Everything and More

by Jacqueline Briskin

The destinies of three glamorous and privileged women--Marylin, her sister Roy, and Roy's best friend, Althea--intertwine from their years at Beverly Hills High School to their final tragedy, forty years later.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Drama, Chick Lit

486 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Jacqueline Briskin (1927-2014) was the New York Times-bestselling author of fourteen historical novels that reflect the tumultuous changes in American society that she witnessed over her lifetime. Complete with dynamic storylines, vibrant characters, and passionate romantic relationships, her novels have sold more than twenty million copies worldwide and have been translated into twenty-six languages.

Briskin was born in London, England, the granddaughter of the chief rabbi of Dublin, Ireland. Her family moved to Beverly Hills, California, to escape Adolf Hitler and religious orthodoxy. A few years later, she married her best friend and the love of her life, Bert, whose family was deeply embedded in Hollywood and the movie business. When Briskin's three children were little more than toddlers, she attended a class at UCLA entitled "The Craft of Fiction." To her surprise, it was a class about writing fiction rather than reading fiction. And so her career began.

Over the next forty years, many of Briskin's books topped the New York Times bestseller list. Her adoptive home of Los Angeles and her husband's old stomping ground of Hollywood often play a prominent role in her meticulously researched books.

Reviews

[Ioanna Xristodoyloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ενα πολύ πολύ κάλο βιβλίο που δεν υστερεί σε τίποτα από γνώστες και ακριβές εκδόσεις... γρήγορη και κινηματογραφικη πλοκή χωρίς περιττές σελίδες και με μια ιστορία που σε κρατάει από την αρχή. Ένα κοινωνικό βιβλίο με μερικές υπερβολές βεβαίως βεβαίως . Άνετα θα μπορούσε να γίνει ταινία η σειρά
Η briskin έχει γίνει μια από της αγαπημένες μου συγγραφείς!

[Monica A · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read and re-read this book so many times over the years and i still love it every time. i completely fell in love with ALF! This is probably the first book that made me cry and i am not a crier! to me, this is one of those books that i can just pick up and start reading on any random page and enjoy.

[Jess Swann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un roman qui me faisait de l'oeil en raison de son côté choral et de ses héroïnes toutes différentes même si d'emblée, j'ai eu un coup de coeur pour la belle Marylin... J'ai beaucoup apprécié le principe du roman, la manière dont les destins des héroïnes s'entremêlent et dont leur choix se répercutent sur les autres... J'ai adoré la romance impossible et tellement cruelle de Marylin et de Linc. L'histoire d'amour est magnifique et j'ai eu beaucoup de peine pour Marylin, surtout au vu des années gâchées. Le personnage d'Althéa m'a vraiment émue, dans sa relation avec son père et son destin... Dès le début, on comprend qu'elle est vouée à être malheureuse en amour et j'ai frémis lorsqu'elle a lâché son secret à ses parents (au vu de la réaction de sa mère). Sa conclusion est très amère mais au final, logique. Le personnage de Rose est celui que j'ai le moins aimé, je la trouve trop gentille pour le monde décrit dans le roman... Au delà des intrigues nombreuses entre les personnages, j'ai beaucoup aimé la manière dont l'industrie du cinéma est décrite et la façon dont Marylin appréhende son métier d'actrice (merci à sa mère, au final, sans ses ambitions, Marylin aurait probablement eu une existence plus heureuse). La fin, douce amère, m'a énormément plu.


Ce que j'aime : Marylin, son histoire avec Linc. Le back ground d'Althéa. La manière dont le récit va couvrir l'existence des trois héroïnes et va les séparer avant de les faire se retrouver au hasard des rencontres, la fin douce amère


Ce que j'aime moins : le personnage de Rose, trop gentil


En bref : Une magnifique fresque se déroulant sur plusieurs années qui nous campent des héroïnes bien écrites



Ma note


8/10

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a soap opera in a book. You can see the action and although it will be considered cheesy or even tame by today's standards when I first picked up this book to read I was blown away by it. Those first impressions don't go away, they stay with you each time you see the title, each time you open the cover and each time you are transported back to the story like this book is more than just paper and words it's a time machine that takes you back to when you just loved to read.

The characters are a little over the top, but you love them anyway and even though their situations are a million miles away from the life you are living you can just picture them. That is down to the easy writing that draws you in.

I've given this book four stars, in an ideal world it would have all five but as good as this book is it is certainly not perfect. A few little tweaks here and there and it would have been phenomenal. It is still worth the time it would take to read it, so what are you waiting for? Dive in...

[Kerys Rhapsody · Rating 4 out of 5]

you may think this book is cheesy or stupid. yeah, it's some kind of a soap opera and for sure it's not a smart, hard to understand book full of transitive sense or advices for a live. but when you are reading, you can feel sth differentent, sth special, sth what you will fall in love with. for me this book is magic and i have no idea why

[Horsefeathersranch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not finished with this book, but I am on page 399 and I can't wait to go finish it tonight!
The plot is interesting and the characters are well developed.
I LOVE IT!
I WILL bring this to Tracy!
Thank you again Jo, for another good read!

[Terry Cornell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Briskin's 'California Generation' when I was in college many years ago and enjoyed it. Found this used and gave it a spin. Long, epic, tale spanning generations. I don't generally read much of this genre anymore, but found this an interesting break. Some of it predictable, some surprises. I couldn't quite give it a four star rating, but it came close!

[Curlyhair · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story, I read years ago. The author wrote quite a few books I remember and all worth a look. I read quite a few.

[Αγγελική · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not the kind of novel I enjoy to read. It's well written though. I think it's a little bit more dramatic than it needs. Also some things had to be different...

[Gillian Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a long time to get into this book but eventually it got me hooked. I liked the references to her other book Paloverde, which I read recently. An interesting family saga.

[Vincent Darkhelm · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. And I'm not afraid to admit it. Pure entertainment.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

The jacket liner notes are pretty accurate on this one. This is one messed up family! if you enjoy family drama and love stories, this should be on your to-be-read shelf. I enjoyed both the writing and the plot. There are some twists that were completely unpredictable. This is a great beach or vacation read, pick up Everything and More by Jacqueline Briskin.
An honest review in exchange for an ARC via netgalley.com 4/15/15

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[Natasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

All in all I did enjoy reading this book but it did drag on for a bit. Althea I did not like at all and Roy just infuriated me to bits. She was so annoying the way she let people walk all over her especially Gerry and Althea. I am glad with the ending but I do wish it had happened for Marylin and Linc a bit earlier so they could have had a family together .

[Cws]

F Bri

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rain Fairburn was amazing! Fell in love with ALF!

[April Cantu]

good but very slow...ready to be done with it

[Rashique · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is one of the most incredible books i have read over the past few years ... love it <3

[Carolina Morales · Rating 2 out of 5]

Complete review to follow

[Tanya Dyson]

This was one of my mother's books, so it is quite old. It was a good read. Kept my interest, written at a different time in history. Not too deep, just a fun read.