BAD CONNECTIONS

by Joyce Johnson ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 5, 1978

Another tortured account of shallow uptown Manhattan relationships--from the double point of view of newly de-husbanded Molly. Double point of view? Yes, 35-ish Molly believes herself to be so complex that she requires two modes--first person and third person--to tell us about her affair with Conrad Schwartzberg, a bearish William Kunstler type ""at the height of his career as a radical lawyer."" Molly's main problem With Conrad is Roberta--an unstable dancer who gets at least half of Conrad's bedroom time. Jealous Molly doesn't want to share (""Is it more exciting to make love to her after you've made love to me?""), so she tries too stay away completely, but that doesn't work--nor does her casual relationship with lean, laid-back Malcolm. ""I have always been too faithful to the illusions of others,"" pronounces Molly (in a first-person mood) after a gratuitous rape in San Francisco and before her final, farewell idyll with cardboard Conrad. Johnson is not without talent; a phrase here and there reveals a knack for lyric bitterness or an under-tapped comic vein. But by taking one-dimensional Molly seriously and surrounding her with mannequin foils and wordy feelings, she has produced a book that closely approximates the experience of being trapped at a party by an emotional bore determined to tell you the ""history of Our relationship.

Pub Date: May 5, 1978

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1978

Categories: FICTION