NO GOOD-BYES

Garnished with the glamour of Hollywood, this third novel from actress Kagan (Somebody’s Baby, 1998, etc.) transforms potentially hackneyed fare into a genuine exploration of grief.

The complex mother-daughter bond serves as the theme linking the randomly intertwined lives of three women. Chassi Jennings is a Hollywood star literally born to the role: her mother, Sally, was a three-time Academy Award winner; her father, Saul, headed a production company. When Chassi was 12, mother and daughter went on a girls-only vacation to Rome, where larger-than-life Sally was hit by a car and killed. Fourteen years later, Chassi is sent to Dr. Eleanor Costello to work out the cause of her `spells,` linked to that half-remembered day. For Eleanor, the therapy sessions are strangely cathartic. Her own daughter, Caroline, is Chassi's age, but they haven't spoken since the sudden death of Eleanor's husband. The lovable Jimmy was the glue holding the two together, but Eleanor wanted him all to herself, and now Caroline's last words (`Don't call me, Mom`) ring in her ears as a constant reminder of her failings as a mother. Near Eleanor's office is a cafe where Chassi stares at the wall before sessions and where beautiful, driven Ioni St. John pours lattes while dreaming of movie stardom. Though Kagan throws in all the ingredients of a soapy melodrama à la Valley of the Dolls, she gracefully avoids the predictable by creating complex people whose sad, stoic anguish resonates beyond the fashionable setting. As Chassi comes closer to discovering the truth about her mother's death while preparing to reprise Sally's most famous film role, Eleanor daydreams of Jimmy and makes tentative steps to reconcile with her daughter. Meanwhile, Ioni, with much advice from her strong-headed mother in Texas, climbs her way to the top.

A well-honed work on surviving heartache, spiffed up by the shiny glow of Tinseltown.