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2.95 AVERAGE
2.95 AVERAGE
Even though in many points I agree with the critics, I don't agree that the female characters, especially Fanny were completely passive and helpless. There was a certain agency in not allowing the disgusting guy to "deflower" her and also in going to Charles rather than staying with the madam. I also liked traces of sarcasm I thought I detected about class and about the silly concept of "virginity" and the high value attached to it for no good reason. The strong friendships between female characters (especially Mrs Cole and her girls) also were nice. That said it was porn. It was boring, repetitive. It was a man writing what he imagines a woman's point of view is (or thinks it ought to be) and as a consequence very heteronormative (actual homophobia comes into the second half of the book but the naturalisation of a narrowly conceived heterosexuality is throughout. There is also a sometimes hilarious, but mostly irritating phallocentrism. This idea that women can only really be satisfied by penis and that if it is painful that is all the better.
One of the studs she got with had a "maypole" which was pretty hilarious.
All in all I don;t recommend it. There are better classics. There is worse porn though. The constant argument for treating women with respect and courtesy to prostitutes is a well made point that is still topical in 21st century world. So ok...I managed to finish reading it.
It has a sweet happy ending. I like it because it's not the "woman gets treated badly but by constant love wins hero" the hero always treats her with respect and consequently actually deserves her love. So ok one and a half stars. I can't give it more because I got so sick of penises tearing their way into every female character all the time.
One of the studs she got with had a "maypole" which was pretty hilarious.
All in all I don;t recommend it. There are better classics. There is worse porn though. The constant argument for treating women with respect and courtesy to prostitutes is a well made point that is still topical in 21st century world. So ok...I managed to finish reading it.
It has a sweet happy ending. I like it because it's not the "woman gets treated badly but by constant love wins hero" the hero always treats her with respect and consequently actually deserves her love. So ok one and a half stars. I can't give it more because I got so sick of penises tearing their way into every female character all the time.
I had a hard time getting used to the writing style of this book. For only 140 pages this book seemed to take forever to read.
I’d say 4.5 stars for me. Despite the homophobic remarks and the many instances of rape/sexual assault, I enjoyed this overall. Remembering that the author is a male throughout reading is a bit off putting. However, I loved hearing about the feminist, hedonistic pleasure house run by Ms. Cole, and a good few of the abundant sex scenes were good.
*conclusion spoilers* The moral reversal of Fanny at the novel’s conclusion was less than pleasing. On the bright side, the conclusion that sees Fanny happy and unpunished for her passed exploits is welcomed (as my understanding is that most of Fanny’s literary prostitute contemporaries did not receive such a treatment).
*conclusion spoilers* The moral reversal of Fanny at the novel’s conclusion was less than pleasing. On the bright side, the conclusion that sees Fanny happy and unpunished for her passed exploits is welcomed (as my understanding is that most of Fanny’s literary prostitute contemporaries did not receive such a treatment).
When I first began my quest to read through all 100 of Golden Deer Classics' "100 Books to Read Before You Die", I didn't exactly expect that I would be reading 18th century erotica aboard a flight to Florida. Moreover, I never expected that upon reading said erotica, I would find myself more amused than titillated. However, this journey has been one of many surprises, and "Fanny Hill, or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure" was certainly a surprising entry into the 100 Classics list.
If I had to sum up "Fanny Hill" as simply as possible, I would call it a mixture of Hulu's original series "Harlots" and a rough draft of that novel the principal from "10 Things I Hate About You" was writing. Focusing on a young girl who is manipulated into prostitution, "Fanny Hill" does not offer much in the way of story. The book is formatted as one long letter wherein the intimate details of Fanny's sex life are disclosed ad nauseum one experience after another. Any non-sexual story telling exists only as a segue from one type of sex scene to another, and the parts that are written aren't particularly interesting. The sex scenes themselves are repetitive and full of rather amusing synonyms for the bodily anatomy of the participants; my favorite being "engine of love assaults."
There is no question that "Fanny Hill" is only considered of note because of the time period it was written. First released in 1748, "Fanny Hill" was a groundbreaking piece of writing that shed all semblance of propriety and portrayed female sexuality without pretense. The fact that there were some significant inaccuracies as to the realities of female sexuality was neither here nor there. It was the first of its kind, and because of it the author faced a considerable amount of backlash. He was even arrested, and grew to rue the day that he ever set pen to paper to put down his dirty little fantasies.
