Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue ISBN: 0-15-600747-9 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 01 May, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.96 (94 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Amazing and disturbing
Comment: Emma Donoghue is truly amazing, I just have to get that out of the way. Her writing is terrific and this novel is a piece of well-researched, well thought-out historical fiction.
In this story we follow Mary Saunders who begins the story as an innocent girl of 14. She goes to school and lives in a poor family where she is barely loved by her own mother and her father is dead. She wears plain clothing and craves a single piece of frivolity: a bright red ribbon, like the one she saw in a harlot's hair. She tries to trade a kiss in exchange for the ribbon and is raped. When it is discovered that she is pregnant, she is beaten and thrown out of her house, and would have died if she had not been rescued by a whore named Doll, the same whore who wore the red ribbon. The story that ensues is one of a girl becoming a street-hardened woman, earning her living by selling her body, and trying to reform but failing because what she earns doing honest sewing is not nearly as much as she earned as a harlot. She shames the family that she lives with and the ending is unexpected as Mary gives in to insanity and commits a horrible act of murder. This epic is long and drawn out at times, but ultimately worth the read.
Rating: 4
Summary: Young girl trades her "virtue" for the price of a red ribbon
Comment: I appreciate authors who take the time to research the details of a subject before they place a pen to paper, it renders the tale all the more believable. Slammerkin is not a "prettied-up" fantasy story about the glittery life of a prostitute, instead, beneath the powdered wigs, pasty make-up and hooped skirts; this novel unblinkingly conveys all the underlying stink and grime of living in London during the 1700's. Within this realistic setting we thus follow the short, traumatic life of Mary Saunders, who is a character who doesn't pine away for the sympathy of the reader, but at the same time, because of her young age and the circumstances that lead to her disastrous destiny, we can't help but feel some measure of pity.
Beyond it's believable plot, Slammerkin is well paced and skillfully written. Definitely a book worth reading.
Rating: 2
Summary: Disappointing
Comment: I found the book disappointing after the glowing reviews and flyleaf information, especially with Miss Donoghue's literary background. Miss Donoghue's descriptions of Mary's life at home and school, life on the London streets, and in the workhouse leave much to be desired. Mary jumps directly into the life of a streetwalker with almost no forethought or regrets and little motivation. The novel lacked some richness of description of life on the streets of London, historical background, or fully developed characterizations. Other than self-absorption, Mary shows little thought or personal insight. What motivated Mary? When she had a chance at a better life, what moved Mary to throw it away so easily? What conditions existed during the period that left so few options for a young girl without family or connections? Miss Donoghue could have provided a more engrossing novel by providing historical details about Mary and the society she lived in rather than racing towards the story's end like a thoroughbred chasing to the finish line.
 |
Title: The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber ISBN: 0156028778 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
 |
Title: The Dress Lodger by Sheri Holman ISBN: 0345436911 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 02 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
 |
Title: Under the Skin: A Novel by Michel Faber ISBN: 0156011603 Publisher: Harvest Books Pub. Date: 20 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
 |
Title: Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks ISBN: 0142001430 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 30 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
 |
Title: Fingersmith by Sarah Waters ISBN: 1573229725 Publisher: Riverhead Books Pub. Date: October, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
