52 out of 52 people found this review helpful.
The Hidden Blessings
Date of Review: Oct 26, 2001
The Bottom Line: I really can think of no reason to read this book. The characters were shallow as was the plot!
Secrets, secrets, secrets! How long does one have to keep them? The secret life of another which they've shared with us, is one thing. But the secrets in our own lives, how long must we keep them buried?
Well, forever, I guess, according to Belva Plain's novel, THE BLESSING! Her heroine, Jennie Rakowsky kept her past life a secret even to herself.
Jennie is a lawyer, having worked very hard to become one. Her parents were poor, so she attended a college in the east on a scholarship. And her parents had lived through the holocaust for they were Eastern European Jews who had migrated to the US.
Jennie isn't too proud of her heritage, especially in the wealthy and status-conscious society she walks in daily. Her fiance, Jay Wolfe is a successful corporate lawyer, while she deals in cases for the underprivileged.
Jay has been a widower for three years when the story begins. He has three young children, which is great for Jennie. She feels this is a plus, as she loves these children and they reciprocate her feelings.
Although Jay's parents are prosperous, they are not snobs, in any sense of the word. They accept Jennie with open arms, and they are instrumental in hiring her to defend a local cause: the preservation of a large tract of land, against the mighty developers. Jennie's opening remarks in the case are nothing short of brilliant.
We might assume that Jennie is being blessed beyond what any woman could expect in life; an impending marriage to an upstanding, loving and caring man; three wonderful children who love her; a brilliant career, besides her own beauty. Blessings, right?
Wrong! The author had to develop tension in this novel. That's a necessity in any novel. Tension is the hook that keeps the reader interested enough to keep turning those pages.
That's the rub! Out of the blue, Jennie receives a phone call. The caller informs her that the daughter she had given up for adoption, about 19 years before, wanted to see her. The girl's name is Jill and she's a college student in the area, a "lovely girl."
This is where I felt the plot was contrived.
Jennie's reaction to this phone call was so overwrought that I almost put the book down for good. She changes from a self-controlled, brilliant lawyer to a blithering idiot in the matter of seconds!
Of course, we are treated to a flashback. The usual story of a very young romance between Jennie and a redhead fellow college student, Peter Mendes. They are madly in love, of course, and despite his precautions, Jennie is with child. Hmmm. I think I've read this somewhere before.
To complicate matters, Peter's parents are very upper crust, very hoity-toity, very opposed to this "commoner," named Jennie. We suffer through all the humiliations they had put our heroine through. All the degrading remarks and snubs perpetrated on her. Evidently, Peter's parents have everything: wealth, status, fame. Everything, except anything remotely resembling COMMON COURTESY. [Yawn!]
This story runs on, and runs on some more. We meet Jill and also meet the grown-up Peter. To me, neither of them was particularly interesting, nor should they have brought such utter consternation into the life of Jennie. Be that as it may, they did, and we must endure it.
Why not confess the truth to Jay? Nowhere did the author indicate that he was biased, jealous, suspicious, or incapable of understanding.
But I guess that would have been too simple. More yawns. The trial goes on. Jennie becomes more and more distraught through contacts with Jill and Peter, until she becomes a mere shell of her former self, a person, as I saw it, who was unbelievable.
There is even a suspected murder in this story, connected with the land-preservation trial, involving a "wired" witness. And can you believe that even Jennie's life is in danger from the murderous sources?
Well, believe it! Things finally do get wrapped up and we, the readers, are left rather empty and blah, exclaiming, "SO?"
I was very disappointed, after having read "CAROUSEL" by this same author, which was quite a good read.
I'm sorry. I just cannot recommend this particular book. Unless you have nothing at all to read, don't bother with this one. I failed to catch any of the Blessings.
