Rich Friends

Van Vliet #1

by Jacqueline Briskin

New York Times –bestselling author Jacqueline Briskin’s steamy romantic saga about two generations of a privileged California family that chases the American dream, from the post–World War II boom years to the turbulent, psychedelic 1960s

The year 1946 in America is a time for seizing opportunities—and the best way for a woman to get ahead is to marry well. Descended from the wealthy Van Vliets, owners of a successful supermarket chain, Em Wynan is the first of her sorority sisters to walk down the aisle with a handsome war veteran. Nine months later, she delivers fraternal twin sons. Em’s younger sister, the fun-loving Caroline, is her polar opposite, championing liberal causes at UCLA and falling in love with a radical writer. For Caroline’s best friend, Beverly Linde, finding the right husband is more complicated because as a Holocaust survivor, she will carry the stigma and horrors of World War II forever.
 
Set against the backdrop of a radically changing American landscape, the lives of these three women intersect through decades of friendship, rivalry, love, and inconsolable loss. As Em, Caroline, and Beverly’s children come of age during the 1960s—a time of danger and drugs, the breakdown of society’s sexual taboos, and inner peace found among bizarre cults—they discover that parents cannot always save their children from tragedy, even if they have powerful, rich friends.
 
Steeped in atmosphere and authentic historical detail, Jacqueline Briskin’s novel of ambition, hope, and family still resonates today.

Genres: Fiction

464 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Jacqueline Briskin (1927-2014) was the New York Times-bestselling author of fourteen historical novels that reflect the tumultuous changes in American society that she witnessed over her lifetime. Complete with dynamic storylines, vibrant characters, and passionate romantic relationships, her novels have sold more than twenty million copies worldwide and have been translated into twenty-six languages.

Briskin was born in London, England, the granddaughter of the chief rabbi of Dublin, Ireland. Her family moved to Beverly Hills, California, to escape Adolf Hitler and religious orthodoxy. A few years later, she married her best friend and the love of her life, Bert, whose family was deeply embedded in Hollywood and the movie business. When Briskin's three children were little more than toddlers, she attended a class at UCLA entitled "The Craft of Fiction." To her surprise, it was a class about writing fiction rather than reading fiction. And so her career began.

Over the next forty years, many of Briskin's books topped the New York Times bestseller list. Her adoptive home of Los Angeles and her husband's old stomping ground of Hollywood often play a prominent role in her meticulously researched books.

Reviews

[Gary Branson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have liked Briskin since the 80s and decided to go back and read one of her earlier novels. Very happy to sink into her world again. Been 20 years since anything new, happy I have a couple more to read! This book is for all the fans of big 70s and 80s family sagas, at one time my favorite genre.

[Kristina Anderson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just finished the newly re-released 1976 novel Rich Friends by Jacqueline Briskin. The first third of the novel tells the story of Em, Beverly, and Caroline (it is very important to note that Caroline and Em are sisters). It starts in 1946 (just after World War II) with the marriage of Em and Sheridan. Sheridan is going to college on the GI Bill to become a pharmacist. Em becomes pregnant on their honeymoon and gives birth to twin boys, Vlief (short for Van Vlief) and Roger. Beverly Linde comes from an assimilated Jewish family (they are Jewish, but do not flaunt it). Beverly falls for a nice Catholic boy and her family does not approve (makes no sense since the family does not go to Temple, follow Jewish holidays, etc.). They send Beverly to New York where she meets Dan G, an orthodox Jew. Things do not work out between them and they go their separate ways (for now). Beverly marries Phillip and they have two children (their daughter, Alix and their son, Jamie). However, twelve years later Dan and Beverly meet again. After an affair and a break-up, they cannot live without each other. Two divorces ensue and then a marriage (they later end up having a son named Sam). Caroline marries Gene Matheny who wants to be a writer (and teach at the university). Unfortunately, the college is requiring that all employees sign a loyalty oath. Gene refuses to sign and is fired. Gene goes into the Van Vliet grocery business (and is quite good at it). Caroline and Gene have one daughter, Cricket (nickname). The couples grow apart until the unthinkable happens. Jamie is murdered by a man who thinks Dan cheated him out of money in a land deal. This incident will alter many of their lives.

