Susan Isaacs: Almost Paradise

Available in paperback and hardcover.
Check your local bookseller or try one of these online booksellers.

A beautiful man. A brilliant woman. And a life together that is almost paradise.

Susan Isaacs, bestselling author of Compromising Positions and Close Relations, joins America's first-rank novelists with this rich and complex story of Jane and Nicholas Cobleigh, of the generations that sired them, and of the wide cast of family and friends with whom their lives are intertwined. Nicholas is the handsome, elusive, awesomely aristocratic scion of one of the East Coast's oldest families. Jane- supremely intelligent, awkward, and deliciously funny- is the product of a disastrous union between a down-on-her-luck (but eternally optimistic) burleque queen and the dreary Cincinnati bank clerk she dupes into marriage.

But Almost Paradise is more than just the recounting of two lives. All of Susan Isaacs' characters are alive- colorful, human and beautifully textured: james, Nicholas' father, an embittered, hard-drinking, womanizing former OSS spy stuck in a Wall Street law firm; Dorothy, Jane's vicious, avaricious stepmother; Murray, their savvy, good-hearted agent; their daughters, the chilly Victoria, the vulnerable Elizabeth.

Almost Paradise is the Colbleighs' story, together and apart, from the cold-water flat in Hell's Kitchen to the rolling, verdant Connecticut farm to the Fifth Avenue duplex, from their vastly different backgrounds to their life together that transcends what either alone could achieve. It is a tale of great wealth and great celebrity in the midst of personal tragedy, of the ties that bind us all together, and the missed opportunities that tear us apart.

Susan Isaacs has written a profoundly moving drama with wit, warmth, irony, and compassion- a deep and gripping saga that penetrates to the heart of our modern culture.

"A novel that has everything.... An intimate, extensive family saga, probing the anatomy of a marriage between two larger-than-life, yet immensely likeable people, and, above all, creating one of the most interesting heroines ever to surface in a blockbuster... Susan Isaacs is a witty, insightful and elegant writer."

"An irresistable story... Isaacs captures both the comedy and heartbreak shared by Jane and Nicholas Colbleigh throughout their twenty years of marriage.... With wit and charm, Isaacs writes ALMOST PARADISE from the heart, producing a delightful, compassionate, surprising novel."

"Every detail is correct: the dialogue, the settings, the characterizations.... In Susan Isaacs' hands, the story practically jumps off the page into real life."

"The reader races though, devouring every twist.... Isaacs has another blockbuster here.... The plot is riveting, the characters surprisingly real... and the author has a wickedly funny eye for detail."

"A totally enthralling read... Always a witty, wickedly observant writer, Susan Isaacs in this new novel gives us more than ever before: three generations of characters so involving, so waywardly alive that their passions seems as urgent as our own."

"Almost perfect... A big, wide, wonderful way to spend a couple of long winter nights... Susan Isaacs... is one of the more appealing analysts of the contemporary scene. There's something downright delicious about her nervy, witty treatises on marital and extramarital adventures and �deep inside� something pervasive and even profound. Isaacs' rare freshness, her perception of the modern woman, and her earthy imagery carry the day."

"A twentieth-century fairy-tale... A sprawling, three-dimensional family saga with a distinctive American touch... This long, colorful novel will undoubtedly engross soap-opera fans.... Readable and diverting."

"A multi-generational family saga that's different from the recent spate of similar stories; it's not merely interesting, it's literate as well. Isaacs has fleshed out her characters with great skill, and has a fine eye for period detail. She has also been wise enough to avoid the pat ending such novels usually have. The result is a well-written, moving story that will keep the reader engrossed all the way."

"Ms. Isaacs has created real people.... By the time the protagonists face problems, the reader knows the three hundred year route that has made Jane and Nicholas what they are, and has deep insight into their psychological make-up. Susan Isaacs has a fine sense of suspense. Until the very last pages there is no hint of how her story will end."

"A good read... The serious novel� featuring realized characters caught in a real-life dilemma� is hitched up with the multi-generational saga: long, sexy, historically spiced.... Isaacs can tell a story."