For me, "Fanny Hill" holds the same appeal as a Stone Age fertility statue. The presence of breasts or a phallus is far from titillating, and the fascination is purely academic. It was incredibly interesting to get a look at the predecessor of modern erotica, and to see what sort of things tickled people's fancy back in the day. I was particularly surprised by the presence of sexual whipping and homosexual encounters in the novel, as they were quite progressive for the time period. Despite that, the appeal of this novel just doesn't hold up for a modern audience, and there is very little to recommend it beyond that curiosity factor.
If I had to sum up "Fanny Hill" as simply as possible, I would call it a mixture of Hulu's original series "Harlots" and a rough draft of that novel the principal from "10 Things I Hate About You" was writing. Focusing on a young girl who is manipulated into prostitution, "Fanny Hill" does not offer much in the way of story. The book is formatted as one long letter wherein the intimate details of Fanny's sex life are disclosed ad nauseum one experience after another. Any non-sexual story telling exists only as a segue from one type of sex scene to another, and the parts that are written aren't particularly interesting. The sex scenes themselves are repetitive and full of rather amusing synonyms for the bodily anatomy of the participants; my favorite being "engine of love assaults."
There is no question that "Fanny Hill" is only considered of note because of the time period it was written. First released in 1748, "Fanny Hill" was a groundbreaking piece of writing that shed all semblance of propriety and portrayed female sexuality without pretense. The fact that there were some significant inaccuracies as to the realities of female sexuality was neither here nor there. It was the first of its kind, and because of it the author faced a considerable amount of backlash. He was even arrested, and grew to rue the day that he ever set pen to paper to put down his dirty little fantasies.
For me, "Fanny Hill" holds the same appeal as a Stone Age fertility statue. The presence of breasts or a phallus is far from titillating, and the fascination is purely academic. It was incredibly interesting to get a look at the predecessor of modern erotica, and to see what sort of things tickled people's fancy back in the day. I was particularly surprised by the presence of sexual whipping and homosexual encounters in the novel, as they were quite progressive for the time period. Despite that, the appeal of this novel just doesn't hold up for a modern audience, and there is very little to recommend it beyond that curiosity factor.
Well, this got boring quick. There's only so many times you can hear about 'his throbbing member' being forced into 'her delicate entrance' or whatever before you start to zone out.
What mainly concerns me about this book is that there are a couple of attempted rape or rape scenes that just seem to be made light of. The one were the girl was passed out by the river was particularly unpleasant to hear. Not exactly titillating unless you have a rape fantasy, maybe?
This one can stay in the 18th century where it belongs.
What mainly concerns me about this book is that there are a couple of attempted rape or rape scenes that just seem to be made light of. The one were the girl was passed out by the river was particularly unpleasant to hear. Not exactly titillating unless you have a rape fantasy, maybe?
This one can stay in the 18th century where it belongs.
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The language was, for the most part, beautiful and varied – I learnt three new words from it! Fanny’s voice and narration were mostly perfectly pitched, although like most heroines, she is a tiny bit silly. Several parts of the narrative were eye-wateringly painful with virtuous women instantly becoming uncontrollably lustful at the sight of a turgid male member and one bloody instance involving an over-large… part.
It is an interesting read from an historian’s point of view as the main ‘plot’ of Fanny’s love, separation from him etc. is obviously just whacked in there in an attempt to stay on the less salacious side of ‘indecency’ (rather like the music included in most of the videos on MTV channels nowadays).
The conflict between vivid descriptions of homosexual acts between men and the condemnation of the afore-mentioned scenes is also interesting, especially as scenes of a Sapphic nature don’t seem to have drawn the same level of censure from the author.
It is an interesting read from an historian’s point of view as the main ‘plot’ of Fanny’s love, separation from him etc. is obviously just whacked in there in an attempt to stay on the less salacious side of ‘indecency’ (rather like the music included in most of the videos on MTV channels nowadays).
The conflict between vivid descriptions of homosexual acts between men and the condemnation of the afore-mentioned scenes is also interesting, especially as scenes of a Sapphic nature don’t seem to have drawn the same level of censure from the author.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Read this for a university assignment, so only needed to read the first half. Might finish it one day.