Here Kitty Kitty
A Novel
by Jardine Libaire
List Price: $13.95
Pages: 240
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0316010758
Publisher: Back Bay Books
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.
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1. In the novel's first chapter, Lee points out that "the things that make you free start to keep you down" (page 4). How is this sentiment reflected throughout the novel?
2. Appearances are often misleading. Identify and discuss various distinctions drawn in the novel between reality and perception.
3. Despite Lee's wild lifestyle, she always seems to have a guardian angel of sorts ready to save her when she most needs it --- Art, Becca, and Yves, for example. Is Lee saved in the end?
4. In the beginning of their relationship, Kelly informs Lee that he is not interested in taking care of her. What does he mean by that? How does their relationship compare to Lee's relationship with Yves?
5. What do Yves and Kelly offer Lee? How does she treat them both?
6. A few women stand out in Lee's story --- her mother; Belinda; Nick; and Chico's wife, Audrey. Discuss each woman's interactions with Lee. How does each influence Lee's growth? Can the same be said for the men in the novel?
7. Kelly says, "The stuff that changes your life is never very dramatic. You know? Not to other people" (page 148). Do you agree with his assertion? How is it reflected in his own life? In Lee's?
8. Yves offers Lee the chance of a lifetime. Does Lee make the right choice in the end? Why does she make her decision?
9. People deal with grief in myriad ways. In Here Kitty Kitty the death of Lee's mother is never far from Lee's consciousness. What does Lee remember most about her mother? How does she cope with her grief?
10. A great deal of this book is spent in the grip of memory and has a nostalgic feel. What kind of memories does Lee focus on in the story? What do they reveal about her state of mind?
11. A life with Kelly seems to be the perfect ending to Lee's story. Does her ultimate decision come as a surprise? Discuss her reasoning. What does her decision suggest about her in the end?
12. Lee is a flawed character, initially on a destructive path. Yet she reaches an impasse early in the book. What self-discoveries does she make? Does she succeed in changing her life?
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"This novel is all attitude."
—Barbara Fisher, Boston Globe
"An edgy contribution to the party-girl-in-the-Big-Apple genre."
—Fritz Lanham, Houston Chronicle
"An affectionate and completely believable slice of New York's not-so-young and reckless, distinctive for its unapologetic tone and finely observed details."
—Anthony Bourdain, author of Kitchen Confidential and A Cook's Tour
"This is a marvelous book! . . . Here Kitty Kitty does a superb job of depicting a self-destructive artist, and the city itself."
—Ed Halloran, Rocky Mountain News