Alix, Vlief, Roger, and Cricket are the main focus of the remaining two-thirds of the novel (it is a very long book). Roger and Vlief are coming home from Harvard for the summer and Cricket wants them all to get together. Alix falls for Roger. Roger is interested, but he is not comfortable around her (I do not get it). Alix starts going out with Vlief. Cricket (high school graduate and 16) is in love with Vlief. Vlief and Alix go out until Roger and Alix spend a day together. Alix breaks up with Vlief. Vlief who was going to medical school, drops out, and goes to work at Van Vlief grocery chain. Alix and Roger go back East and live together while Roger finishes medical school (his mother is not happy). Cricket is a hippie type of girl who likes photography. After spending one night with Vlief (the night Alix broke up with him) Cricket becomes pregnant. She ends up spending time at a commune. Unfortunately, the baby is born early and does not survive. Cricket does not tell Vlief about this for many years. Several years later the four of them go to Carmel together. Cricket encounters her commune friends. One of the, Orion has a type of sore on his face that Roger diagnoses as skin cancer. The commune leader does not believe in getting medical care. Roger convinces Orion to get treatment and he is thrown out of the commune. This one act leads to three deaths.

This book contains every cliché you can imagine from each decade. In the 50’s girls went to college (joined sororities) are supposed to get married and have babies. The 60’s sexual revolution, communes, protests, etc. The book is very stilted and choppy (lacks flow) going from one event to another. I am afraid that I did not enjoy reading this novel (even the ending was a big letdown). I give Rich Friends 1.5 out of 5 stars.

I received a complimentary copy of Rich Friends from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The review and opinions expressed are my own.

http://bibliophileandavidreader.blogs...

[La Bruja Lectora (Tata) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reseña Completa: https://labrujalectora1.blogspot.com/...

Esta historia la comencé sin muchas expectativas, y realmente me dejó con sentimientos encontrados. Calificarla de romance no sería lo indicado, asi que dire que es un drama familiar de dos generaciones.

Tres amigas Beverly, Em y Caroline se conocen desde muy jóvenes creciendo dentro de las convicciones sociales de casarse y ser una buena esposa. Pero la historia para estas tres mujeres es muy distinta de la de una jovencita californiana de los años 60 podría llevar.

Al pasar los años la historia alcanza a los hijos de estas, formando un grupo de amigos tranquilo y muy liberal, acorde a la época de los 70 en la que se desarrolla la segunda parte de esta novela.

Lo que nunca esperé fue que estos personajes llevarán un destino más intenso y trágico donde se compromete la cordura mental y sentimental de cada uno. Cricket, Alix, Roger y Vliet nunca pensaron en un desenlace y la unión que tendrían para el resto de su vida.

[Tabatha García · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una buena novela que me dejo impactada con su final. Uno que nunca me espere, pero que me sorprendió dejándome días y noches reflexivas para digerirlas pausadamente.

Tres amigas que se conocen desde niñas y viven bajo la presión de los estándares de la sociedad de los 60. Ninguna se deja apabullar por esto y logran crear a su manera una vida digna aunque no feliz.

Años mas tarde la segunda generación, los hijos, entablan amistad viviendo la vida en la libertad de los 70. Pero eso los llevara al destino mas trágico e inesperado de todos.

Impactante, doloroso y trágico la autora nos lleva por una gran historia de drama familiar, muy recomendada.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book! I love a good old family saga and this one was right up there. And there are two more books in the series 🥳

[Catherine Letendre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zut alors. J'ai ADORÉ ce livre pour la majeure partie... jusqu'à ce que cela déraille vers la fin.

La partie formidable: j'adore ce type de roman générationnel où l'on suit une famille sur plusieurs générations. À travers les moments charnières de leur vie, on apprend à les connaître intimement et à comprendre ce qui a forgé leur caractère. Passant d'un personnage à l'autre, on saute parfois de quelques mois à des années entre les sections, ne s'attardant que sur les moments importants de leur vie. Le quotidien très bien relaté de gens normaux et uniques (du vrai monde quoi!), on ne s'enfarge pas dans les fleurs du tapis des fausses "crisettes" existentielles. Des décisions de vie qui font plaisir à certains et du mal à d'autres, et un grand drame qui frappe toute la famille: l'assassinat d'un enfant. Mais ne vous y trompez pas, ce drame n'est pas le sujet de l'histoire, il n'en fait que partie.

La partie qui déraille: Un deuxième assassinat, qui n'est pas du tout relié au premier, frappe la même famille. (On s'entend qu'à moins d'être de la mafia ou des Hells, c'est tellement improbable que s'est difficile à croire.) Ensuite, une fille qui devient littéralement "folle" de détresse et fini à l'asile, et 2 cousins qui se marient par dépit.

