The Seven Year Bitch

Table of Contents

 

 

 

 

“An offbeat, surprisingly sweet story about voyeurism, celebrity, obsession, and writer's block . . .
Little Stalker
is a treat—hilarious, richly textured, subtly insightful, and undeniably twisted.”

 

“Compulsively readable . . .
Little Stalker
is an affecting meditation on the connections we make—with others and with ourselves—as we age, from a writer whose work is maturing, quite beautifully.”

—
Salon.com

 

“Hilarious and poignant. Despite some serious attention-deficit problems, this protagonist is an endearing figure.”

 

“A smart and hilarious read; you'll fall in love with Belle's neurotic heroine Rebekah Kettle as she struggles to make ends meet, unearth her father's secrets, find love, and manage a bizarre obsession with a movie director.”

 

“There are only so many good novels about single women living the big-city life, and Jennifer Belle's novels are among the best, the most human and genuine. Her first-person narrators are solitary female
flanuers
in continual drift through the pretty and gruesome parts of New York, and it's always a treat to be in on their streaming monologues as they . . . generally afflict their humanity on an otherwise indifferent world.”

 

“Deliciously sardonic . . . You have to admire a writer who can create a character who is monumentally neurotic, yet oddly appealing nevertheless. Jennifer Belle has brilliantly done so with the protagonist—no, let's call her the heroine, because she's earned it—of
Little Stalker
.”

 

“‘A lighthearted romp through New York' [is] precisely what Belle delivers. That it comes with a skewering as well makes it just that much more fun.”

 

“Twisted and tender . . . Will keep you hooked to the last page.”

 

“Belle suffuses this story with genuine sweetness.”

 

“A funny and rich plot.”

 

 

“Hilarious.”

 

“Razor-sharp, deadpan observations and dazzling prose—by turns utterly hilarious and heart-wrenching.”

 

“Irresistible.”

 

“Looking for a good laugh? Enter the world of twenty-six-year-old Liv Kellerman. . . . Her nutty sagas will have you rolling on the floor.”

 

“Stylish, funny . . . Belle's unpretentious humor and clean prose style are in an entirely different neighborhood than your average single-in-the-city author.”

 

“An outrageous, hilarious account of one woman's journey to find herself, the ‘Loft of her Life,' and a man worthy of sharing apartment space in New York City . . . wicked and twisted . . . uproariously funny.”

 

“Addictive and captivating . . . The same wisecracking, fierce yet vulnerable point of view that made
Going Down
so special is taken even further in
High Maintenance.
”

 

“Satisfying. Even non–New Yorkers will be sucked in as Liv navigates her way through heartache and the city.”

 

“Sharp, incisive, and laugh-out-loud funny.”

 

“Just buy the damn book.”

 

“Belle has created another unforgettable narrator—funny, self-absorbed, a little damaged.”

 

“Hugely funny.”

 

“Liv's wackiness gives this unruly novel moments of great humor, but in the end the book is as much about the peculiar landscape of the New York housing market—the snooty upper-class clients and the real estate agents who kowtow to them—as it is about a young woman finding her own independence.”

 

“Belle deftly mines real estate as a metaphor, especially in Liv's affair with an impulsive architect, and her clients and fellow brokers are both terrifying and hilarious by turns.”

 

“In this latest New York romp . . . Belle draws both Liv and the idiosyncrasies of the Manhattan real estate market so well that one can't help wondering just what is fiction (Belle did a stint as a broker herself) and what may be biography. . . . Belle's skewed take on life in the big city keeps the smirk-per-page ratio high . . . offbeat observations . . . hilarity and pathos.”

 

“[An] amusing . . . humorous real-estate romp with Manhattan views.”

 

“If you think the Hub housing market is tough, take a look at this tale of high-stakes real estate—and sexual—wheeling and dealing. Belle knows the world she depicts.”

 

“Like a hot fudge sundae . . . delicious. Gutter-mouthed, smart-ass Liv, she's a Becky Sharp for our time.”

 

“You'll feel right at home with Belle's . . . follow-up to her racy debut,
Going Down.
”

 

“Brimming with Gotham references, weird but lovable characters and typical urban scenes, [
High Maintenance
] is a witty and engaging tale of love and real estate in Manhattan. . . . Belle's tongue-in-cheek style and laugh-out-loud antics keep the pages turning . . . fresh and invigorating.”

 

“This work continues in the same tradition of Belle's highly praised first novel,
Going Down
, with equal parts hilarity and pain . . . in turns funny and poignant.”

 

 

 

“A witty, gritty, and thoroughly convincing first novel.”

—Nick Hornby

 

“A rollicking debut.”

 

“A funny, sad, nasty little gem of a novel.”

—Jay McInerney

 

“An exceptionally funny writer.”

 

“A kind of twisted version of
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
. . . Delightfully, sickeningly, hilariously enthralling.”

—Tama Janowitz

 

“Imagine Holden Caulfield's sister, Phoebe, growing up and turning tricks to study acting, and you have Bennington Bloom.... Alternately vulnerable and self-possessed, Bloom is the main attraction of this book, but there are others: a riveting plot with menacing undercurrents and creepy details, a cast of colorful minor characters, and a happy but not sappy ending.
Going Down
is loaded with comical ironies . . . a wonderful, aberrant, compulsively readable novel.”

 

“The best thing about Jennifer Belle's appealing first novel is Bennington Bloom, the near-tragic yet fantastically winning narrator . . . Belle has created an oddly affecting character whose self-reflexive candor and wry observations add up to an astringent, darkly comic view of New York life.”

 

“Belle combines very funny, sharply written prose and superb grasp of narrative in her debut novel.... The arresting combination of her caustic wit and insightful observations makes for a wickedly hilarious sense of humor evoking Dorothy Parker. . . . Belle's riotous, vivid debut has the energy and gritty appeal of New York City itself.”

 

 

 

 

(illustrated by David McPhail)

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