Olivia

by Judith Rossner

From the New York Times bestselling author of Looking for Mr. Goodbar comes the story of one family’s unfinished business and overcoming the weight of the past.

Caroline Ferrante is a gifted chef who has just been tapped for her own cooking show. But her turbid past returns to haunt her when her estranged teenage daughter, Olivia—raised to hate her by a Caroline’s vindictive ex-husband—returns home. Overcoming Olivia’s anger while navigating a new career and burgeoning love life proves to be her greatest challenge.

Genres: Fiction, Food

416 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Judith Perelman Rossner was an American novelist, best known for her 1975 novel Looking for Mr. Goodbar, which was inspired by the murder of Roseann Quinn and examined the underside of the seventies sexual liberation movement. Though Looking for Mr. Goodbar remained Rossner's best known and best selling work, she continued to write. Her most successful post-Goodbar novel was 1983's August, about the relationship between a troubled young woman and her psychoanalyst who has emotional troubles of her own.

Reviews

[Angie]

What a waste to time to read this entire book...

[Julie Wesson]

I actually dreaded going back to the story; it really pulled me down.

[Vickie]

I picked up this book because of the title - I have a niece named Olivia. I'm glad I read it.

[Deborah Hoehn]

ending?

Very unclimactic ending - definitely left things hanging. Otherwise, an ok book. Nowhere near as good as Looking for Mr. Goodbar.

[Stevie Holcomb]

On page 52, Angelo starts beating Caro.

While I know that art imitates life, the fact that she didn't immediately leave him more than bothered me. While it is known from the beginning that she does get out of that situation, it is abhorable for me to read about it in detail. Done.

[Meutia Muskita]

a nice story :)

[Soma Rathore]

Nice character development. The food and the description makes me want to invite Cara to come live with me.

[Rosemarie]

I really enjoyed this book. I hadn't read anything by Rossner since Attachments many years ago. She is a fine writer.

[Kristi]

I didn't like this at all at first. The mother and daughter both seem to think the worst of each other. The last third of the book was more interesting.

[Memije Christian]

wala din

[Miriam and Howard]

I enjoyed it for the most part. Thought the ending was a little abrupt. I would have liked to see Olivia's return to health explored in a little more depth.

[Alexandra]

Enjoyed immensely...until the end! Very disappointing and somewhat "suspended" thread to a story that made a lot of emotional sense until the last chapter!

[Sandi]

Good book about the angst of a teenager and her teen-at-birth mother. Kept my interest, although the ending was a bit abrupt.

[Natalie]

Olivia. A hateful child.

[Susan]

Did anything happen in this book?