Nirvana Bites (Paperback)

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Review
We gave NIRVANA BITES a press date of 19 June, and had a great launch party at the Crow-on-the-Hill Bookshop in Crystal Palace on 12 June (mentioned in the BOOKSELLER on 1 August). They managed to sell over 40 books! Debi also dida Vox 'n' Roll reading at the Mini Bar, Highbury Corner, on Wednesday 25 June, which went very well. Press interviews:My Stop... feature in METRO (23.6.03)BIG ISSUE (30.6.03)'My South London' feature in PULSE (SOUTH LONDON PRESS, 4.7.03, and LEWISHAM MERCURY, 9.7.03) She has written:1,000 word piece for CRIME TIME (to run in the September issue).'Celebrity Critique' in WRITING MAGAZINE (Aug-Sept. issue) Stock signings:Watestones (Piccadilly), Books Etc (Piccadilly), Hatcards, Borders (Charing Cross Road), Blackwells (Charing Cross Road), Borders (Oxford Street), Waterstones (Margaret Street), Books Etc (Oxford Street) and Selfridges. 'Alper...writes with panache and affection about the alternative worlds of co-operative living, new agers and fetishists. She'svery funny...[and] delivers a very entertaining read. A fresh voice we should hear more from.'Cath Staincliffe. MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS (28.6.03) 'Bursting with energy, NIRVANA BITES is a brilliantly observed comic triumph, and heralds the arrival of a highly individual and hilarious new voice.'TANGLED WEB'Gripping stuff.'SKYTEXT There has also been a preview in the debut section of PUBLISHING NEWS and a mention in the MIRROR.

Product Description
NIRVANA BITES is an irreverent look at alternative living, set in the housing co-ops and S&M clubs of South London. When Jen goes for a job at the BBC, she gets more than she bargains for when she recognises her potential boss as 'Stapled Stan' - a man with a serious bondage problem. It seems that she is not the only one who knows his secret identity and soon Stan enlists her as a private investigator and protector. As she sets out on a quest to find and confront his blackmailers, Stan is concealed and cosseted within Jen's homely council-block community of anti-capitalist social misfits and New Age hippies, the Nirvana Housing Co-op. As the threats grow more serious and Jen's friends start to suffer, it becomes clear that an inconspicuous aquatic shop, Koi Korner, is hiding some dark secrets. Can Jen expose the perpetrators? Will life ever be the same again? Bursting with energy, NIRVANA BITES is a brilliantly-observed comic triumph, and heralds the arrival of a highly individual and hilarious new voice.

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THE SILENCE WAS thick as suet. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
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4 Reviews 5 star:  (3) 4 star:  (1) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   4 of 7 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Dark deeds in Peckham, 17 Jun 2003 By A Customer "Nirvana Bites" is a thoroughly good read. Set in 'Nirvana' a Housing Co-op in South London, it is the story of Jenny and her friends' struggle against some of the dark forces which beset 21st century life. Well written, fast paced,bursting with humour, energy, compassion and rage it is both a nail biting thriller and a dark comic satire on aspects of modern society which some might prefer not to know about. I read this book in two sittings, engrossed, unable to stop turning the pages, by turns delighted, horror struck, convulsed by the humour, and moved. I was startled into a belly laugh in the first chapter, smiled often as I read, gasped equally often, felt my skin crawl with horror towards the end and ended the book with tears prickling behind my eyes. You can't ask for more than that. The blurb rells me that this is Debi Alper's first book. I can't wait for her second. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   1 of 2 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Nirvana bites and won't let go, 23 Nov 2007 By  Minx (Cornwall, England) - See all my reviews This review is from: Nirvana Bites (Paperback) Gritty, contemporary writing that hooks the reader in from the startling opening chapter. A superb nibble at London life. Alper takes us through the story of Jen, when she sets out with her colourful friends, to help the unfortunately named and unfortunately decorated, Stapled Stan. I will never look at a piece of office equipment in the same way. Couldn't put it down, but very cleverly she has written a second - Trading Tatiana. Nirvana Bites from start to finish! Read it. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   2 of 7 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Wake Up, 10 Oct 2003 By  Emma (London) - See all my reviews The novel is narrated by Jen, toughie sleuth from Nirvana housing co-op, on the trail of a bunch of nasties. Cinematically visualised, with its in yer face dialogue and Scooby-doo pace, it is set firmly in a Lenny Bruce/Marx Brothers tradition, and superficially it is brazen wit that draws the reader onwards and upwards into a thickening plot. The true basis of this book, though, is not cheap laughs but a story of profound humanity. A passionately felt manifesto against ignorance and prejudice. Realise,then, how fuzzy we have all become in our dotage. It's a wake up call to anyone in their 40's in South London (or anywhere else) who gets a sense of deja-vu from this novel but would rather have a lie in. Read the book and make the film. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 4 customer reviews...		Most Recent Customer Reviews 4.0 out of 5 stars A gripping and fabulous read! As someone who reads mainly short stories, I am easily turned off by any novel that begins slowly and is filled with needless description, but I was gripped from the beginning by... Read more Published 3 months ago by Tania Hershman Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 4 customer reviews...

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