Much Ado About Jessie Kaplan (2005) - Plot & Excerpts
Touting itself as the story of a grandmother (Jessie Kaplan) who begins having flashbacks of her life as the mysterious Dark Lady of Shakespeare's sonnets, this book piqued my interest as I was browsing the shelves at my favorite used book store. Having read it, I now quite agree with another reviewer; this book is much more about the planning of the granddaughter's bat mitzvah (complete with much detail about the selection of individual vendors). Like the only other book I have read by this author, this was a light, quick read, but not one I am likely to recommend to any of my friends. Also like the other Cohen book I have read, the back cover synopsis centers on a storyline which isn't really the main plot of the book. And this storyline, while weaving in and out of the main portions of the book, isn't really even settled at the end. There is a subplot involving a daughter who is hopelessly poor at romantic relationships, and after much draggigng of feet, that is quickly rushed along to a neat-and-tidy conclusion in the final chapter. The grandmother/Dark Lady is never the main character, and after being the premise upon which the whole book stakes its reason for being (excepting the bat mitzvah), the memories of that time are suddenly dropped. No longer important, and no matter that it built up to a point of making the flashbacks sound almost credible...it is simply dropped for the simple reason that Jessie is reunited with a long-lost love. If you have any questions about the suddenly dropped plotline, too bad. Everything suddenly shifts to the day of the bat mitzvah: everything goes well, everyone is happy...the end. Count me as a very unsatisfied reader. I think it could have been quite an interesting story had it focused on Jessie and left out the entire bat mitzvah.
I enjoyed this novel a lot, and I read it in one day. It centers around a family preparing for their daughter's bat mitzvah; the mother's mother, Jessie Kaplan, lives with the family.Life is proceeding normally in their household until one day Jessie "remembers" that she was Shakespeare's Dark Lady in Venice. For a woman who only completed tenth grade, Jessie is surprisingly knowledgeable all of a sudden, which knocks the family for a loop.The daughter's English teacher believes Jessie, however, and explores the possibility of missing sonnets with her.Meanwhile, the mother is trying to organize a bat mitzvah to Cherry Hill, NJ, standards, with her daughter being a typical teenager. There is also a hyperactive younger brother; the father is a gastroenterologist who seeks to make his practice more up-to-date and lucrative.Cohen neatly and cleverly weaves these stories together, with Jessie being the catalyst. I won't say how the novel ends, but it is well-written, with subtle social satire, and an enjoyable plot line. I highly recommend this novel.
What do You think about Much Ado About Jessie Kaplan (2005)?
A fun twist, or surprising approach, to Shakespeare. Jessie's recollected former life gives her some purpose beyond "just" being a grandmother, even as she enriches the lives of those around her. Carla may worry about her mother, but her mother is reassuring her granddaughter, entrancing said granddaughter's English teacher, and perhaps even finding romance for her other daughter. This made me want to read more about the Dark Lady, the New (older) Ghetto, and take any glass that Prof. Cohen offers!
—Gwen
I thought the Dark-Lady-in-a-former-life plot device would be interesting, but this book is mostly about planning the daughter's bat mitzvah. There is a whole chapter on choosing the bat mitzvah menu, a chapter about the bat mitzvah deejay, a chapter about the bat mitzvah photographer... you get the idea. The Shakespeare plot was secondary to the bat mitzvah, and Jessie Kaplan is a secondary character. I think this was a good concept poorly executed. But if you want to read a book about planning a bat mitzvah, this is the book for you.
—Sarah Null
I only read this book because someone lent it to me. And I think the only reason it was recommended to me was because I'm Jewish. (On a related note, would it be appropriate for me to recommend a book to someone because it's about, say, churches, and I know the person is a Christian? Just checking.)This book was awful. The characters were referred to on a first name basis which felt really impersonal and awkward - especially given three generations of women. It made it seem like they called their mom by her first name. Confusing. Too much description was used in all the wrong places. Except for one main character and a bunch of clothing and jewelry, i have no idea what anyone looks like in the book. On the contrary, I really, really don't need to know the seating arrangement at the child's bat mitzvah. The entire premise of the book was dismissed with no further explanation. And to top it all off, the premise of the book - both of them, for that matter - was pointless. Planning a bat mitzvah for a spoiled 13 year old does not mix well with grandma (who in this family strangely resembled one of the maids from The Help - always shuffling into the dining room with the next course that she apparently cooked all by herself) and her delusions of Shakespeare. The tone of the book was inconsistent and the storyline was weak, at best. Do me a favor and skip this one. Even if you're Jewish.
—Abbie
