No Good-byes

by Elaine Kagan

A delicious summer read from Hollywood insider Elaine Kagan In 1982, the American film star Sally Brash won an Oscar for her leading role in the year's best picture, No Trumpets, No Drums. It was made by her husband, acclaimed film producer Saul Jennings. The following year, outside a restaurant in Rome, Sally Brash was killed, hit in the street by a passing car. Her eleven-year-old daughter, Chassi, watched from the pavement. The movie world mourned. Fourteen years later, Chassi Jennings is a box-office star like her mother, beautiful and talented in a way of her own. But suddenly she's dizzy on the set, she can't seem to pretend she's okay, and the film she's shooting has to shut down. With the biggest film of her life approaching re-creating her mother's signature role in her father's remake of No Trumpets, No Drums-Chassi is sent to psychotherapist Eleanor Costello, Ph.D., who quietly unveils Chassi's memories. In the room where Chassi untangles her grief, Eleanor begins to relive the death of her husband and the estrangement of her only daughter, Caroline. And in between sessions, Ionie St. John, aspiring actress, serves Chassi lattes at the local Cuppa Joe downstairs. In this intricately woven story of mothers and daughters, loss and reconciliation, and the stubborn nature of truth, the lives of these three women overlap as they search for their true selves and for those they have lost. In Elaine Kagan's beautifully crafted and astonishing fourth novel, we see the Hollywood of old and new, we struggle with the truths and disappointments of two generations of families, and in them we sneak up on pieces of ourselves.

Genres: Fiction

400 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published July 1, 2001

Reviews

[Vicki Lanzendorf]

I had a hard time getting into this book. It seemed so slow to develop the characters and there wasn't much to keep me really into it until the very end, and even that was kind of blah. The bouncing back and forth between characters was often confusing.

[Allison Renner]

I don't really know how to describe this book. I had tried to read several books over a week or so, and none held my attention. Then I picked up No Good-Byes and was fixated. I finished in two days. There are three main characters, all women. One is a mother who has lost her daughter in a way. One is a daughter who has lost her mother. And one is a daughter who does not value her mother. The narrative is very well done, and perfectly written so that you forget you're reading words on a page - the characters come alive and draw you into their own worlds. Parts made me smile, parts made me reflect on my own life, and much of it made me cry with it's beautiful honesty. I highly recommend it.

[Katie Katieneedsabiggerbookshelf]

I thought this book was a lot of fun. It was very interesting to read how Chassi's explanation of her mom's death changed throughout the book. I also enjoyed Elaine's realization of the mistakes she made while raising her daughter that led to their drift. A also thought that the way the three women were connected was very interesting. They were connected in a unique way without any of them knowing it.

[Kathy KS]

More like 3 1/2... This is my third Elaine Kagan and I'm still enjoying her books, even though I don't read much "women's fiction." But she does interesting things with mothers and daughters; sometimes they get things right, sometimes not. But there's an optimistic tone in Kagan's books, even when the characters are struggling and in the pits of despair.

[Amanda Sexton]

It was tough getting through this. The writing style of the author clashed and felt very choppy. I kept reading it because I thought there might be a great ending, but it ended up being the predictable conclusion. It took me three weeks to get through, where the book I read after it only took me two days.

[Willa]

Entertaining, quick read about mothers and daughters and their relationships... Written in a kind of stream-of-consciousness style, which I would have thought would bother me, but actually didn't... Not a great book, but not terrible either...

[Danielle]

I saw this book at the library a week ago, and didn't pick it up, and then thought about it all week and picked it up the next time I was there. 3 women searching for their mothers, it's gonna be challenging for me.

[Shiloh]

I liked this story about a therapist and her patient. They both have their own mother-daughter issues, and there's an interesting subplot about a waitress/actress.

[Rose]

F Kag

[Rachel]

A fast read ... and definitely not what I expected. Perfect for summer beach read.

[Alexandria]

I really enjoyed this book with industry insights and turn after turn.