Once Is Not Enough is the third novel by Jacqueline Susann, published in 1973 following her huge bestsellers Valley of the Dolls (1966) and The Love Machine (1969). With Once Is Not Enough, Susann became the first writer in publishing history to have three consecutive #1 novels on the New York Times Best Seller list.[1]
Plot summary
The young and beautiful January Wayne, daughter of film and stage producer Mike Wayne, returns home to New York City after being hospitalized in Switzerland for nearly three years. But home is not what it used to be: the world which January knew has changed considerably.
As the naive January finds her way in this brave new world, she encounters such mortal souls as Deirdre Milford Granger, the fifth richest woman in the world, as well as Deirdre's virile young cousin, David Milford; Linda Riggs, the vulgar but successful editor of Gloss magazine; Tom Colt, the macho novelist who harbors a secret; and Dr. Preston Alpert, the dirty but invigorating "Dr. Feelgood". Also in the mix is Karla, the reclusive former movie queen who has more than one secret of her own.
The story reflects the social upheavals of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Background
Jacqueline Susann initially called the novel The Big Man, but changed her mind after visiting comedian Joe E. Lewis on his deathbed. Lewis, who had famously said, "You only live once—but if you work it right, once is enough," apparently reconsidered, for he told Susann, "Once is not enough."[2]
Susann was diagnosed with cancer two months before the book's scheduled publication date. Her usual efforts at promotion—including a grueling book tour—had to be curtailed. But Susann soldiered on; as her husband, Irving Mansfield, said, "The day the book came out, she was booked on the Today show. She left Doctors Hospital after a blood transfusion, did the show, walked around the corner, got into an ambulance and went back to the hospital."[3]
Susann was candid about the theme of the book, stating that it was one of "mental and spiritual incest."[4] After her death, film critic Andrew Sarris pointed out that "If there is any single key to the oeuvre of Jacqueline Susann it is to be found in an extended Electra complex."[5]
Susann dedicated the book to her father, Robert Susann (1887–1957), and to her husband.
Reception
The book, published by William Morrow on March 20, 1973, met with largely negative reviews, as was typical for a Susann novel. A writer for The New York Times complained that the book had "nearly 500 steadily monotonous pages," populated by "a cast of obscure, unpleasant, implausible, stupid or sly characters [who] lurk in the mind for weeks only because one wants to meet and kick them."[6] However, two of the book industry's most respected trade magazines—Library Journal and Publishers Weekly—gave the book positive reviews. Library Journal said, "Spectacularly successful. There are plane crashes, drug orgies, motorcycle accidents, mass rapes, attempted abortions, suicide, evil doctors and assorted other activities; and I couldn't put the damned thing down." Publishers Weekly said, "Our girl has done it again. There is no place for this sensational novel to go but straight up the best seller list." Which it did. Sales were enormous: the book spent 36 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller List, with eight of those weeks at #1.[7] It became the second highest-selling novel of 1973, behind only Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach.[8]
The film received negative reviews; Vincent Canby, in The New York Times, offered a multiple-choice "audience participation" review, in which the reader was given four choices (ludicrous, bad, terrible, horrendous) by which to evaluate the movie.[9]
Despite the reviews, the film was a commercial success, earning $15.7 million at the box office.[10]Brenda Vaccaro, as Linda Riggs, received an Oscar nomination for her performance. Vaccaro won the Golden Globe award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for her role in the film.
