Much Ado About Jessie Kaplan

Rating:
Summary: A second wonderful book from Ms. Cohen
Review: I enjoyed Ms. Cohen's first book, Jane Austen in Boca, so much, that when I saw that she had published a second novel, I did a little dance in front of my computer. She writes the type of book in which kind, funny, intelligent people do their best to live honorable lives despite all the obstacles that the world (and often their families and friends) throw into their paths. The characters are vivid, their problems are universal. It's lovely, smart and beautifully written book.

Rating:
Summary: Delightful tale, beautifully crafted
Review: This is an absolutely delightful book. The plot is engaging, and the writing is elegant. Ms Cohen truly has a way with words, and the book is loaded with expertly crafted turns of phrase. The writing is Austen-esque, with its superb portrayals of the minutiae of daily life and its detailed look at the comedy of manners that is the life of its characters. The humor is engaging, drawing snorts of laughter and of recognition as situations arise that are, at least by analogy, part of my own life.

This books deals impeccably and elegantly with several themes of the human comedy. These include: the rite of passage into adulthood that is the bar (or bat) mitzvah (fabulous portrayal of a twelve-year-old girl here), several rites of passage for adults, including maturing into true adulthood, mid-life crises, and coping with aging parents, and the rite of passage that is aging itself (we should all be as lucky as Jessie!).

This is a wonderful book, and a worthy second novel (not a sequel) to the glorious Jane Austen in Boca, Ms Cohen's first novel.