Reviews

The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber

megstro's review against another edition

3.0

This book exhausted me to the point of tedium--and not necessarily because it was 900 pages long, but because it was so full of minute detail and so many characters that I didn't care enough by half. The ending, while a little unfulfilling, made up for the tedium. Mostly. I caution you not to look at this as a serious statement on Victorian society and more as a comedy of errors of stupendous proportions.

eliseletters's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

usnebojemesa's review against another edition

5.0

It's definitely one of the best fiction books I ever read. It talks about prostitution, Victorian London and filthy men! What can outdone that!?

aproposofnathan's review against another edition

adventurous funny inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

novellenovels's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

ridanwise's review against another edition

3.0

2.5⭐️
Beautiful and superior writing that carries a story 250-300 pages too fat. A test of patience to read, for so long, about characters to deeply unlikable.

anklelee's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

hieronymusbotched's review against another edition

4.0

4.hay-penny

Given it's nearly 900 pages I blitzed this one in a week (a credit to Faber's silky-smooth writing). Extremely well-paced with fully formed characters, however half-baked their sense of moral decency may prove to be.

Ends like a lifetime - right in the middle of things. I loved that, as it felt 'true', but will turn the story to soot in a lot of people's mouths, I'm sure.

TL;DR

Meta-Dickens, innuendo.

agnesperdita's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

missmim's review against another edition

4.0

I'm going to round up here to 4 stars (when I really think it's more of a 3.5), because writing a novel this size and having it remain engaging until the end, beautifully written throughout, is an accomplishment I have to tip my hat to. That said, this epic tome (864 pages!) is at turns funny, heart-wrenching, disgusting, erotic, infuriating and a bit of a mess. Occasionally the plot is lost. There was a moment, 3/4s of the way through where I was like, when is this thing *ending*?!? But it was brief, and I was riveted by the turn of events at the very end, which I liked but then I'm contrarian like that. Faber takes the Victorian novel and turns it on its head, skewering its tropes while also shedding a light on daily life at that time. One of the main protagonists, Sugar, is a prostitute, and Faber does not shy away from showing the reader all that entailed in the 1870s. It's like modern-day Dickens if Dickens could write pornographically. All told, it's a very engaging novel. A bit too long, a bit of a mess, but well worth a read if you want to lose yourself in a different place and time for a few days.