Thursday 6 September 2012

A Night in Bed With A Prostitute. The Craze of Books About Prostitution.

Prostitution is such an ugly word, well in my opinion it is but I don't like the harshness of hooker either, however I do like floozy. So I am going to refer to prostitutes as floozy's - sounds almost like an exotic flower, eh?  They are certainly exotic...well some of them.  Books about prostitutes seem to have almost overtook the craze of reading about abused children in the last five year or so but why?  Well, just like child abuse it's taboo. It is not something the normal person speaks of and prostitution is easier to read about than a child being sat on an oven (yes I read it).  I also appear to have fallen into the craze of reading about prostitution but I would like to make clear I only ever read A Child Called It once and I can't say I enjoyed it nearly as much as books about prostitutes...sorry floozy's. I don't know what that say's about my personality but I'd also like to say that is it the psychology behind being a floozy that intrigues me.  I am in no way a prude but I know I do not have the personality to be in that line of work.  Simply getting changed at the gym is enough to make me blush never mind getting paid to take my clothing off for a purpose. It intrigues me to see what makes these people different from me in that aspect.


I realised a couple of weeks ago that I have an array of different books that tell different stories about floozism and I felt it would be interesting to explore and review.  Considering how much I read I do not write nearly enough book reviews.

1. Belle De Jour - The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl.


It's a best seller so chances are you have already read this one but if not here is the low down on my favourite book about a floozy.  As the title tells you the book is set in London which brings the story home (literally for me) and gives it an essence of realness.  The book is in fact based on the life of Dr Brooke Magnanti; however the important thing is that it feels real.  Just because someone has wrote a book and claims it is real does not mean to say that it feels real to the reader but with this it does.  It has been highly criticised for glamorising prostitution and giving an unfair review of the job but there are people out there that work at the high end side being an escort rather than a street prostitute and in my opinion being an escort is so  much safer.  Well as safe as it can be. It gives a good insight into the etiquette involved in being an escort. I had no idea there were so many guidelines in place - very interesting. The book is very graphic at times but also tantalising and it did shock me in parts; so those of you who are a little prudish might want to stay back from this one.  The reason I love it is the shock factor though but it is not all sex; the book also deals with real life problems and shows that at times the life of a prostitute is not all that different.

5/5

2.  Fanny Hill or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure. John Cleland.


The fact that this book is wrote by a man makes me question it a little but the information in the book does seem to be fairly accurate which leads to the question: how did he know that? It is a penguin popular classic and it is certainly enjoyable.  It gives a good insight into how old school brothers functioned and how poverty often lead girls into this career through lack of being able to do much else for money in some situations. It was the first English prose pornography and the first pornography taking the form of a novel - therefore it is also one of the most prosecuted books in history.  Compared to the modern day equivalent such as 50 Shades of repetitive nonsense (I haven't actually read it but the reviews gave me a laugh) it is a greatly written book and I am proud to have it on my book shelf. Plus isn't the cover gorgeous?

4/5

3.  Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl - Tracy Quan



Compared with Belle I found this an utter bore.  It is a bit like the diluted version if I am being honest and I did not find the story as believable but maybe that is because it is American and New York is the city of dreams after all.  If you want a story rather than the gory then you might enjoy this but for me personally I kept waiting for something to happen that never did.  The main theme running through the book is relationships and deceit but I did not find it terribly interesting in any way. If you enjoyed 50 Shades of Grey you might enjoy this more than I did. 

2/5

4. Eleven Minutes - Paulo Coelho


The name Paulo Coelho might be ringing a bell - he's the Brazilian author of the world famous The Alchemist - so a credible writer to say the least.  When I started reading this book I had no idea it was about prostitution. I picked it up a library sale and I haven't ever read anything by Coelho so I dived in without reading the blurb.  In saying that though the essence of the book is not prostitution.  The story does deal with prostitution and how a naive girl can find herself having to take this path but the essence of the book is finding yourself and exploring what life throws at you.  It is an inspirational book about adventure and I highly recommend it; especially if you have a tendency to find yourself a little lost.

5/5

5 comments:

  1. Hi Victoria, thank you for following my blog http://wendyengland-thepinkteam.blogspot.co.uk/ I can't say I read very much as just don't have the time. I'm still trying to read 50 Shades. Its a love it or hate it series of books.

    Wendy
    XoXo

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  2. Interesting post!

    I'm having my first ever giveaway at the moment, so feel free to check out my blog and enter!
    sophie-said.blogspot.co.uk

    xxx

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  3. Very interesting post, I studied in the past about Prostitution in my Women In Law module at uni, xoxo.

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  4. I read the diary of a manhatten call girl :) I think you did a perfect describtion ....

    nice post <3

    xxx

    eve
    http://sundaydresses.blogspot.co.at

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    Replies
    1. It really is such a dull book! You should check out Belle De Jour though her books are really interesting.

      xx

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