Carter Ratcliff

Tequila Mockingbird Carter Ratcliff

Carter Ratcliff's Tequila Mockingbird is an urbane fairy tale crossed with a fast-paced, camp, social comedy told in the unforgettable voice of Manhattan fashion model Fiona Mays.  Sexy, loving, smart, and funny, Fiona is prey to racing thoughts that have a way of turning her flaws into virtues and her virtues into flaws.  It is from these reversals her story flows, as Fiona discovers that her supermodel best friend Brenda Rawlings is receiving death threats from Sergei Propokoff, the Russian oligarch she's been dating.  The beautiful princess Brenda must be saved from Sergei the ogre and-the crucial point-this rescue is up to her and her alone. As Fiona tries to focus on her mission, Tequila Mockingbird takes us on a tour of Manhattan, with scenes set in the world of fashion, the art world, the clubs of Chelsea, the Lower East Side and a Brighton Beach mob nightclub, with continuous returns to the Upper East Side home of Brenda's stunning presence, of which Fiona relates: the moment I see her I start to get in sync.  Not that she tries to be overwhelming or anything.  It's just that she's way better looking than just about anyone else who was ever born.  And so sweet.  Kind of weirdly flawless, meaning she has this aura that draws you in.  Whatever is happening, it's all about her, and that feels OK. But this first novel by a distinguished contemporary poet and art critic is, first and last, Fiona's unique and engaging voice as she reminisces, explains, complains, cajoles, seduces, and, most of all, jokes around-and deep into her personality we follow.  And as it tells us who she is, her words conjure up spectacular images of the glamorous and often treacherous world where she lives and precariously flourishes.