Maybe Once, Maybe Twice by Alison Rose Greenberg; New York: St. Martin’s Griffin © 2023; ISBN 9781250-791627; 326 pages; $16.20 on Amazon.
SAN DIEGO – Even breathless descriptions of passionate lovemaking can become mind-numbingly repetitive until we understand why the lovers cling to each other so desperately.
It takes author Alison Rose Greenberg quite a while to come through with some of the answers, but when she does, she delivers a punch that helps us understand the psyches of singer/ songwriter Maggie Vine (who happens to be Jewish) and the two men to whom she has given her heart: actor Asher Reyes and singer/ hedge fund manager Garrett Scholl.
Asher, a handsome Filipino, became Maggie’s first lover when they met at a sleepaway camp. He came from San Diego, she lived in New York, so except for those summer interludes their lives had to be lived coasts apart, until after he became a well-known actor/ producer whose movie needed a songwriter.
Garrett was a fabulous singer who, like Maggie, worked the coffee house circuit in New York, hoping their musical talent would be heard and appreciated by some record company executive. However, Scholl acquiesced to the wishes of his wealthy, WASPish family, who expected him to follow in his father’s footsteps as a successful hedge fund manager. But that didn’t stop Maggie from loving him.
Until the explosive final chapters, we get only hints about what makes Maggie tick. Her father and mother had divorced, leaving her mother building a protective shell around herself. Her father was warmer, but he was rarely around. So, we get the idea that love-deprived Maggie needed a deep, trusting relationship. Her college roommate Summer was as close a friend as anyone could have, but their lives often diverged, Maggie being a heterosexual, Summer being a lesbian.
You might expect that with Maggie having such strong feelings for Asher and Garrett that the two men might have competed in a classic “love triangle” story, but, in fact, they didn’t interact with each other, much less clash in this story. Maggie kept these two relationships separate, compartmentalized.
For most of her life a self-defining personality, Maggie made choices based upon what she needed in her life, both professionally and emotionally. None of that was done, however, without struggle and tears.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor emeritus of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com