Here Kitty Kitty

by Jardine Libaire

New York at night is an urban playground where glamour and danger are just flip sides of the same thrilling coin. The tough, beautiful player at the heart of Jardine Libaire's acclaimed first novel is Lee, the consummate party girl. Lee has the right designer clothes, the right job managing a stylish restaurant, and the right lover, who finances all her bad habits. As the lights go down at closing time, the energy of the city is a call Lee cannot resist, even when her Cinderella-like existence begins to unravel.

Genres: Fiction, Novels, Literary Fiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published May 10, 2004

About the author

I'm a fiend for books, bookstores, lit journals, found poetry, libraries, graffiti, artist books, diaries, screenplays---anything that tells a story. My MFA is from Michigan, which is a dearly beloved program. For the last ten years, I've been living in Austin, TX, a city that is very sweet + kind to artists ;) Over the decades, I've worked as a motel chambermaid, real estate agent, dishwasher, bartender, assistant to a perfume designer, art model, copywriter, grantwriter, and restaurant manager. I worship at the feet of Willa Cather. Every Thursday evening, I facilitate a storytelling class at the Lockhart Women's Prison here in Texas, and I've learned more about life from the women in the class than I have taught them, I'm quite sure. Right now I'm working on a new book about a cheetah and a deaf teenager.

William S. Burroughs said: 'Hustlers of the world, there is one mark you cannot beat: the mark inside.' And Dolly Parton said: 'I would never stoop so low as to be fashionable.' And Oscar Wilde said: 'It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.' I love them all! xo

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

i have a weird obsession with this book. i read it. liked it okay. put it down. went on with my life. but it won't leave my psyche! it haunts me for no discernible reason.

[Mary Faulk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought Libaire's writing style was addicting in it's own. I loved her perception of NYC. I really felt as if I were in the Big Apple myself. There was no sugar coating in this book. I liked it's raw beauty but at the same time I also, was tired of the main character, Lee. She was truly draining, and at the end of the novel I simply wanted to shake her, and tell her to get her crap together. The author also added some interesting characters that left me wanting more. I would read another novel by Libaire, hoping her main character was not as helpless and self absorbed. Then again, maybe that is what made the book.

[Rhonda Lomazow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book based in New York from Soho to underworld areas a well written a novel that drew me in on this wild adventure of a read,Thanks #crown book #netgalley.

[Marshal (thebookishhowler) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm so glad this book has finally come to an end. I don't know why I even bothered finishing it. I honestly felt like I only wasted my time. I expected a little more because the blurb really made it sound interesting and Bourdain even praised this but oh well we do get disappointed. Halfway and I was just skimming through it, I couldn't care less what was happening even. I begrudgingly hated Lee–the main character–all throughout, she was just very tiring! I've read a couple of books in the past with the same theme but I've enjoyed this the least.

[Michele · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did you ever screw a guy for money? Did you ever drink yourself into oblivion because New York has a way of beating the living hell out of you? Have you snorted cocaine off the back of a toilet seat after spending a night out dancing and having sex with nameless rich guys? Then this book is for you!

In all seriousness, it's a story that didn't bug me, but a story that's been told before nonetheless (and better). It's another OK written book about losing yourself to drugs, booze, and sex in New York City. If that's your thing? You'll like it.

[Jes · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was something so enthralling about the vignette style of this book. I was transported.

There’s something my anxiety ridden soul loves about reading about a person so unbelievably lost. I think it’s because it makes me feel better about myself but I also think it’s alluring to imagine a life like hers.

I loved this book. I was heartbroken and entertained and horrified and seduced. It was sooo good. Anyone who wants to read gorgeous writing about a trouble soul should pick this one up.

[maura · Rating 1 out of 5]

Chick-lit set in Williamsburg.

If I knew the main character in real life, I would probably not like her. I'd probably detest her and all that she stood for. I would have visions of myself telling her to stop feeling sorry for herself and to move back to Long Island. But I'd never actually say anything. Instead I'd glare at her from a distance, and secretly detest how everyone else loved this hipster beauty and all of her irresponsible, selfish, and self-destructive ways.

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author's prose is simply captivating. It separates itself from the chic lit I try to stray from. The imagery created is stunning in itself. The protagonist is not someone you'll automatically empathize with. You'll even get mad at her a lot, but that's okay. The book grows into something very special. I'm glad I experienced it.

