Catching Alice [Paperback]

Clare Naylor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2000

After losing a job, boyfriend, and apartment all within one kick-me-when-I'm-down week, Alice Lewis desperately needs a break. So when an old pal sweeps into London and offers her escape, Alice jumps at the chance--and onto the next plane to Los Angeles, the city of . . . yeah, right.

L.A. turns out to be a little less "angelic" than the down-to-earth English girl anticipated. For one, there's the new nine-to-five: the unbelievably glamorous, frenzied chore of coddling (doing PR for) the stars--not to mention the bevy of gorgeous, stick-thin models who suddenly appear in Alice's orbit and the suntan/convertible lifestyle that taunts her pasty-white self (starting with her thighs). And just when she thinks her new life couldn't get any more surreal, Alice acquires that most American of accessories: her very own stalker.

While the B-list actresses grumble how unfair it is that Alice gets a stalker and they don't, Alice tries to figure out who the mystery man leaving her poems and flowers could be. Is it Charlie, the slick but twisted talent agent? Or Paddy, the hot Irish director who has eyes for any breathing woman? Or maybe it's Tommy, the unbelievably beautiful and totally wasted movie star? Because if truth be told, Alice doesn't think it's all that strange, this stalker business. In fact, she's pretty sure it's downright romantic . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

If not as devastatingly funny as her debut novel, Love: A User's Guide, Naylor still dispatches her Britwit well in this Alice in Wonderland tale with a twist. Poor beleaguered Londoner Alice Lewis, 26, has lost her flat, her cheating boyfriend and her job all in the space of a fortnight. So when Tash, an American friend from her schoolgirl days, visits London and hears Alice's plight, she offers the frumpy ingenue a chance to regroup in Los Angeles. Under Tash's wing, and in spite of her self-doubt, Alice needs only one wheatgrass shake, some positive thinking, a crash course in California lingo and a few extra-firm handshakes to succeed the all-American way: she loses weight and is a smash as a publicist to the stars. She's even got her own stalker, much to the chagrin of jealous starlets who wish they had one. Touched by the presents he leaves for her, Alice secretly thinks her stalker is more mystery admirer than menace, and wonders if they will ever meet. The anonymousAto Alice, but not the readerAsuitor is an exuberantly romantic, Irish theatrical director named Patrick Wilde, who has followed Alice across the pond because he's fallen in love from afar with her unassuming nature. Two subplots are hardly worth the reader's attentionAone involving Tash and a married man, the other Alice's cousin Simon and diamond smugglers. But main character Alice is perky and engaging, and her loopy humor is the perfect foil for "the artifice capital of the world." (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Naylor's second novel reinvents Alice in Wonderland by plunking dumpy, brokenhearted Alice Lewis into the heart of the Los Angeles celebrity culture. When Alice flees London to escape the constant reminders of a broken relationship with an English heel, she finds L.A. a strange Wonderland indeed. Surrounded by a weird amalgam of lethally beautiful women and perverse men, Alice lands a job in a P.R. agency, and her coworkers add yet another dimension of lunacy to this Mad Hatter's tea party. This is a world populated with the ruthless, the mindless, and the physically flawless, and Naylor filters the triple obsessions of health, beauty, and sex through her heroine's somewhat phlegmatic sensibility. The sole even vaguely sensible character is Lysette Jackson, a southern transplant determined to find an English husband with a title and a castle. Naylor has fun in this send-up--surely only in Los Angeles would old-fashioned wooing with chocolates, flowers, and love notes be interpreted as stalking--and her readers will, too. Suzanne Young
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (October 31, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449005577
• ISBN-13: 978-0449005576
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.7 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,609,433 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Tale of Cross-Cultural Exploits, March 23, 2002

By 

Tracey A. Nettell (Houston, Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Catching Alice (Paperback)

Alice begins as many young British ladies in this currently popular genre of books do - she is broke, her job is at a dead-end, her love life is swirling down the drain .. well, you get the picture. But where "Catching Alice" takes a different path is that this heroine takes the opportunity to move to Los Angeles under the wing of her old American schoolfriend who has a good heart but is one of life's shallower creatures. Alice lands herself a pretty good job in PR (the Californians can't resist the British accent) and so begins her new life in la-la-land. This books contains lots of characters and plot lines and is really quite a lot of fun. Its a quick, light-hearted read, doesn't pretend to be anything greater and takes an amusing look at what happens when people are transplanted to a new culture and environment. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Keeps reader interest, October 31, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Catching Alice (Paperback)

Alice Lewis is going through some bad times. The former English secretary lost her job due to a merger, is evicted from her apartment, and finally dumped by her boyfriend. Some of her friends have allowed Alice to sleep on their sofas. Her best friend Tash learns of Alice's predicament and insists her pal join her in Los Angeles where she will find her a job and become roommates. A depressed Alice meekly agrees, but from the time she deplanes at LAX, she feels like a visitor from another planet.

Tash obtains a high profile publicist job for Alice, who surprises herself by being quite good at it. Alice goes out on a date with a man into S&M, learns how to be a California Girl, and picks up a stalker. Patrick Wilde first saw Alice in England and was very attracted to her then and has followed her to the States. His behavior towards Alice leaves Patrick uncomfortable because he always gets the girl, but she proves elusive. They must clear up several misunderstandings if they are to have a warm relationship together.

Clare Naylor has a delightful sense of humor that she imbues in her characters, who land in situations that leave readers wondering whether to gasp or laugh. The entire cast is well drawn so that the audience understands each one of the key players. CATCHING ALICE includes high drama, low humor, and raunchy romance that will make Ms. Naylor a name in the States.

Harriet Klausner

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There's Something About Alice!, February 7, 2001

By 

Cami (Southern Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Catching Alice (Paperback)

Alice is having a horrible week! That is, until her American friend, Tash, invites her to L.A. Tash is beautiful, bold, and sophisticated. Of course, she's also tan and blonde. Alice is a pale, frumpy, shy British chick having a hard time adjusting to Tash's Californian lifestyle. Soon, Tash has Alice enrolled in kickboxing classes, drinking nasty, "nutritious" herbal drinks, and attending cocktail parties with Hollywood's most glamourous. Even though Alice doesn't fit in with her new surroundings, there are quite a few guys noticing her. Alice manages to make a few jealous female enemies during her stay. Read this book to find out what's so great about Alice! I'll just say that she's a very likeable heroine, brilliantly invented by Clare Naylor. This book has everything--romance, comedy, female bonding, and even a dangerous little subplot involving Alice's cousin, Simon. This is a very entertaining, light read!