Semi-Charmed Life
A Novel
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4.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $21.99
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- $21.99
Publisher Description
In Nora Zelevansky's hilarious debut, Semi-Charmed Life, an Upper West Side naïf, Beatrice Bernstein, gets swept up in the seemingly magical life of famous-for-nothing twenty-something, Veruca Pfeffernoose, while ghost writing her blog. Veruca's glitteringly opulent world soon seduces Beatrice away from her own insular, arty family with a promise of fancy parties, travel outside Manhattan (for once) and one desperately cute guy. But when her new glitzy lifestyle starts to take on dark undertones, Beatrice has to decide who she is—once and for all. With her own magical touch, Zelevansky deftly explores the world of rarified Manhattan in this sparkling modern fairy tale of first love, finding one's voice and growing up.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Born to an intellectual Upper West Side family, Beatrice Bernstein is no pauper, but her subterranean dorm-room dwelling suggests otherwise. Escaping the roaches and horrific odours of college life, she finds refuge in the lavish home of socialite Veruca Pfeffernoose. Employed as her ghost writer, Beatrice is immediately swept up in a life of palatial bathrooms, red currant-scented diffuser bottles, and ethereal chiffon Narciso Rodriguez gowns. Glittering with winking references to the accessories of the chattering class, this richly descriptive theory of the leisure class is disguised as a great summer read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In her semicharming debut, freelance journalist Zelevansky navigates the brackish confluence of quirky Upper West Sider Beatrice Bernstein and Veruca Pfeffernoose, her "famous-for-nothing socialite" dorm room neighbor. Hired by Veruca to ghostwrite her blog detailing Veruca's collegiate goings-on, The Pfeffernoose Chronicles, Beatrice is soon trading stained sweaters for designer duds as she shadows her new subject, whose wiles are potent enough to win over a celebrated artist immediately after barfing on his shoes. Slowly but surely, Beatrice (dubbed Beany Baby by her new posse of Veruca's friends, whom she calls the Axis of Evil behind their backs) begins to forget her family and friends as she jets to Miami and London on a moment's notice. But as Bea quickly learns, appearances can be deceiving, and she's not the only one passing for something she's not. Zelevansky infuses the superficiality of Veruca's world with an insider's knowledge of the socialites and sycophants she's chronicling, which lends credibility to the story. Despite a bizarre and jarring introduction of magical elements that fail to jive with the Blackberry and black truffles materialism of the book, this is an amusing first effort.