[Anna Beauregard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Libaire certainly has a way with words. I'm transfixed by her style and vivid evocation. I read this immediately after finishing White Fur, intoxicated with her prose. The author also somehow perfectly articulate how mental illness simultaneously creeps into our lives and hits us like a boulder --- whether it's us or our loved ones (and what's the difference, truly?) who are afflicted.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know why people freaked out about Sweetbitter when this book also exists. Somehow I love when a main character is a mess, but you're not holding it against her. It's a delicate balance that this one gets just right.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved her writing style. I wish the book was longer.

[Janelle Westfall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lee is my soul-sister. Seriously. I've read this a hundred times, easily. The only downside to this delicious book, is that it's fiction. I'll never actually be able to meet that part of myself.

[Alina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love this book as well as White Fur. I wish they were longer. I look Libaire's writing and how I feel like I know the characters personally. Please give us more books!

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trippy, dream-like, a mix of Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz if both were rolled into a drug-sex orgy. It's a coming-of-age story, a bit of a dream/ ghost story; it's about finding stability when the whole world around you is shaking like it's about to crumble into millions of pieces. It was a fun ride. I wish the author had more books; I would definitely read another of hers.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

i can't believe Bourdain blurbed the back of this. for shame Tony, for shame!

[Heather Eaton · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was one of the most ridiculous books I've ever read.

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lee has the right designer clothes, the right job managing a stylish restaurant, and the right lover, who finances all her bad habits. As the lights go down at closing time, the energy of the city is a call Lee cannot resist, even when her Cinderella-like existence begins to unravel.

Interesting synopsis which led me to try out this book but I couldn't finish it. I just couldn't get into it.

*I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review

[Wolf (Alpha) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated this book. I struggled to get through from the very beginning. It felt rushed and there was too much information that we didn’t need. It was stupid how she took money from her ex and how he used it against her. It was honest about how people are today but it was incredibly slow. I hate that she wants to be an adult but acts like a kid.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Blog | Twitter | Instagram | (2.5) Review also found here.

As a note, an e-galley of this novel was sent to me via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.

Part of me truly expected to love this for nostalgic reasons. That sounds a bit odd considering the contents of Here Kitty Kitty but hear me out--I used to read a lot of books like this. Some good, some bad. At the end of winter, just a few weeks before spring every year, I get into this reading mood where I want to read books that feel like what I once adored. Last year brought me quite a few new books that somehow felt fresh and familiar all at once, so I had high hopes for this book.

When I saw Here Kitty Kitty's synopsis, I thought: yes, this is like an out-of-control adult version of Gossip Girl that I must read. Plus, I really liked the general party girl Polaroid vibe that the cover art gives off. I was like, okay, sign me up--STAT! Ultimately, I found the book to be difficult to get into and while many books share a similar plot to them, this one felt way too familiar to dozens of books and not in a good way. In short, it was repetitive and I almost didn't finish it.

It's not that I'm not keen on Libaire's writing--I enjoyed it and frankly felt it was the only thing that salvaged a lot of it and kept me reading. There's a brutal honesty to certain parts in the prose that I really got into. I like my characters complex and horribly flawed to the point of being almost unlikable. For some reason, I couldn't connect with Here Kitty Kitty even if it seemingly spelled out every trope and characteristic I'd normally like.

Who can resist a hot mess?

Apparently, I could in this case. Here Kitty Kitty simply was not for me but I think that, if you haven't read many books that are similar, you will enjoy this one. It was pretty to the point; I can definitely appreciate that even if it wasn't my cup of tea when it boiled down to it.

[Jasmine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried reading this once before, stopped, waited a few years, gained more life experiences (eating ramen noodles in my furniture-less apartment) then tried again and still ended up not caring for it.

Lee is a horrible spoiled brat. I didn't care much about her feelings, as she made me hate her. I found myself turning pages to read more about the people that came to love her. I was not reading for their stories, but out of curiosity. How could they stand to be around her? In the same room with her? Do nice things for her?

I didn't care for Libaire's writing too much either. it seemed choppy, much like a bad scrapbook and littered with dated lingo and slang. it seemed as if she were trying too hard. It was a kind of prose i didn't find enjoyable.

By the time Lee has come to her senses the reader is only vaguely interested. Had it not been for an intersting charachter oddly thrown in midway through the book I would have put it down again. He is what I liked about the book.

[Dan Fuchs · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a heartbreakingly lovely writer Libaire is. She captures both the joyful magic and excruciating pain of youth, through the eyes of Lee, as human a narrator as I've ever read.

Toward the end of the book, Lee watches a group of boys cross a lot outside her building in Brooklyn. In this gorgeous collection of sentences, Libaire speaks directly to the heart (or mine, at least) about what it is to have once been young:

"And I want to go, to be part of it. Absurd as this is, I yearn after the place where they vanished. But in this life we take turns at being enchanting, then enchanted. First we play in the streets, unaware of the freedom burning in the sun on our hair and the cigarette in our mouth, unconscious of the daydreams we inspire. Then it's our time to sit at a window and watch, and we are moved."

I nodded as I read these words, a hand on my heart. "Yes," I said aloud. "Yes."

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

My cousin pawning her library books off on me again, I recommend it, it's a very convenient way to use the library! Marketed as chick lit, this was not what you'd expect. Heroine is an alcoholic drug addict spiraling downward, also a painter and everything in the book is described in very lush, tactile terms, like running your hand across a canvas thick with paint. I enjoyed it. And it doesn't have the end I was expecting. But maybe you would be? Some nice moments about creation, about self control, about willpower. About urgency, desire and lust as well.

[Jessica Haider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imagine Sex in the City where one of the 4 main characters is on a downward spiral of drug abuse and you will have this debut novel. The central character is a NYC hipster party girl who feels lonely because all of her friends have moved on from the party lifestyle. I really enjoyed the author's writing and will definitely check out any other novels that she writes.

[Jennifer Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

So glad I went with this one. It's sort-of an explosion of images that tell a story. And though for some time I couldn't tell if I hated the narrator or not, I ended up feeling everything with her. I give it four stars because, unlike many books, I came out of this one with the conclusion, "I could never write like that."

[Geert Weening · Rating 4 out of 5]

The lens of Lee on the world had me gripped, the way she describes and experiences her life and things around her are very foreign to me, but feel authentic and almost mystic. It's consistent and unique and now I long for stories written in a similar way, where I can see the magic of the world through the eyes of the protagonist.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beauty of the prose in this book is a refreshing take on the "desperate bad girl in the big city" story. Libaire's emotional detailing is exceptional.

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I enjoyed this book but I honestly remember mostly being infatuated with the title and thinking it was the literary equivalent of a Strokes song.

[Justina]

I rarely quit a book this early - 10% in - but the main character is honestly disgustingly unlikable. She is the kind of woman I would detest in real life and would never choose to be friends with; the kind of woman who, to be honest, gives other women a bad name. She literally bounces around from sugar daddy to sugar daddy, talking about how she laps up the luxurious items they give her like a kitten lapping up milk, and how that makes her feel safe and secure. She is $55k in debt, but a few pages later, quits her job. She embarrasses her older, wealthy boyfriend at dinner and he gets up and goes to the bar to get away from her. She follows him saying he wants another drink and he tells her to go ahead, he’s not stopping her and she’s like “well, I don’t have money” and holds her hand out for him to give her cash. No thank you. I don’t have room in my real life for women with no self respect for themselves or their gender, and I certainly don’t have precious time to waste reading a book about such a woman. Hard pass.

[Audrey (Warped Shelves) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars

This review is based on an ARC of Here Kitty Kitty which I received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher (Crown Publishing).

I found Here Kitty Kitty to be a highly contrasting book. The writing was complex, yet simple to understand; the plot was addictive and fascinating, yet I found myself bored. Perhaps why I could read this monotonous book so quickly and why my interest did not waver is because I hoped (and assumed) that something big would happen. Unfortunately, events remained fairly tame and predictable throughout. Though I enjoyed Here Kitty Kitty while I read it, this won't be a re-read for me.

I will say that I really loved the mood of this story. Here Kitty Kitty felt like The Bell Jar meets American Psycho, with a main character reminiscent of Rebecca Bloomfield from Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series.

Overall an enchanting read, but not a favorite for me.

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here Kitty Kitty was so good. There are a lot of moments where you just want to save the main character yourself. So many things are so overwhelming about this book and it was insanely dark but it was wonderful. After her mother died, she went downhill mentally and physically, which I do understand. She gets engaged to Yves, then starts cheating on him with Kelly and realizes that she is in love with Kelly. They plan to move to Florida. Kelly moves down there a month or two before she does but she ends up cancelling her move down there. She panics and realizes she needs to fill her emotional holes before Kelly could do it for her. She then spends a ton of time painting and finally pulling herself together.