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Little Stalker [Hardcover]

Jennifer Belle (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)


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Book Description

May 17, 2007
An offbeat and hilarious story of voyeurism, obsession, and relationships-both real and imaginary-from the bestselling author of High Maintenance and Going Down.

Since she was thirteen, one of the few things New York novelist Rebekah Kettle has been able to count on is the thrill of seeing a new movie by world-renowned filmmaker Arthur Weeman every fall. Now thirty-0three, the humor and poignancy of Weeman's singular movies have inextricably merged with her own memories-to the point that she has begun writing him letters under the guise of her thirteen-year-old self-and her teenage admiration has become fullblown obsession. So when Rebekah steps back and takes stock of her own life, she isn't happy with what she finds: She's unlucky in love, hopelessly stalled in her work, and unable to get over the past.

It's time for Rebekah to take action. She starts a relationship with Isaac Myman, a quirky paparazzo with whom she's suspiciously compatible. And she befriends Mrs. Williams, an eccentric older woman who needs her companionship. It seems things are looking up. But, just as unexpectedly, Rebekah discovers that Mrs. Williams's apartment has the most coveted view on the Upper East Side-straight into Arthur Weeman's town house-where she can watch the object of her obsession's life displayed like a silent movie. Weeman has always been a fixture on the rumor mill, but Rebekah has been his staunchest defender-until she sees the evidence for herself, and has to ask herself some questions. Does she give her new love a chance at the scoop of a lifetime-a photo of the compromised Weeman-or does she remain loyal to the man whose films have defined her life?

Riotously funny and astonishingly moving, Little Stalker is a bold, daring, twisted, and lovable novel that could have come only from a literary voice as sharp and original as Jennifer Belle.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At age 33, in search of a man, a second novel and a life, Manhattan writer Rebekah Kettle occupies the singleton's circle of hell. Having defaulted on her book contract, she's reduced to working as a physician's assistant for her eccentric dad, her only meaningful relationship with a senile old woman with whom she wallows in Little House on the Prairie reruns. And she's plagued by a bitchy, big-breasted gossip columnist who wants her to blurb her book. One bright spot: her brain tumor isn't fatal. The unlikely catalyst for Rebekah's recovery is her obsession with Woody Allenesque director Arthur Weeman. She begins dating a sympatico young Weeman look-alike and rekindles her creative spark by writing the filmmaker flirty letters in the voice of a 12-year-old girl. When she spies Weeman in a compromising position, she reexamines her own romantic history with much older men, beginning with her middle-school defloration and subsequent abortion. Belle (High Maintenance; Going Down) sometimes loses the story amid a swirl of wisecracking, madcap moments, and the tone she uses on her more intense psychosexual material doesn't always work. Still, she's in fine form, and her sensibility sparkles with offbeat humor.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

At the opening of Belle's third novel (after High Maintenance, 2001), thirtysomething Manhattan novelist Rebekah Kettle is on the verge of yet another relationship breakup. She bemoans her fate but soldiers on, reveling in the release of a new film by her idol, Arthur Weeman. (She is several steps beyond fanatic; her apartment is littered with props from the director's movies, including a gondola and a couch.) Meanwhile, Rebekah's physician father enlists her assistance at his office, where she befriends Mrs. Williams, an elderly woman who is fully ambulatory but rides around in a wheelchair nonetheless. (The eccentric senior refuses to walk or talk on the streets of New York.) Rebekah soon falls for an offbeat paparazzo and discovers a family secret (thanks to a tip-off from her psychic kinesthesiologist). Belle has moments of comic inspiration (Rebekah's conversations with her father often resemble the Abbott and Costello routine, "Who's on First?"), but they aren't enough to sustain this predictable addition to a chick-lit field already well populated with comely heroines and clever quips. Still, for those addicted to the genre, it will provide the necessary fix. Allison Block
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover; First Edition edition (May 17, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1594489467
  • ISBN-13: 978-1594489464
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.7 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,862,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

