Papa's Cord

Rating:
Summary: A quietly passionate story.
Review: A young well-to-do Jewish girl's coming of age in New York and her career as a screenwriter is documented in Papa's Chord, a novel which tells of Josie's realizations about her beloved father, who is a womanizer. Her dreams of married life change when her fiance breaks his neck in a swimming accident, and when they are unable to completely move beyond his tragedy in this quietly passionate story.

Rating:
Summary: Weak characters, predictable plot
Review: I left reading this book not feeling like I really knew any of the characters, and especially didn't even get a real feel for the relationship between Josie and her father, althought that was supposed to be the main theme of the book. The plot was extremely predictable---it was ironic that this book reads much like a TV docudrama, the kind the main characters write for. You knew what would happen as a result of Josie's affair, you knew what would happen when she ran home to tell Daddy her exciting news, etc! So many details seem thrown in here just to sort of name drop---the jobs her husband Gus gets, the famous people her father knows, the expensive brands of clothes. I could not relate in any way to this book, not even to the supposed side theme of infertility, which is poorly drawn and doesn't really have a resolution. I did read all the way through, mainly looking for something interesting to happen, but at least I cared enough to finish the book. I think with some severe editing there would have been a much better book here.

Rating:
Summary: BEAUTIFUL WRITING--WONDERFUL STORY--
Review: This first novel by Mary Pleshette Willis is , in a word, brilliant. Ms Willis' writing is reminiscent of the first novels of Dorothy Allison, Anne Tyler, Judith Guest and Sue Miller. Her use of language is first-rate. The story she tells, could well have become just another "Jewish girl coming of age novel." Yet, this author makes her central character, Josie, an authentic, witty, exasperating, and completely unpredictable woman. I found myself laughing out loud and than, before I knew it I was weeping. This is a very affecting work and I would highly recommend this novel to those who truly love the combination of beautiful writing and a wonderful story.