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L. Donsky-Levine was born and raised in New York and where according to her mother, she was writing before she even walked, telling those stories with a twig in the dirt. But it would take a lifetime and the raising of a family first before that career as storyteller would come to fruition. In her trademark witty and wise fashion, she crafts stories crossing all genres, all emotional landscapes of the heart about characters dealing with all the things life could possibly throw their way. The Bad Girl is her debut novella. She currently lives in South Florida with her family, and when not writing she can be found tinkering around in the kitchen (just for fun), painting, taking long walks with her granddaughter, Cupcake, or online. You can find out more about her work by visiting her website as well as be the first to hear about upcoming books by signing up for her mailing list newsletter.
Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite
The Bad Girl is a literary fiction novella written by L. Donsky-Levine. New York City in the 1970s is a hectic and swirling place filled with life and vibrant colors. Though it’s been two years since Fitz Darcy was wounded on Hamburger Hill in Vietnam and lost his arm in the process, he still feels the cold and ache in his phantom limb, especially on March days like this one with its damp and stormy weather. Fitz is on his way to work at the center, but he takes the extra time he has on Friday mornings to visit some of his old haunts where other wounded people still cling to a poor semblance of life. On his way, he notices a young woman arguing with an older mustachioed man, the two of them pointing and gesticulating in their angry discourse. Later, on the train platform, he sees her again and feels compelled to follow, to try to make her acquaintance somehow, yet she always seems just out of reach. He follows her to the Deuce, a street that’s little more than a porn market and, in many ways, the worst of Times Square, and sadly watches as she enters one of the many triple XXX-rated emporiums.
L. Donsky-Levine’s debut literary fiction novella, The Bad Girl, is an achingly lovely and haunting tale of lost souls living half-lives amidst the bustle of New York City in the 1970s. The reader first meets Samson, the Havana Brown cat, and his Girl, and can’t help but get involved in the story of the young woman whose life has somehow gone so terribly wrong, yet still finds the love and comfort to give to her cats and the strays outside the porn palace where she works. I was entranced by the author’s recreation of New York City in the 1970s and could visualize every bit of the city that I was quite familiar with at that time. Riley’s friend and mentor, Bennie, the Holocaust survivor, is one of the most memorable characters I’ve come across, and I loved watching as his endless compassion helps her begin the healing process. The Bad Girl is a most remarkable novella and it’s most highly recommended.
