Once is Not Enough

Rating:
Summary: You can't go home again...
Review: ...but I tried by picking up this book. When I was 13 my mother refused to allow VALLEY OF THE DOLLS in the house so I read it bit by bit at the local library and was thrilled by the fast-lane problems, hard characters and handy pills. Even as an early adolescent it was easy to recognize good trashy fun.

ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH is not great literature but it still delivers and now, in retrospect, points up the 70s as a kind of innocent time when everyone went to New York City to find their fortune and fill their heart's desire, as well as drempt of being rich enough to travel around in style. Susann knows that it's entertaining to read about folks who travel at a moment's notice to Los Angeles, London, Rome, Cannes and Switzerland to play out their caprices. It seems daring of Susann to write about January's ambiguous love for her father and to describe nearly sexual scenes between them. The book remains steadfastly moral however, and January, who has everything anyone could wish for, remains alone and unloved, realizing too late that one moment of happiness is not enough.

Rating:
Summary: You can't go home again...
Review: ...but I tried by picking up this book. When I was 13 my mother refused to allow VALLEY OF THE DOLLS in the house so I read it bit by bit at the local library and was thrilled by the fast-lane problems, hard characters and handy pills. Even as an early adolescent it was easy to recognize good trashy fun.

ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH is not great literature but it still delivers and now, in retrospect, points up the 70s as a kind of innocent time when everyone went to New York City to find their fortune and fill their heart's desire, as well as drempt of being rich enough to travel around in style. Susann knows that it's entertaining to read about folks who travel at a moment's notice to Los Angeles, London, Rome, Cannes and Switzerland to play out their caprices. It seems daring of Susann to write about January's ambiguous love for her father and to describe nearly sexual scenes between them. The book remains steadfastly moral however, and January, who has everything anyone could wish for, remains alone and unloved, realizing too late that one moment of happiness is not enough.

Rating:
Summary: Once is not enough, but twice is better!
Review: Having read Valley of the Dolls, I expected this book to be one of the same type of books. Wrong! This is a very powerful and poignant look into the subject of mental incest. January Wayne is the main character. Having Mike Wayne as a father, she had the perfect role model. Strong, no-nonsense, and always ready for action, after a tragedy befalls her, January returns to Mike and the life he arranged for her. January tries to fit his perfect daughter image, but along the way she finds out that daddy isn't the only one who can get what he wants. Enter Linda Riggs, editor-in-chief of Gloss Magazine. Hard, nonplussed and ambitious, Linda brings January into her office and changes her idea of life. After getting a job at Gloss with Daddy's approval, January replaces Daddy dream man with Tom Colt, an Exceptional writer and larger igame of daddy himself. When January falls in love with Toma nd forgets about Daddy, Dee (Mike's new wife) cuts January out of her will. Or, almost! Mike finds out about January and Tom's affair, and tries to get January to end it by attacking Tom. But, Daddy's girl turns on him and tells him to leave. Then, a tragic accident befalls someone very close to January, and she is left with only ten million dollars to keep her happy. Afterward, she finds that life really wasn't all that great, but once is not enough. If you liked Valley of the Dolls, read Once is not Enough. You will enjoy it!

Rating:
Summary: Oh how I loved this book!
Review: I didn't know if Jacqueline Susann could live up to "Valley of the Dolls" with this book, but she sure did! "Once is Not Enough" is thoroughly entertaining. The story revolves around January Wayne, a tragic heroine who has an unnatural adoration for her father and is unable to have a successful relationship with another man because of it. When her father marries a wealthy woman to secure his family's financial future, January finally falls in love. Unfortunately for her, the man she falls for is Tom Colt, a married man who is older than her father. Tom replaces "Daddy" for January, but it's only a matter of time before the relationship drags her down into the drug-induced haze that every Susann heroine eventually falls victim to.

Like "Valley of the Dolls," "Once is Not Enough" boasts many colorful characters whose lives intersect in a variety of unexpected ways. There are some funny moments in the book, but for the most part it consists of tragedy and unhappiness. The final few chapters threw me for a loop because the ending is more depressing than either of Susann's other novels. Still, I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an entertaining read. You won't be able to put it down!

Rating:
Summary: Tasty bubblegum
Review: I feel this book isn't quite like its predecessor, Valley of the Dolls, but then, nothing could be quite like Valley. Anyway, this book is terribly, terribly bad, nasty, ugly, whatever you want to call it, but also engrossing and enjoyable. At least I enjoyed the crazy, soap-operatic plot, and January Wayne really is an endearing, touching character, always looking for happiness in all the wrong places and trying so hard to be loved. In other case I would have ruthlessly dictaminated that she was a moron, but she spent the best years of her life cooped up in a secluded clinic, so it's easier for me to understand her astounding naivete. The other characters are less likable, even January's father, for all his practicality and relative good sense, although Karla is quite a person, and not nearly as stupid as she tries to make others believe. Very, very bad book, but very, very well written and thought-provoking.

