Olivia (Rossner novel) lore, conveyed with gusto and sensuous detail." "The Los Angeles Times" noted that "Olivia" is "a remarkable exploration of the intimate, complex connections between food and emotion..." Ruth Reichl of "The New York Times" wrote in 1994, "Few writers are better than Judith Rossner at describing the agonized ties between mothers and daughters." "Kirkus Reviews", in turn, praised Rossner for her "engrossing characters." Olivia (Rossner novel) Olivia (or, The Weight of the Past) is the penultimate novel by Judith Rossner, author of the critically acclaimed best sellers "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" and "August". Published in 1994 by Crown, "Olivia" examines
Looking for Mr. Goodbar sparked her interest, that of schoolteacher Roseann Quinn who had been brutally slain in January 1973 by a man she had purportedly picked up in a singles bar. In the end, "Esquire", fearing legal ramifications, declined to publish the article, so Rossner decided to write a novel instead. "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" was published by Simon & Schuster on June 2, 1975, to positive reviews. Carol Eisen Rinzler, in "The New York Times", said the book was "a complex and chilling portrait of a woman's descent into hell... full of insight and intelligence and illumination." "Time" magazine wrote, "it is