Much ADO about Jessie Kaplan

by Paula Marantz Cohen

Book Overview

From the bestselling author of Jane Austen in Boca, "another witty tale that combines classic literature with contemporary social comedy."---Hartford Courant

Carla Goodman's life in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, is a little bit stressful these days. Her doctor husband is frazzled, her son's teachers say he needs Ritalin, and she's in the throes of planning her daughter's bat mitzvah. But it's her sweet widowed mother, Jessie Kaplan,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312324995
• ISBN13: 9780312324995
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.6" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

smart, funny, touching read

I'm a huge fan of Paula Marantz Cohen. I stumbled upon her first novel, Jane Austen in Boca, while browsing in the library, and I've been a fan ever since. For some reason, I missed the publication of her second novel, Much Ado About Jessie Kaplan, even though I read her most recent one, Jane Austen in Scarsdale: Or Love, Death, and the SATs. Although it's hard to name a favorite, Much Ado About Jessie Kaplan is certainly in contention. It's the story of Carla, a stay-at-home busy planning her daughter's bat mitzvah, volunteering all over town, helping her husband with his struggling medical practice, and figuring out how to calm down her misbehaving ten-year-old son. To make matters more interesting, her mother, Jessie Kaplan, who lives with Carla and her family, suddenly remembers she was the Dark Lady, Shakespeare's mysterious girlfriend in a past life. The plot is somewhat preposterous at first glance, but Paula Marantz Cohen's deft storytelling and rich character's made me root for the unbelievable. I laughed out loud more times than I can count, and yet, I was touched by each and every character, as they were all refreshingly realistic, yet rich and loveable. I found myself wishing I could go to Stephanie's bat mitzvah and chat with the family. Perhaps most amazingly, I learned an absurd amount about Shakespeare, Venice and Jews in the 1500s. Paula Marantz Cohen is the best kind of academic; she seamlessly blends history and literature with a modern, amusing, and touching story.

Much Ado About Jessie Kaplan

I thought this book was funny and reminded me a lot of past experiences, thoroughly enjoyed it. The book also came in excellent condition

not literary fiction, but a fun read

************************SPOILER*********************************I loved this book. I didn't think I would like it because I usually read literary fiction. This book has a few characters, which makes this book, Much ado About Jessie Kaplan a fast easy read. Carla, the main character( mother), her son is distrupting the school and causing havoc, the daughter about to become a bat mitzvah, and can't pick out the right dress, the right food and the music, the husband's practice going down the tube, between it is her mother, Jessie thinking she is shakespeare's lover. I would be ready to pull out my hair about now. Anyone, who is in the middle of planning a large reception( bar mitzvah, wedding etc) would relate to this. The question is, is it wrong for her mother to think she is shakespeare's lover. Do we let her think this way. The daughter who is becoming a Bat Mitzvah says it best in her ceremony(d'var torah). We interput things according to who we are and what we think. It's not a matter of it being true or false but of it making sense and helping us to see things that we did not see before. We can't really tell the future and we can't really understand the past- but we can find ways to interpet them that help us live our lives better." I enjoyed reading this book, It was hilarious I could not put it down. It was a let down, when it was not as important to find the lost sonnets in Venice. But, the book had to end. Maybe the author will sell the rights for a movie.

A second wonderful book from Ms. Cohen

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.

Delightful tale, beautifully crafted

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.