Olivia, Rossner continues several Inwell-established themes in her writing, particularly the need for a woman to have a life and identity of her own, and the worth of family and tradition to provide stability (thus the subtitle (or, The Weight of the Past). Superimposed on these themes in this novel is a very 1990s concern — the moral dilemma of abortion in the face of teenage pregnancy.

Caroline Ferrante, the heroine of the book, is a talented cook-turned-TVcooking-show-hostess, who bases much of her identity and sense of worth on her virtuosity in the kitchen. The child of college professors who expected an academic life for her, she dropped out of college, followed her love of food and cooking to Italy, married Angelo, a charming but unfaithful Italian vintner, and returned to New York after a failed marriage of ten years. There, in her cooking classes, she...