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Susann's other novels
Review: I first read Jacqueline Susann back in the 70's, and am glad these books have been re-released. This is my least favorite of Susann's "Trash Trilogy" of books, probably because it has the most tragic ending, but it is still worth the read for the shocking behavior of her characters. Especially when you take into consideration the era they were written in.

Once Is Not Enough is about January Wayne, a very spoiled girl who has an unnatural attraction to her own father. A self-centered man who was not around enough as January grew up in boarding schools. January really does suffer, she is in a horrible accident and spends three years recovering. She joins her father and his new rich wife in New York, and wonders what to do with her life since she cannot have her father. She goes to work with an annoying schoolmate at a magazine, and her life on her own begins.

She is courted a good looking man who is in love with another woman, and then meets Tom Colt when she is assigned to interview him for the magazine. Tom Colt replaces Daddy for her, and she falls hard for this older, rude, hard drinking, and married man. I had to snicker at Tom's "little problem", I think every woman did.

Karla is kind of an enigma, and definately the most interesting character in the book. Everyone is unhappy, and just when Mike, Dee, Karla, and January seem to be on the brink of getting it together and doing someting to make themselves happy, tragedy strikes. A plane crashes, and like dominos, the lives that are left slowly crash also.

Of all Susann's novels, drugs are never portrayed in a positive way, and Once Is Not Enough probably brings the worst into play, because January is more innocent that Susann's other drugged heroines. So of course, she falls quicker and harder when she finds them. Good campy trash, fun to read, and well written as usual in wonderful Susann style.

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as Susann's other novels
Review: I first read Jacqueline Susann back in the 70's, and am glad these books have been re-released. This is my least favorite of Susann's "Trash Trilogy" of books, probably because it has the most tragic ending, but it is still worth the read for the shocking behavior of her characters. Especially when you take into consideration the era they were written in.

Once Is Not Enough is about January Wayne, a very spoiled girl who has an unnatural attraction to her own father. A self-centered man who was not around enough as January grew up in boarding schools. January really does suffer, she is in a horrible accident and spends three years recovering. She joins her father and his new rich wife in New York, and wonders what to do with her life since she cannot have her father. She goes to work with an annoying schoolmate at a magazine, and her life on her own begins.

She is courted a good looking man who is in love with another woman, and then meets Tom Colt when she is assigned to interview him for the magazine. Tom Colt replaces Daddy for her, and she falls hard for this older, rude, hard drinking, and married man. I had to snicker at Tom's "little problem", I think every woman did.

Karla is kind of an enigma, and definately the most interesting character in the book. Everyone is unhappy, and just when Mike, Dee, Karla, and January seem to be on the brink of getting it together and doing someting to make themselves happy, tragedy strikes. A plane crashes, and like dominos, the lives that are left slowly crash also.

Of all Susann's novels, drugs are never portrayed in a positive way, and Once Is Not Enough probably brings the worst into play, because January is more innocent that Susann's other drugged heroines. So of course, she falls quicker and harder when she finds them. Good campy trash, fun to read, and well written as usual in wonderful Susann style.

Rating:
Summary: This is the best book I've ever read
Review: I loved the book "Once is not enough". It is a well written book,realistic and tragic. Jaqueline Sussan gets you deeply involved, it makes you feel what she is saying, the pain, the emotion, the happiness. It is an incredible book, a masterpiece. I finished reading this book in about 4 days, I just couldn't put it down, I cried, this book it's just beautifull. It shows you life as it is, not as a fairytale where everything ends happy. You have to read it.

Rating:
Summary: A book true to its writer
Review: I'm about 20 pages away from finishing the book, and I think it is a very 1970s book. Jacqueline Susann's attention to the language, behaviour, and fashion of the time is very apparent in her prose. I first got interested in Jackie Susann after reading "Lovely Me," the bio written about her. Also, my roommate had a lot to say about Jackie, so I had to read one of her books. Overall, from what I've read, I understand that Jackie's books were heavily edited. However, from reading this one book, I still think whatever all editing was done, it did not water down what it was that Jackie Susann wanted her readers to experience. I highly recommend this book, and I've sort of been putting off finishing the book for a week now, which I do with really good books. Alas, I'm about to start on Rona Jaffe's newest book, so I've got another good one lined up afterwards.

Rating:
Summary: has once ever been enough?
Review: Incest, orgies, rape, UFOs, betrayal, drugs, dark secrets and hidden children. Yes, this book has it all. And it did keep me reading, as did Valley of the Dolls. It is not good literature, but who reads Jackie for good literature? It is a terribly fun read, though. I just picked up The Love Machine and will give it a read probably later this month, if I can hold off that long. I'm only giving it three stars because I feel it could have used some editing, and she could have rearanged some of the story a bit. I don't think the nun rape scene should be so far from the Karla scenes that happen later in the book. For a while I had an odd feeling that that was the end of Karla. Then she came back and all was well again. She could have varied her sentence structure a little, too. But don't let these little quibbles keep you away.