March 2, 2006

Shakespeare’s sisters

Five local women put pen to paper and a book is born

By Jeanne Carbone Lewis
Staff Writer

While the world is full of entire countries whose citizens cannot work together to achieve a goal, five local women saw past their differences to band together and write a novel—together.

Who wrote which character in “Companion Pieces?” Only the authors know for sure. Left: Edie Kulstein, Sandy Paller, Elaine Kahn, Rosa Feldman and Helen Leon Gendler. Photos by Jeanne Carbone Lewis

The result of their collaboration is “Companion Pieces,” a story that took more than 10 years to complete.

The genesis of “Companion Pieces” started innocently enough as a book club under the banner of Brandeis University. The first novel the group read was Virginia’s Wolfe’s “Room of Your Own.” One day, Santa Teresa resident Helen Leon Gendler asked her fellow readers, “Who would like to write a novel?”

And that began the arduous editing process with each woman writing stories and reading their treasures at weekly meetings. The ultimate goal was to create a harmonious blend of each woman’s stories. Along the way, the five women became best friends.

“Companion Pieces”
“Listen Lady, your husband is in bed with another woman and he is making twice the money you think he is.” The opening sentence of “Companion Pieces” seizes the reader from the first sentence and catapults the reader on a enjoyable journey of the adventures of a grown-up 1960s flower child, a divorced couple, a doctor’s wife who puts pen to paper to produce laughs, a 1940s French war bride, a battling mother and daughter and a couple seeking love despite a chronic illness.

“The frame is true,” said Evergreen resident Sandy Paller at the group’s first speaking engagement recently at the Villages’ Booklover meeting. “But the picture inside the frame is fiction.”

For a while the women called themselves “Shakespeare’s Sisters” after the rumor that the prolific author’s work was actually penned by his sibling.

Each writer chose a character to write about. At first there were meetings every week. There were weekend trips together, which resulted in one member actually quitting the group. But what is most tantalizing after meeting the five authors is trying to guess who their character is in “Companion Pieces” as they readily admit that many of the stories are garnered from their personal lives, only to be spiced up by their imaginations.

“Companion Piece’s” author is penned under the pseudonym of H. Reese: H for Helen Leon Gendler, R for Rosa Feldman, E for Edie Kulstein, E for Elaine Kahn and S for Sandy Paller. The silent E is for the sixth woman contributor who for personal reasons, chose to remain anonymous. They say the book was written “by committee” and not a chapter by each woman. They also agree that it was a long, arduous process that they came to adore.

And it was only apropos that the person who suggested writing the novel, Gendler, should be its editor. With the help of Kahn, the two women edited until it was ready for print. Feldman who insists she tried to quit the group, was responsible for procuring the graphic artist, Lisa Rosenberg and the book’s printer for the project. The cover pleasantly displays two steaming cups of coffee resting on a park bench as if friends had wandered off in conversation.

The women
Living is what happens while you’re busy making plans. As the women wrote “Companion Pieces” over a decade, a myriad of changes in their personal lives took place. To begin with, they all had husbands and children. Many were teachers and some had penned books, written articles and poetry. During the 10 years of writing the book, they experienced graduations, death, moves, marriages, divorces, births, new businesses, two September relationships and birthdays. Their ages now range from 58 to 82.

Almaden resident Rosa Feldman and Evergreen resident Sandy Paller enjoy a quiet moment alone before speaking to the Villages Book Lovers group.

Edie Kulsten was the World War II war bride and was also known as the cheerleader of the group when things became difficult.

“My father had the foresight to move to Algiers away from the Nazis when I was a child,” said Campbell resident Kulsten and at 82, one of the oldest of the group. She feels the book is a memoir for her family.

Friendship
Though all the women are proud that “Companion Pieces” is finished, it was the journey through the process to the finished product that had the most profound effect.

“It was very therapeutic writing about the incidents in my own life,” said Almaden resident Rosa Feldman, who is also a piano teacher. “It let me vent. But the best thing was the friendships that formed. We are all very close and we learned a lot about each other and ourselves. It was an eye opening and revealing process.”

“The best thing about writing the book was working creatively together, becoming close and supportive and caring about the other women,” said Willow Glen resident Elaine Kahn, who had written other novels before the group endeavor. “We really bonded and became very good friends. The hardest thing was compromising and accepting things that had to be changed.”

“We were almost strangers when we met,” said Paller. “But now we are bonded for life.”

Perhaps the cover of the book explains the women’s feelings for each other best.

“When people get together over time, and work well with each other, the fabric of their lives forms a patchwork that we call ‘Companion Pieces.’”

To obtain a copy of “Companion Pieces,” include a check for $12 and send to Companion Press, P.O. Box 23006, San Jose, CA. 95153-3006 or go to companionpress.com.

The women are scheduled for a speaking engagement at Temple Emanu El, 1010 University Ave., San Jose on April 9 at 1:30 p.m. They will also appear at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Main Library, 150 E. San Fernando St., San Jose on April 30 at 1:30 p.m.