';Entertaining and refreshingly introspective' Times Literary SupplementThey were like balloons that had escaped a childs grasp - pointlessly floating. Focus! I would plead with my mother. And my father was forever being diverted. Allow us to introduce you to the Rips family: Michael, Sheila and daughter Nicolaia, the last denizens of New Yorks famous Chelsea Hotel. Better yet, allow Nicolaia to i...