Selon moi, l'auteur a tenté d'explorer les méandres de l'esprit des gens tourmentés et désillusionnés par la vie. D'ailleurs, le roman fini sur une note de fatalité. Mais d'où vient tout ce cynisme tout d'un coup? C'est ce que je reproche à l'auteur. De nous avoir emporté pendant le 3/4 du livre dans la vie de personnages réels qui vivent des situations crédibles et qui s'en sortent en développant des mécanismes de défense plus qu'humain. Et tout d'un coup: bang! Ça ne sert à rien, la vie va s'acharner sur vous, vous finirez fou, mort ou marié à votre cousin et bonne chance à la prochaine génération!
Hein? J'ai soit raté 6 chapitres qui devaient être collés ensemble, ou j'ai totalement mal interprété le début du livre... :(

[Jo Dervan · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this reprint of a 1976 title, the story begins after WWII in the suburb of Glendale, CA. Two sisters, Caroline and Em, and their Jewish friend, Beverly, begin to date and eventually marry the returning GIs. Caroline and Em are spheirs to the Van Vliet supermarket fortune. Beverly's family are assimilated Jews and do not celebrate Jewish holidays. So it is no surprise that her parents, the Lindes, held an annual Open House for Christmas and had many of the same holiday symbols as their Christian friends and neighbors.

However the Lindes are not pleased when Beverley started dating a young Catholic and eventually shipped her to relatives in NYC where she meets Dan, an Orthodox Jew who had liberated a concentration camp while fighting in Europe. Dan was proud of his Jewish heritage but falls in love with the assimilated Beverly. Soon Dan's father hires a matchmaker for Dan and each marriy other people.

Once the 3 girls settle into married life and begin to have kids, they find themselves climbing the social ladder in Beverly Hills. They also lose touch with each other. Beverly and Dan eventually divorce their mates and manny each other.

Then Beverley's son is killed in a tragic accident and the women unite. Their kids also meet. Em's twins, Vliet and Roger, are the same ages as Beverly's daughter Alix and a bit older than their cousin, Caroline's daughter Cricket.

These privileged Beverly Hills kids soon became inseparable. They have the same experiences as many young adults in the 60s and eventually get caught up in counter culture and the college unrest.

The author is familiar with the lives of privileged Beverly Hills families and teens. She herself lived in that area and among the sort of people she wrote about. Many of the events in the story mirrored events that really happened in that era. This story might be interesting for book club reads- especially for women who were alive in the eras depicted.

[Mystica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The setting is a rich one. The goal of girls is to marry well and woe betide you if you were from one of the richer, more elite families and you decided to marry down. There were no careers as such, or advancement for women in the professional field. In this setting we have the families of Van Vliet (the supermarket giants), the Linde's amongst others. Three girls Em, Caroline and Beverley's lives will be linked permanently by children and events which will leave them scarred like never before.

Em is the first to get married. When she produces twin boys she feels complete. Her entire life then becomes devoted to making "something" of them. Using her Van Vliet connections she is determined that they be someone big in life. Caroline is somewhat different. A bit of a radical. Then we have Beverley - artist extraordinary and not really living in the moment. It is the offspring though that create catastrophe,

The story unwinds slowly. It does not hit you from the first page. You begin to think this is a story of three friends, relations, family. When it does hit you, it is unexpected and huge. The damage done to not just the children, but to the lives of all the people around is stupendous. It continues in this vein till the end of the book and it holds you spellbound and enthralled right up to the end. You really are disappointed that it ends as you want to know a bit more.

[Andrea Stoeckel · Rating 1 out of 5]

[ I received this book free from the publisher through NetGalley. I thank them for their generousity. In exchange, I was simply asked to write an honest review, and post it. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising]

This ebook, a relaunch from Open Road Media, started out bitter and got worse, droning on and on about the 50s and the 60s from the monetary high and lows. I liked the childrens' stories much more than the adults. I am not a fan of the "Mad Men" craze these days. Rich Friends sounds like a poor pitiful me story. Been there,....next

[Manuela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un romanzo a tratti coinvolgente, ma che non decolla mai a causa di uno svolgimento spesso confuso e poco lineare.

Nella prima parte, soprattutto, alcuni passaggi emotivi e di trama sono poco approfonditi e superficiali, mentre la seconda parte è senza dubbio più emozionante e completa, ma ho avuto la sensazione che l'autrice volesse inserire troppi temi e troppe storie (è pur sempre una saga familiare), concentrandole però in neanche 400 pagine, rendendo di conseguenza alcune parti più contorte e difficili da inquadrare.

Molto interessante la parte ambientata nel '68, forse i capitoli più veri e meglio narrati.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am apparently in the mood to read sweeping generational sagas this summer--Open Road has put a TON of them by various authors (this one, Rona Jaffe, Howard Fast, etc.) on Scribd, and I've been adding them to my library like crazy. I started out with this one, and, well... it's okay for a summer read, but I will admit to skimming vast swaths of characters' thoughts and feelings, as told by a third-person omniscient narrator in true 1970s novel style. If you find it on the shelf at your lakeside rental cottage, you could do worse. But you could probably also do better.

[Misfit]

Just too busy character wise for interest me at this time and with no real reviews and/or blurbs to tell me where it's going I don't want to invest a lot of time in it.