Time to Say Goodbye [Paperback]

Judith Gould (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 6, 2001

Joanna and Josh have a happy marriage and a thriving garden nursery business, specialising in orchids. Their chief rival is the Rossi family and Peter Rossi tries to ruin them by various acts of sabotage and getting information by seducing Christina, Joanna's jealous sister. Then Joanna learns she has an inoperable brain tumour. She's determined to leave this world with dignity, leave Josh with a caring woman (engineers new friend and artist April to fall in love with Josh and vice versa), and for the nursery to continue being successful...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set in California's Santa Cruz mountains, Gould's (Till the End of Time; Rhapsody) new drama tells a story of selfless love colored by the machinations of players in the high-stakes orchid business. But plot clich?s and hyperventilated dialogue mar this tale of jealousy, betrayal and sacrifice. Young, attractive couple Josh and Joanna Lawrence run a successful nursery, supplying some of the world's most sought-after orchids. The Lawrences inherited the business from Joanna's father, along with a gorgeous mansion and the Lawrence family maid, Connie Cespedes. Connie's brother, Carl, manages the greenhouses and his wife, Luna, handles administrative matters. All appears serene in this close-knit enterprise, but Joanna is hiding a secret from Josh: she has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and has only a few months to live. Before she dies, she wants to complete two projects, one of which is to build a peaceful grotto in an old stone building behind the house. In hiring artist April Woodward to carry out her plan, Joanna fulfills her second purpose, which is to prepare for her successor in Josh's life, by cultivating a friendship with April and bringing her into their home. Meanwhile, Joanna's jealous sister, Christina, is busy trying to ruin her sister's happiness. The thrice-divorced Christina begins an affair with Peter Rossi, the unscrupulous owner of a rival orchid nursery. Together, they attempt to sabotage the Lawrence greenhouse and force Joanna and Josh to sell out, eliciting the aid of one of the Lawrences' trusted employees. Despite the stretch of credibility that Joanna's noble sacrifice requires, this might have been a sensitive, quirky tribute to selfless love. But its lack of stylistic grace and a predictable denouement worthy of a bodice-ripper keep it soapily formulaic. (Aug.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Joanna Lawrence has a plan, and loveDin perhaps its purest formDmakes it successful. Joanna and her husband, Josh, live in the mountains near the Monterey coast, a beautiful setting where they grow orchids. A lover of shells and art, Joanna develops a project that uses the shells she has been collecting for years on the walls of a grotto in her garden to reflect her family's longstanding connection with orchids. Joanna asks artist April Woodward to bring the seashell-covered walls of the grotto to life. In so doing, Joanna discovers that her love for Josh and her concern for his future are both connected to April. As always, Gould (Second Love: Till the End of Time) not only offers love (with some sex) but also insight into an usual environmentDin this case orchid farming.
-DAnnelle R. Huggins, Univ. of Memphis Lib., TN
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 403 pages
• Publisher: Time Warner Paperbacks (December 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 075152963X
• ISBN-13: 978-0751529630
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,525,895 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A 5 hanky melodrama, July 27, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Time to Say Goodbye (Hardcover)

In the Santa Cruz Mountains near Monterey, California, Josh and Joanna Lawrence run an internationally acclaimed orchid business. Besides the success of their enterprise, observers clearly can see that the couple loves each other and will FOREVER. However, a serpent enters the picturesque lifestyle of the Lawrences when Joann learns she suffers from brain cancer that leaves her with a few months of life left.

Knowing she will love Josh TILL THE END OF TIME, Joanna establishes two goals to complete before she dies. She wants to build a grotto and find her replacement so that Josh goes on with his life. She hires artist April Woodward to accomplish her first aim and to fulfill the role of the second objective as Josh's SECOND LOVE.

TIME TO SAY GOOD-BYE is a heart wrenching relationship drama centering on a terminally ill person accepting her impending death with a grace and an unselfish love by placing her spouse first. When the story line focuses on the triangle, the tale is warm and sensitive. However, when Judith Gould adds unnecessary elements of suspense caused by a teaming up of Joanna's envious sister and a despicable business rival, the tale loses some of its momentum and charm. In spite of this insipid sidebar, Ms. Gould provides her readers with a tribute to the power of love.

Harriet Klausner

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Judith Gould always delivers good prose, August 24, 2000

By 

A Reader from Los Angeles - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time to Say Goodbye (Hardcover)

I find it amazing that writers like Jackie Collins and Danielle Steele always find themselves on the NY Times Best Seller List while Judith Gould has not been there for years. If you are a fan of this genre you would be doing yourself a favor to pick up a Gould novel. Gould's writing is always fun and clever and her writing is far better than the above mentioned duo. The stories are always varied so you don't feel you are getting the same plot over and over again. I've given this novel four stars because I've read previous novels by Gould that I found to be truly excellent: FOREVER and TOO DAMN RICH. Although this novel is very good and Gould's prose is always better than your normal fiction, this book wasn't up to the excellence of the previous novels so I've given four stars. That's not to say you shouldn't read this novel. It's far better than your average fare.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good book but...., September 20, 2002

By 

Lizanne Malinowski (Wildwood Crest, nj United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time to Say Goodbye (Hardcover)

The book was good, well written but very perdictable. I actually cried at the end it was that moving but I finished it within a day. Hope to read many more of Judith's works.