Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 10, 1993 TAG: 9307100103
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Reviewed by JUDY KWELLER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
\ Barbara Victor has an impressive resume. She is a contributing editor for Elle magazine. She also writes for Life magazine and the Wall Street Journal, and she is the author of three previous novels.
Why, then, is "Coriander" so unsatisfying?
The novel is based on an intriguing premise. The daughter of the American ambassador to Argentina during the turbulent 1970s falls in love with Danny Vidal, a dissident leader. Eventually, they resettle in the United States, where she becomes an emergency-room physician and he an international banker. However, after some shady bank dealings, Danny is reported killed in the suspicious explosion of a chartered plane on its way to Acapulco.
Coriander, our heroine, becomes involved with the FBI investigator, Adam Singer, even though she has learned that she's pregnant with Danny's child. At the same time, she begins to wonder who betrayed their friend and fellow activist all those years ago, causing him to be arrested and then to disappear.
Despite the promising beginning, "Coriander" becomes a pedestrian, trite and mediocre novel filled with unresolved plotlines, undeveloped characters and unrealistic dialogue. Most of us know coriander as a spice. Actually, it's a plant that produces aromatic seeds. For my money, this "Coriander" stinks.
\ Judy Kweller is vice president of an advertising agency.
by CNB