that. She is much closer to EveryWoman. Daughter, Sister, Mother, Friend, In-law, Working Woman, but most of all, Wife.
There's not a woman I know, and few men, who wouldn't enjoy this story and benefit from reading it. This book, like a good marriage, is as good as it gets.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB