When charming, seemingly devoted Jack Smith dies, his wife and his two girlfriends are astonished to learn that they were not the only love of his life, and that, in fact, Jack was a rogue who was carrying on secret existences with other women. Shattered by grief and stunned by Jack’s betrayals, these three women, Pam Smith, Marie Fabian, and Sandra Benson, find themselves suddenly thrown together. They could have despised one another, jealously guarding their private memories of their time with Jack and hating those they perceived to be their rivals, but instead, the women begin to realize there might be strength in numbers and in shared pain. Slowly, they begin to open their hearts to one another. They bind together to try to make sense of their lives and to try to heal the terrible shock.
But the more they learn about Jack and his nefarious past, the more they begin to question everything they thought they ever knew about him. Not only did Jack carelessly cheat on each of them, without thought to the harm he was causing, but the women are stunned to discover a secret of Jack that he never revealed.
As the women try to piece together the real life story of Jack, they begin to deal with their own lives differently, as well. They must deal with Jack’s heartbroken mother, who knew nothing about her son’s clandestine dealings in life. The tragedy also takes a toll on their working lives, and most of all it takes a toll on them, robbing them of sleep, hope, and even dreams. But with a sense of shared sisterhood, a little laughter, and a whole lot of determination, these brave women forge brave new lives that are full of promise.
The novel probes the difficulties in thinking that we can ever really know a person, even a loved one. All the women in Don’t You Forget About Me wonder if they had been really and truly loved by Jack, or if he had simply played them for fools. They question their own blindness to his faults and how they allowed themselves to believe that they might have had it all, when what they had was really more of a dream. The book investigates modern social problems with grace and warmth. Infidelity, it uncovers, can do more than break hearts. In showing some of the worst things that can happen in relationships,it also teases us to imagine the best, a world in which loyalty, devotion and fidelity are prized. As the characters grow and change, they have the possibility for those things.
Don’t You Forget About Me is a tale of love lost and then found again. A sequel to Pam of Babylon, Don’t You Forget About Me can also be read all on its own. You will not like this book if many characters and lot of twists and turns is not your cup of tea.
Suzanne Jenkins lives at the west Michigan lakeshore. She is the author of Pam of Babylon and the series; Don’t You Forget About Me,Dream Lover, Prayers for the Dying, Family Dynamics and The Tao of Pam. The Greeks of Beaubien Street,and The Princess of Greektown from the Greektown Stories, Alice's Summertime Adventure, The Savant of Chelsea and Someone Like You. https://www.facebook.com/suzannejenki... Twitter @suzannejenkins3
I am just over halfway through this book, and it is terrible. I keep reading on in hopes that it will redeem itself, but every time I think it can't possibly get any worse, it ups the ante.
There is absolutely NO character development -- everyone's thoughts, words and actions are all over the place with no apparent reason or explanation. Then there are the characters' relationships. Those are more ridiculous than I can describe with my limited vocabulary. They almost make me think this book should be categorized as fantasy. I have many, many other complaints, but I don't believe in spoilers, so I'll keep them to myself.
I am going to do my best to finish "Don't You Forget About Me" if I possibly can so that I can update this review based on the entire book. No promises, though.
The second in the Babylon series, DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME takes up where PAM OF BABYLON left off. Jack has left three women he was sleeping with when he died several months earlier, his wife Pam, pregnant lover Sandra, and sister-in-law Marie (not to mention a homicidal brother.) He's left the women with something else too HIV. Unlike POB, this sequel has turned Marie into a stereotypical caricature of spoiled, selfish raving lunatic. Pam isn't written much better, she's shallow, yet there's something about her worth rooting for. Only Sandra escapes as somewhat likable among this trio of Jack's lovers. I particularly dislike the stereotypical manner in which HIV/AIDS was handled. Other than Jack's wife Pam, who had an expectation of monogamy, Jack's lovers had a responsibility to protect themselves, and blaming him for having and spreading the disease seems so 1990s to me. As with POB, DON'T YOU is filled with twists and turns, and although some seem contrived, they help quicken the pace of this novel that I could almost overlook all the telling rather than showing that usually highlights mediocre writing. Still, the book and characters kept me interested enough that I'll read the rest of the series.
Follows the lives of the women Jack left behind. Pam is seeing another man, a police officer named Andy. Marie Fabian meets a guy named Jeff Babcock on the beach while he’s walking his dog. They start dating afterwards. Pam still has her kids Lisa and Brent to take care of and she looks forward to spending time with them when they come home from college. Her kids still don’t know about Jack’s baby; Pam wonders how they’d take the news. Would they be devasted or would they embrace Sandra and the coming baby as she had? Accept that their father was just as vulnerable as any other?
I liked this better than the first. A whole lot of disfunction in this group of people in the story. I was pleased that Pam seemed to strengthen as the story went on.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads.
Suzanne Jenkins gets a four star rating for the simple fact that her book is filled with numerous characters; none of which I cared for in the least bit. I am a pretty empathetic person, so this is pretty amazing in my reading world.
Don't You Forget About Me is a story of three women who are somehow functioning day to day after having their mutual lover/spouse die of a sudden heart attack. The book takes plenty of twists and turns only to end on another element which leaves the author the option of writing another book.
I did not read the prequal to this book, but the three female main characters have a relationship that is unfolding and becoming more complicated as each day passes. Pam, Marie, and Sandra are women who appear to be of sound mind and body. However, they are paying the consequences for decisions they have made. Sandra was involved with a married man and she knew it. Marie was sexually involved with her sister's husband and she didn't seem to be overly concerned that there might be a conflict of interest. Pam was a pampered woman who sure didn't seem to be street smart when she needed to be.
Pam was technically married to Jack, but that didn't stop Jack from doing what Jack wanted to do. (I don't care what happened to Jack as a kid, people can turn their lives around and be a positive contributor to society.)
I felt all of the women were so weak and gulible. I didn't really care how the author laid out the storyline. The women were clueless and taken advantage of. The author does present foggy explanations as possible reasons where things started to go wrong, but none were confirmed. I believe this leaves the door wide open for another book.
Once I picked this book up I could not put it down. I always like reading about a train wreck with a hot mess at the end of it.
If you think you are having a bad day, the lives of Pam, Marie, and Sandra are pretty bleak and hopeless. Maybe that is why I didn't feel depressed by the content. Compared to my life, I'm a lucky, lucky girl!
ARE YOU KIDDING ME????? Here, I thought book one was really good,Ms. Jenkins had to go and write another.
This book has everything going for it from the get go. I swear everything is going on in this book and more. No, I'm not one for giving anything away so if you haven't read book one stop reading right now......
Ok...Personally when the author titled this book "Don't You Forget About Me", it has way and I mean WAY more meaning then just simple memories...or even the baby that Sandra is carrying! Wholly Flipping Boogers! I totally didn't see that turn coming, That so isn't something you can just take a pill for!
I did like how each of the women kinda found a guy...well in a sense.... Maybe it's too soon???
Also, how the woman came to terms with their lives and the directions they wanted to kinda go...way cool.
"The book investigates modern social problems with grace and warmth." LMAO Did someone tell Bill and Anne?
Really, once again, Ms. Jenkins has hit it out of the park....Lord knows what she'll have the characters into next. I want to see how it's all gonna play out....
DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME is the second installment of a lengthy series of novels titled PAM OF BABYLON. For a series piece, I found it quite clear and engaging as three women discover they are tied in many ways to one man: one woman by marriage and two by sexual relationships. Two of the women are sisters, which makes it all more complicated. Jack was handsome and rich and had it all, except this volume reveals some terrible realities that he endured as a child and which mark his adult behavior. When Jack's life partner, Pam, finds out that she is HIV positive, the family complexity reaches new highs. If she had been infected by Jack, what about Marie, her sister, and Sandra, the younger lover who is carrying his child. How do they tell each other and deal with this new blow that life has dealt them? Set in various New York locations, this tale of an extremely dysfunctional family moves quickly and is very entertaining. Suzanne Jenkins is an effective series writer, if this volume is any indication of her talent.
Full disclosure: review copy received free via Goodreads.
I was impressed with the way the characters developed from the first book, Pam of Babylon, and I really wanted to see what was going to happen to them in this sequel. It kept me on the edge of my seat--I can hardly wait for the next book. The entwining of the lives of Pam, Marie, and Sandra is a must read for anyone who enjoys a really good story about the interaction between women who are inadvertently united by a common tragedy and events beyond their control.
My girlfriend gave this book to me. She knew I would enjoy it. She was right.
I wish I would have read the books in the order that they were written, but none the less, this book makes you want to smuck the main characters upside the head. And if "lover boy" was alive, I'd give him a piece of my mind.
So, any author that gets me this wacked out has done a good job!
I really need to check out Suzanne Jenkins other books.
I just learned this was the second book in a series. I can't imagine spending any more time with these unlikable characters. The story is interesting, but the author's treatment of it is amateurish at times. Dialogue is stilted, and the omniscient narrator jumps from one person's head to the next without warning. At times you think this book is religious fiction, then it goes into Fifty Shades mode. I don't know what to make of this. It's a mess.
Suzanne Jenkins: DON’T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME ***** A Touching and Absorbing Read!
What I love about Suzanne Jenkins’ books is the fact that she is never shy about tackling difficult subjects. Her characters are complicated and real, even at times uncomfortably so. Case in point: “Don't You Forget About Me,” where, in the midst of a family’s grief over a recent sudden death, a very taboo subject is revealed; a subject that affects all of them. Along the way, we discover that sometimes picture perfect families are far from perfect. Pam is rich and a vision of beauty, but when her husband Jack suddenly dies, her world doesn't fall apart in typical fashion. She is left with clues that depict her dead husband in more than just an unflattering light. She soon becomes privy to family secrets so dark, they are almost unfathomable. Yet she soldiers on, with her sister and her husband’s mistress, to try and find some kind of peace in a world seemingly gone mad. And in her journey to do so, bonds grow stronger and personal solutions are found. A very touching and absorbing portrayal of life when it tosses out a horrendous curve ball. Highly recommended!
Spectacular again! It's just a continuation of Pam of Babylon, sort of like a bridge from what was to what will become; but Suzanne Jenkins' writing voice makes all the lives involved snap off the page. In my mind it's difficult to separate these characters from real people. Everything about their characterization is so strong and real.
Jack Smith, even though dead, still plays a prominent role. How could he not when the shocking revelations of how he comported himself while alive keep infecting those he left behind. If you weren't flabbergasted before, you will certainly be now with the gift he bequeathed to Pam, Marie and Sandra.
This is such a wonderful novel, so important all on its own, even without Pam of Babylon holding its hand. I truly wish I could have given it a 5-star rating. However, Suzanne Jenkins needs to do a thorough re-edit. The book is chalk full of minor grammatical errors that when bundled together makes a major mess of a great novel. I say this with all due respect to Suzanne Jenkins' writing chops. I would think she'd want her fabulous writing displayed in its best form.
I had read the 1st book, so wanted to know where things were going. This book took me awhile to warm up to. At first, it plodded along and I was tempted to stop, but kept going. At some point, despite not so great writing, i couldn't put it down. Now i can't wait to read the next book. I hope it captures my attention from the start. Pam, Marie and Sandra seem to be weak, gullible women taken advantage of by Pam's now deceased husband, Jack. Jack's brother, Bill appears to have no redeeming qualities. Their mother, Bernice is delusional. Yet, somehow we care about what is going to happen next.
Didn't start at book #1 but it didn't matter. Amazingly complex plot with unique characters. Not one instance is predictable. Unique descriptions of the roles wives and lovers will play to recreate themselves in the roles their husbands need. Especially poignant with the contrast of brides in the 40's 60's and 80's. Interesting gateways between each woman's experience but each foreshadowed transition is subtle. I could see the three generations of women in my family echoed here. Nicely played!.
I agree with some other reviewers that the main characters aren't very likable but that doesn' make them less realistic. The relationships between the characters are very complex but don't depend on coincidence--there are logical connections. I think that Pam is not as consistent as the other characters which is why I gave it four stars.I would like to make it 4.5. Jenkins writing is very compelling and kept me reading.
Situation grabbed me from the start, characters kept me reading long after midnight... Didn't realize it was the second book of a series until I got to the last few pages. I enjoyed it as a stand alone, but now that I know, I will probably look for the rest of the books. If you like modern women's fiction, that deals with today's most current social, emotional, and sexual issues, you'll like this book.
Definitely an interesting read if you want to see dysfunction at its best. Jack Smith was one sick cookie and his exploits prior to his untimely death left a trail of sexual sickness that included an endearing wife, a promiscuous sister in law and a pregnant mistress. His background of abuse by an equally bad father, and an alcoholic mother were his beginning. But, the book revolves around the three women in his life and their strange friendship.
Three women involved and in love with Jack Smith who died suddenly. Leaving his wife with AIDS his sister-in-law with AIDS his mistress pregnant and HIV . This very talented author was able to bring the three women together for strength understanding and a whole lot more. I am unable to put book down and look forward to next one in series The women of Jack Smith contnues
It was a good story. I didn't know it was a series so now I need to go back and read the first. My only issue with the book was geography. It is way off the mark. It was an annoying quirk while reading. That is why I left a star off. Could have googled directions to say how the character got there.
A good refresher warning to all women (& men) regarding being tested before you jump in the sack with someone new! If I had known more about the book beforehand I might not have read it but glad I did. The relationship among the women has to be unique. I can't imagine!!
I could not believe this dysfunctional family! I not only read the first book, but bought this second one in the series. So much anger, jealousy, mean spirited family members. The wife, the sister in law, and the the young lover of Jack form a friendly relationship, but are presented with a deadly disease from Jack. Unbelievable! Pass this series by.....
While the premise of this story is a little hard to believe, once I bought into it, I could not stop reading the story of the three Main characters in this book and how their lives are forever intertwined because of a man (monster?) named Jack Smith. Great writing ability!
Wow, what damage can one man do to his own family and others. Jack a womanizer how many will discover the awful truth of the changes he will make in their lives after his death. The author weaves the stories of the three main female characters so well you get sucked right into their lives. Look forward to reading book 3
Horrible! Maybe because it was the 2nd in the series, but I could not stand any one of these characters. They were so annoying. There could have been a storyline, but it was all over and fragmented. I could not wait for this book to end... and then it did. Abruptly. I am glad I got this for free and didn't waste money on this garbage.
A generation of abuse, sexual molestation, depression. How do you survive this and how do you help the people around you. I know this is fiction but I bet a lot of people who read this book will see there selves.
At times, I really enjoyed this book. But I really couldn't accept the plot line: three women, one idiot man, and somehow they become friends. The plot just didn't work for me, I could not believe it had any real basis in reality, just too messed up.
I didn’t know this was a series when I purchased the book and I didn’t know it would have so much disturbing content (lots of retellings about past sexual abuse). The plot and characters were fascinating enough that I had to finish it, but I don’t plan to read any other books in the series.