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
Mr. Wrong unfunny" from the point when after Martha dumps Whitman after seeing his true persona and he then begins stalking her and literally destroys her personal and professional life while continuing to fool everyone around her with his good-guy charade. Rita Kempley, writing for "The Washington Post", assessed the film a "sour, listless debunking of romantic comedies, ... [with] fewer laughs than "Looking for Mr. Goodbar"" and laments that "Ellen DeGeneres, a comedian and sitcom star in her film debut, [who] is ostensibly the protagonist here" does not control the action, but her character "merely reacts to [Whitman's] twists and turn-ons".