Olivia (Rossner novel) 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 "a mother-daughter conflict set in the world of gastronomy." Caroline Sindler is a chef and popular cooking teacher. In flashback, she recounts her past life: after showing an early interest, she learns to cook. After dropping out of college, she travels to Italy, where she finds work in a restaurant, and meets Angelo, a Sicilian in his thirties. After becoming pregnant by him,
Judith Rossner exploration of the intimate, complex connections between food and emotion..." Rossner published her last novel, "Perfidia" (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday), in 1997 to extraordinary reviews. "Pefidia" (which means "treachery" in Spanish) was, like "Looking for Mr. Goodbar", inspired by a real-life murder. A "chilling" story of an abusive mother and the daughter who kills her, the novel is "a scorching portrait of attachment and loss." Hailed as "[r]elentless, suspenseful, and absolutely captivating," "Perfidia" is a novel which "burns hypnotically." In 2002, Rossner married educational publisher Stanley Leff, with whom she had begun a relationship in 1985. Rossner died from complications of