"[What a Piece of Work I Am] centers on the sultry Ariane, who had been the town bad girl in the 1950s. Baring the sexual secrets and bizarre events of her past ...Ariane pieces together a wild, fascinating tale based on her erotic history. Peter listens as Ariane, who is six years older and more worldly, recounts growing up lower-class and having sex with many boys while the good girls shunned and hounded her for it. He remembers vividly his own puppy love for this luscious older sister of his best friend, Raskol...A rebel before her time, questing, daring yet bumbling in the back seats of guys' cars, fearless to the point of foolishness, she remains resilient enough to pursue a twisting life's odyssey that demonstrates her growing sophistication in matters of love and sex." Mark Ciabattari, Washington Post Book World A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR