JEWISH WORLD

24 JEWISH WORLD • AUGUST 11-17, 2023 embarrassing herself by dressing up like she did in the video she made of her one hit — something that makes her cringe now — and singing at a bachelor party in Las Vegas. But Jane’s British manager Pippa is still determined that she’ll be a success and sends Jane to London so she can write new music. On the plane, Jane meets Tom always easy because she also has stage fright. But while there are wonderful moments about music, the romance outshines them. Al- though Jane is a bit of a mess at the beginning of the novel, readers will be rooting for her to find her way in music and love. W hile Jane was a one-hit won- der, Kathleen Rosenberg, the narrator of Once More With Feeling , was once a pop superstar under the name of Katee Rose — before her personal life destroyed her career. That information doesn’t spoil the plot because the opening pages of the novel quote from a Rolling Stone magazine ar- ticle that calls what happened #14 continued on page 27 own music bombed. After breaking up with her cheating boyfriend of four years, Jane finds herself liv- ing with her parents and looking for work, any work. That includes Hardy, a professor of literature at Oxford, and is immediately attract- ed to him. But she wonders if she can trust her emotions since a re- cent breakup still hurts. Although she prefers to keep her own past a secret, she worries that Tom is keeping something important from her. Her feelings become even more confused when Jonesy’s people ap- proach Pippa about having Jane perform live with him, but the de- tails are so hush-hush that Jane has no idea what she’ll be required to do. Will she be able to find success in love or work, or is she doomed to loneliness and obscurity? Hoffs does a wonderful job mak- ing readers understand how Jane feels when she sings, how she los- es herself in song— something not Songbirds Two singers embark on quests for fame and love By RACHEL ESSERMAN A second chance for fame and love: That is the main focus of two recent novels: This Bird Has Flown by Susanna Hoffs (Little, Brown and Company) and Once More With Feeling by Elissa Sussman (Dell). Yet, that doesn’t adequately describe my reaction to these works because it fails to capture just how funny and enter- taining they are. Though they have their serious moments, reading them was like being on vacation. Readers can assume that Hoffs knows something about rock star- dom: The author was a member of the all-female pop rock group The Bangles, which had several top 10 hits, primarily in the 1980s. Unfortu- nately, her 33-year-old heroine Jane Start had only one: her version of a lesser-known song by the superstar Jonesy. But that was 10 years ago, and before an album filled with her Hoffs’s Bird does a wonderful job making readers understand how Jane feels when she sings, how she loses herself in song. BOOK REVIEWS This Bird Has Flown By Susanna Hoffs (Little, Brown and Company, 2023) 368p., $29 Susanna Hoffs. Serving All 5 Boroughs of NYC, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, and Rockland. Hey, we don’t have this BIG RED boxing glove in our logo for nothing. KNOCKOUT ALL YOUR PEST PROBLEMS Service calls in 24 hours or less www.knockoutpest.com 1.800.244.7378 KNOCKOUT PEST CONTROL is New York’s premium pest control company that rids homes and businesses from pests using the latest in GREEN environmentally friendly technology. Ants, Bed Bugs , Bees , Centipedes, Crickets, Fleas, Flies , Hornets, Millipedes, Powder Post Beetles, Silverfish , Stink Bugs, Termites , Wasps, Yellow Jackets , Rodents, and more... SENTRICON NY’S BEST TERMITE CONTROL SYSTEM KILL BED BUGS WITH FREEZING TECHNOLOGY KNOCKOUT PEST CONTROL’S Covers all areas inside a home and attached to house, eg: deck, garage, etc. for a FULL 12 MONTHS Call now to SAVE 25% COUPON Limited time offer. Some restrictions apply. This coupon MUST be presented at the time of initial service contact to qualify for THIS offer. Ask about our commercial property KO-12 plans. 24/7 - Knockout Pest Control 1.800.244.7378 KO-12 PROGRAM KOPC_Ad_July2011.indd 1 7/21/11 11:30:44 AM