July 9th, 2010
Bad Marie is collecting rave reviews from book blogs around the web. Here’s what they have to say:
“This novel should come with a surgeon general’s warning it’s so addictive.” –BookSexy
“An absolutely fascinating character.” –Devourer of Books
“I absolutely could not set this book down.” –Old Bookworm
“Whip-smart, sexy, funny. This novel is artisan chocolate dipped in top-drawer whiskey.” –Emily Gray Tedrowe
“An extremely enjoyable book with a fascinating lead character.” –toothy books
“Stunning.” –BookChickdi
“This book fucking rocks.” –Shishnit
“One fantastic summer read.” –Hybrid Mom
http://booksexyreview.com/2010/06/27/bad-marie-by-marcy-dermansky/
June 26th, 2010
Gina Frangello, author of Slut Lullabies and fiction editor of The Nervous Breakdown, reviews Bad Marie:
It is hard to even begin to define what makes Bad Marie “different” from other books on the market right now, except to say that it is as different as the French films of the 1980s were from When Harry Met Sally or Rambo. In fact, it might be fair to say that Bad Marie is the Betty Blue of novels: not just genuinely sexy, dark and subversive but also freaking weirdly hilarious, and if there is any logic in this world it will become both a bestseller and a cult classic.
June 9th, 2010
 Lisa Shea reviews BAD MARIE in the July, 2010 issue of Elle Magazine: “Dermansky does proud the long, often sketchy, sometimes illustrious tradition of transgressive fiction with BAD MARIE . . . Her Marie is no cry-baby Anna Karenina fated to a star-crossed love for which she pays with her life.”
Also available online.
May 10th, 2010
Dermansky follows her bold debut, TWINS (2005), with a wickedly nihilistic and suspenseful tale of erotic mayhem. Impulsive, larcenous, and utterly self-absorbed, not to mention vampishly beautiful, Marie rather liked prison, where she could read her favorite book, a novel by a French author named Benoît Doniel, over and over. Her handsome young Mexican lover and inept accomplice hung himself in jail, and her mother won’t even pick her up, so upon her release, Marie heads for her old friend Ellen’s swanky New York apartment. Smug Ellen knows how dangerous Marie is, yet she desperately needs a nanny for her precocious toddler daughter, Caitlin. As for her husband, it’s none other than Benoît Doniel. Bewitching and commanding, Dermansky creates a template for either a comedy of sexual errors or an all-out tragedy, then keeps readers guessing until the very end. Set in New York, Paris, the Riviera, and Mexico, this is an edgy, speedy, stylish, unpredictable, funny, and heart-stopping tale of a damaged soul who finally finds love in the clear-eyed intelligence, trust, and joy of a child.— Donna Seaman
January 5th, 2006
Marcy Dermanskys first novel, Twins, is a masterpiece for young or old adults. She gives us a sect of unidentical identical teenage twins, Chloe and Sue, so identical they cant bear each other. One wants to live only for her twinship, the other wants to be part of the world at large. At least at first. Dermanskys carefully drawn story, sad and funny by turns, keeps you guessing, and she brings off an optimistic but absolutely uncorny ending which is tremendously satisfying.–Paul
December 11th, 2005
 Writers love identical twins. What tidier way to show different sides of one character, explore possible life paths or test the limits of nature and nuture? Dermansky does all that, but her twins (who take turns at narrating) transcend the gimmick in a brainy, emotionally sophisticated bildungsroman-for-two. Chloe, the elder by four minutes, longs for a life of her own, independent of her clingy sister, Sue, who envies her (Chloe is an eighth of an inch taller) and thinks shes smarter and prettier. Sue adores Chloe, whose every gesture toward independence sends her into paroxysms of jealousy. On their 13th birthday, she wheedles and bullies Chloe into getting tattoos with each twin bearing the other twins name. Sue thought tattoos would prove to the world that the bond we shared went deeper than DNA, Chloe explains. The funy thing was, the tattoos made us different. When we died, it would be easy for a forensic scientist to tell us apart. After we got tattoos, we were never really and truly the same. Both twins are obsessive, vulnerable, ambitious and hungry for love, but these qualities take on different forms. Chloe keeps her room in perfect order, setting herself apart from her untidy sister, while Sue vomits up her meals in an effort to stay the same weight as Chloe, who intently counts her calories. Yet as they mature and their circumstances change, they find themselves swapping roles. Most teenage protagonists have to learn what it means to be themselves, but Sue and Chloe have an extra task: learning what it means to be or not to be each other.
–Polly Shulman
November 16th, 2005
“A poignant, compelling story, Dermansky’s debut successfully reconnects us with adolescent angst and leaves us wondering which is the evil twin.” Read the review.
October 20th, 2005
“Compelling, dark and like a traffic accident that you try to look away from, only to find your gaze returning with odd fascination.”
Read More….
October 5th, 2005
By DARLENE JOLLY
Two very different sisters cope with pain in family”Twins” is a raw, extraordinary look at the lives of Chloe and Sue.
Born into wealth, they have never wanted for anything but love and acceptance from their parents and their brother. Their story becomes a dark, heart-breaking tale about adolescents trying to survive.
Chloe and Sue have long blond hair and blue eyes, but differ greatly. Chloe is the bookworm; Sue is the trouble-maker.
On their 13th birthday, Sue bullies Chloe into getting a tattoo. Sue has always tried to get her way; never happy, she’s determined Chloe won’t be either. Sue sometimes stalks Chloe when Chloe tries to do things on her own.
Lisa Markham, an up-and-coming model and the daughter of a former pro basketball player, becomes Chloe’s best friend at school. Sue thinks Lisa is trying to come between the twins. She breaks Lisa’s nose when she finds Lisa and Chloe shopping at a mall.
Chloe becomes more determined to succeed on her own. She excels at school and, with the help of Lisa’s father, becomes an exceptional athlete. While Chloe thrives, Sue succumbs to eating disorders and pills.
When their parents separate, the twins cope. But when their brother leaves for college and their parents reunite, the twins’ lives begin to unravel. Sue runs away and lives with one of her brother’s college friends. Chloe, living alone, takes in the first boy who shows her affection.
Each twin tells her story of her journey to self-discovery.
Darlene Jolly is a lifelong resident of the Monrovia community
October 4th, 2005
“TWINS is a necessary commentary on hidden sectors of contemporary society, and provides a powerful lesson about the importance of family and human relationships in shaping who we become. A fantastic, must read novel.”
–Read more.
October 4th, 2005
“There’s nothing I love more than a book that involves me completely. And this one did that and then some.”
–Gwen Bond’s rave review of TWINS.
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"Irresistible." — Time Magazine
"Badass." — Esquire, Best New Books of 2010
"Sinful in all the right ways, delicate, seditious, and deliciously evil.” — Frederick Barthelme
 
 
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