Dreams Are Not Enough [Hardcover]

Jacqueline Briskin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1987

403 page novel of Beverly Hills and the dreams that area may bring on.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this latest Briskin rags-to-riches potboiler, Alice Hollister, a migrant crop picker, metamorphoses into Alyssia del Mar, "the ultimate screen love goddess." She marries into the powerful, cruel and inseparable Cordiner family, a Hollywood film dynasty-in-the-making, who snub her and make her the scapegoat for a variety of imaginary ills. The notable exception is cousin Hap, who falls in love with her. Alyssia never loses her down-home earthiness (she'll eventually run a school for farm workers) or her pain and shame over her past (she witnesses her mother bleed to death during an illegal abortion). Briskin's ( Too Much Too Soon, etc.) fluid prose and graphic sex scenes should keep the steamy pages turning, but readers may be frustrated by Alyssia's goody-goodness to the Cordiner clan, who vilify her at every opportunity, and her cloying, masochistic loyalty to her husband, Barry, a traitorous, impotent, alcoholic, unemployed hack writer with a massive inferiority complex. 100,000 first printing; $100,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild main selection.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Alyssia del Mar was a sultry international film star, but she still felt like Alice Hollister, daughter of a dirt-poor unmarried migrant farm worker. Nor did she ever feel a part of the movie studio-connected Cordiner family, which she had married into out of loneliness at 15, or of Our Own Gang, the group of five close-knit Cordiner cousins that included her husband Barry. Alice/Alyssia's story covers a 27-year span and has all the ingredients of best-sellerdom: star-crossed lovers, Hollywood glamour, family ties, Mafia deals, exotic locales, and a happy ending. And, as is her style, Briskin ( Too Much Too Soon ) hooks the reader in the opening pages, making it near-impossible to stop reading. So if characters are sometimes less than well-rounded, dialogue less than dazzling, and style sometimes stiff, still the story is relentless. A bonbon of a book. Literary Guild main selection. Michele Leber, Fairfax Cty. P.L. , Va.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Pub Group (T) (February 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399131620
• ISBN-13: 978-0399131622
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #364,223 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Same Style as Jackie Collins, May 23, 2002

By 

Zack Mitchell (Missouri) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dreams Are Not Enough (Hardcover)

This book is written in the same style as Jackie Collins uses. It's centered on Hollywood drama and scandals. Both authors are wonderful and do a good job depecting the less glamourous side of being famous.
This novel centers around a woman that becomes entwined with a family and touches each of them in an unforgettable way. When they are called together to her house each has their own fear of what she is going to expose them for.
Barry is the man she married. He is an alchohlic and clings to her. Even when he knows she doesn't love him, he uses pity and whatever emotions he can dredge up to keep her with him.
His twin sister used to love her and became very close with her. When Barry's wife becomes pregnant, a jealousy and anger consume her. She doesn't realize that this baby was unwanted at the time and because of the circumstances. She herself can not have children. When she gives her the baby, you would think it would be rejoicing for the gift, instead it's fear and anger.
Maxwell is Barry's cousin and he's always had his own obssesion with his wife. He would go to any lengths to obtain her for himself. He does. His biggest fear is that someday she will tell about the awful thing he did to her.
Hal is Maxwell's brother and he loves her. He loves her completely and without fail. The two of them together are pure magic. When he disappears and is believed dead, she alone looks for a sign that he's still there.
What could she possibly have drawn all of them together again for? The scandals, secrets, and mysteries unfold. An awesome book. When your finished reading it, check out The Naked Heart for another beautiful story.