Preview of Once Is Not Enough Summary:

Susann's treatment of homosexuality in this novel is more tolerant than it was in Valley of the Dolls. In her first book she freely acknowledged its presence but gay men were still referred to peripherally and derisively as "fags."

In Once Is Not Enough one of the main characters, Karla, is an aging, reclusive Garboesque movie star. She is a lesbian. Throughout the novel she has an affair with David Milford and at one point makes the traditional recant that she really wasn't a lesbian after thirtyodd years or so of being one. But near the end of the book Karla's female lover, Dee Granger, is redeemed from her frivolous life as a socialite by her love for Karla. Dee decides to leave her husband and lead an honest life.

Thematically, it is also an interesting ending. This is not as bleak a book as Valley of the...