21 Reviews
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4 star:
 (5)
3 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (21 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Been waiting for this book for YEARS!!, July 9, 2007
By 
Maria Castelli (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Little Stalker (Hardcover)
I love Jennifer Belle, she's the most stream-of consciousness oriented writer I've read in a long time. She lets her freak flag fly and is proud. Her books are authentic and you can tell they're pretty autobiographically driven, while at the same time being totally fictional. As a writer, she's brave enough to scratch the surface of her own soul to bring her protagonists to life. On the other hand, it doesn't read like an indulgent memoir. She addresses the whole annoying "chick lit" term, suggesting that pigeonholing female writers are going to cause them to start using pen names again. (Interestingly, there's an allusion to Harper Lee in the book.) Interesting to hear her thoughts about it since I always suspected that she sparked the genre (unwittingly) to begin with. And she's freaking funny; I'll start laughing out loud reading this on the subway. Enough accolades?
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This is chick-lit?, November 16, 2007
By 
This review is from: Little Stalker (Hardcover)
I stopped reading chick-lit when I realized I could just read the back cover and save myself the trouble. Big-city heroine? Check. Materialistic? Check. Boyfriend trouble? Check. And so on...

Little Stalker is one of the few books I've read this year that truly surprised me. I had to flex that suspension of disbelief muscle, but the heroine is realistic (well, for a New Yorker) and quirky enough to smooth over the fantastical elements. Jennifer Belle's writing is funny and poignant. I wouldn't categorize it at all...just appreciate it!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Messed up lives and obsessions, June 22, 2007
This review is from: Little Stalker (Hardcover)
Everybody's had a crush on an actor or singer, but Rebekah Kettle's is something a little strange.

And that's because "Little Stalker," Jennifer Belle's third novel, is a polished, intricate affair that tackles the concepts of celebrity, fannishness, and how to make your life go back on the rails. No way is this chick-lit -- it's femmelit, with detailed writing, real-life crises, and tongue distinctly in cheek.

Rebekah Kettle was thirteen, and recovering from a bad abortion, when she first saw an Arthur Weeman film. As her family, friends and past pregnancy fell apart around her, she clung to Weeman films as her lifeline.

Twenty years later, Rebekah is single, unhappy, living in an unfurnished apartment, and unable to come up with a second bestseller. And she's still obsessed with Arthur Weeman. When she assists a mildly senile old lady in a swanky apartment, she finds herself hanging out literally across the street from Weeman -- and starts writing him letters. Turns out he has a penchant for Lolitas.

But after an annoying gossip columnist introduces her to a cute -- if overtolerant -- photographer, Rebekah begins to slowly bring her life together, dealing with her parents, her tumor, her bad teen years, and the secret stepfamily she has never known. But will she finally break off her starry-eyed crush on Weeman, and reveal his secret to the world?

Early in "Little Stalker," Belle takes a moment to lambast the whole concept of chick-lit. Which is okay -- "Little Stalker" doesn't qualify, because Rebekah is concerned not with designer shoes, but with a brain tumor, her sad past and a "friend" who doesn't know when to get a "go away" clue. In other words, "Little Stalker" is far more like real life.

But despite the heavy topics, Belle doesn't let the storyline get bogged down. Half of it is funny, quirky and even frothy, but the other half is concerned primarily with the half dozen plot threads that slowly wind together. At times, it feels a bit like a female version of "High Fidelity," only with more life crises, and an ending that manages to be satisfactory, witty and slightly surreal.

And Belle threads a sly commentary through the book, focusing on the folly of celebrity (Rebekah collecting Weeman's movie props), and the irrational crushes that result from it ("I had Arthur Weeman's cold, and that was something").

Rebekah is a thoroughly likable heroine, although at times she seems to be stuck back at age thirteen (seen in her "Dear Awful Writer" letters). She's neurotic, sensitive, strange, awkward and kind of confused, yet she's also endearingly aware of her issues. She's surrounded by an even odder array of characters: her emotionally chilly parents, the quirky Isaac, the deeply annoying Ivy, and an old lady who gives Rebekah an odd, wordless friendship.

Jennifer Belle's femmelit reaches a new high with the charming, quirky tale of a young woman's crush, and how she manages to get her life going forward again. "Little Stalker" is worth tracking down and observing.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
All day long I called Mr. Moviefone. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
awful writer, psychic priest, book bum, old shrink, mitzvah speech, greatest filmmaker
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Arthur Weeman, New York, Ivy Vohl, Hugh Nickelby, Derek Hassler, Rebekah Kettle, Paul Revere, Little House, Isaac Myman, Adopting Alice, Central Park, Jason Lisch, Disney World, Gardener School, Monkey Bar, Laura Ingalls, Anita Stefano, Diet Coke, Galápagos Islands, Father O'Mally, Literary Suicide, Mark's Place, Candace Ann, Doc Baker, Forest Hills
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