His Little Women - Softcover

Too many story lines drain dramatic tension in this sprawling novel about movie mogul Sam Pearlstein and his four daughters from three marriages. Writer Louisa Abrahms and lawyer Nell Berman, from marriages one and two, are drawn together by their adoration of Daddy (who can be a charmer), by the libel suit brought against Louisa's novel about a Hollywood producer and his daughters, and by the search for truth as each sees it. Nell, whose story this is, ponders the line between fiction and truth, a legal and personal question for her and a potential focus for this book, which dwells on Sam and his womanizing, stepfamilies' histories and squabbles, the trial, even the emerging women's movement. Rossner ( Looking for Mr. Goodbar; August) can create wonderfully full-bodied characters and tell a fine story (and do it concisely, as in a memorable account of Nell's marriage in just 18 pages)--but here she squanders her talents. Literary Guild main selection; previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 11/1/89.
- Michele Leber, Fairfax Cty. P.L., V a .
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This unsuccessful attempt at a Hollywood inside story revolves around the four daughters of a movie tycoon's three consecutive wives. PW called it ``laboriously contrived, rambling and lacking momentum,'' although ``at times, Rossner is capable of thoughtful writing: on sibling rivalry, Jews in the movie industry, the fiction writer's art.''

Copyright 1991 Cahners Business Information, Inc.