Take a photo of a barcode or cover
lindseysparks 's review for:
The Crimson Petal and the White
by Michel Faber
I still can't quite figure out how I feel about this book. It's amazingly well written. I sunk into the world, even though it isn't quite a world I'd want to be in. I've said that if I could travel back in time it would be Victorian London, but just for a day or two. I'd want to come home for hygiene. This book includes all the gory details on why a modern person, particularly the modern female, probably wouldn't want to go back in time. It's quite thorough on how chamberpots, douches and more worked in Victorian times and has more references to various bodily fluids than was strictly necessary. Some of this was interesting but some of it was quite gross and a bit repetitive although it certainly renewed my appreciation for modern plumbing and birth control pills.
Beyond that, the book focuses on how trapped three very different women are. Sugar sells her body to survive and because it's the only life she knows. Agnes, to some extent, also sold herself, just via marriage instead of prostitution. She's then trapped by her own mind, her husband and her doctor. Mrs. Fox is the freest of the three as a widow, but her religion and societal customs keep her trapped as well. One struggle I had with the book is that for much of the time I was more interested in Mrs. Fox and Agnes buy the story focuses on Sugar. Perhaps it's because I read Slammerkin but her story just seemed familiar and not as fresh as the other two. Every fictional prostitute protagonist has a heart of gold or intelligence beyond measure and it gets a bit old. What interested me most about Agnes was that her madness stems partially from her innocence. She's so protected that she thinks her period means she's deathly ill. I felt like the second half of the book was stronger and more original than the beginning. However, I did enjoy the narrator at the beginning who keeps breaking in and felt a bit like Thackeray to me. He leads you along. He fades a bit as the book goes on, although he never disappears completely. I think in the end this is a book that will stick with me and the ending will keep me wondering about the characters.
Beyond that, the book focuses on how trapped three very different women are. Sugar sells her body to survive and because it's the only life she knows. Agnes, to some extent, also sold herself, just via marriage instead of prostitution. She's then trapped by her own mind, her husband and her doctor. Mrs. Fox is the freest of the three as a widow, but her religion and societal customs keep her trapped as well. One struggle I had with the book is that for much of the time I was more interested in Mrs. Fox and Agnes buy the story focuses on Sugar. Perhaps it's because I read Slammerkin but her story just seemed familiar and not as fresh as the other two. Every fictional prostitute protagonist has a heart of gold or intelligence beyond measure and it gets a bit old. What interested me most about Agnes was that her madness stems partially from her innocence. She's so protected that she thinks her period means she's deathly ill. I felt like the second half of the book was stronger and more original than the beginning. However, I did enjoy the narrator at the beginning who keeps breaking in and felt a bit like Thackeray to me. He leads you along. He fades a bit as the book goes on, although he never disappears completely. I think in the end this is a book that will stick with me and the ending will keep me wondering about the characters.