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 a rare kind of book: both a compelling 'page turner' and a superior roman à clef." "Newsweek" found the book to be a "hard, fast, frightening read." "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" was also a commercial blockbuster: on June 22, 1975, it entered the "New York Times" best seller list, and would remain there for 36 weeks, three of those weeks at #1. It sold over four million copies, becoming the fourth highest-selling novel of the year. Paramount Pictures purchased film rights to the novel for $250,000. The film, written and directed by Richard Brooks, was released in 1977, and starred