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As Liza Davis lies in a hospital room, recovering from a gunshot wound, the paparazzi swarm outside. Even the officer who’s been assigned to guard her is trying to capitalize on his luck. But Liza’s just thinking about her sister, Jamie, whose disappearance started it all.
Years ago, Liza and Jamie were as close as sisters could be. But then, one night, after an argument with their high-profile CEO mother over Jamie’s decision to join the Peace Corps, Jamie ran away—and she didn’t come back. After Jamie’s disappearance, Liza started writing herself letters, pretending they were from her sister. Then, months later, after her mother tried to convince her that Jamie was dead, Liza finally snapped and took off on a cross-country mission to find her missing sister.
Now that her travels are behind her—now that she’s a reality TV sidekick and a successful handbag designer (not to mention a bit of a nationwide curiosity)—Liza takes the time to reflect on the whole crazy story.
Jimmy Gleacher’s Silly Little Rich Girl is a quirky little novel about obsession, psychosis, and sisterhood. From the beginning, you pretty much know how it’s going to end (since the first chapter takes place in the hospital, after the shooting). And, shortly thereafter, you find out how it began. But the stories in between make for an unusual (and enjoyable) adventure.
If Silly Little Rich Girl were a movie, it would be a mix between a buddy movie (with one of the buddies being a mannequin) and a road trip comedy, with plenty of random characters and comical encounters along the way. Still, even though the story is a comedy (albeit a pretty dark one at times), you can’t help but feel sorry for Liza. She’s lost her beloved sister, her dad’s drunk and clueless somewhere in Minnesota, and her cold, absent mother just wants her to get over it already and throw herself into her job on Wall Street. No wonder she snaps! And though her journey often takes some pretty amusing turns, it’s sometimes hard to laugh at her—since a lot of things happen because she’s totally unstable.
Silly Little Rich Girl is a super-short read—almost too short, in fact, since the conclusion seems a bit abrupt (and Liza’s partner in crime, Lily Durfee, doesn’t get nearly the amount of ink that she deserves). Nevertheless, it’s an intriguing novel—with an interesting premise that will make you think and a whole bunch of peculiar characters and entertaining anecdotes that will keep you reading (and laughing). And it’s well worth a couple of hours of your time.
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