Preview of Olivia Summary:

Rossner has once again created a story in which relationships are the primary focus — between parent and child, between husband and wife — and in which the need for love and approval are central. The "weight of the past" in this book involves not only cultural roots, as already discussed, but also one's personal past, as he/she relates to family.

Caroline felt orphaned as a child, not literally but spiritually, since her parents were always busy at home with their academic responsibilities, her older siblings always seemed to take precedence in family activities, and her cooking talents were admired but undervalued. As a result, she gravitated toward a series of loving housekeeper/cooks, including the beloved Anna Cherubini, whom she followed to Italy and mourned as a mother upon her death. Out of fear that her parents will not approve of her life with Angelo in...