Slammerkin

by Emma Donoghue | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0156007479 Global Overview for this book
Registered by ryanreader of St. Petersburg, Florida USA on 5/12/2004
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This book is in the wild! This Book is Currently in the Wild!
4 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by ryanreader from St. Petersburg, Florida USA on Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Product Description:

Born to rough cloth in working-class London in 1748, Mary Saunders hungers for linen and lace. Her lust for a shiny red ribbon leads her to a life of prostitution at a young age, where she encounters a freedom unknown to virtuous young women. But a dangerous misstep sends her fleeing to Monmouth and the refuge of the middle-class household of Mrs. Jones, to become the seamstress her mother always expected her to be and to live the ordinary life of an ordinary girl. Although Mary becomes a close confidante of Mrs. Jones, her desire for a better life leads her back to prostitution. She remains true only to the three rules she learned on the streets of London: Never give up your liberty; Clothes make the woman; Clothes are the greatest lie ever told. In the end, it is clothes, their splendor and their deception, that lead Mary to disaster.
Emma Donoghue's daring, sensually charged prose casts a new sheen on the squalor and glamour of eighteenth-century England. Accurate, masterfully written, and infused with themes that still bedevil us today, Slammerkin is historical fiction for all readers.

Journal Entry 2 by ryanreader from St. Petersburg, Florida USA on Saturday, May 21, 2005
This is another of those books I would have judged as not being something I was interested in...........but my good friend Sanddanz told me it was a favorite read of hers so I had to give it a chance.

I loved it! There are so many complex threads I can't wait to recommend this to my local book club so we can talk about it.

This copy is being sent to Danesnboxers as part of YBS #4 over at bookrelay.

Enjoy!

Journal Entry 3 by danesnboxers from Union, Missouri USA on Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Wow, this was fast. I'll put it on the top of my TBR so that I can share it with Marlene when I am done.
Danesnboxers

Journal Entry 4 by danesnboxers from Union, Missouri USA on Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Sending to Marlene TC as she is the August Relay Groupie!!! Enjoy.
Danesnboxers

Journal Entry 5 by CrazyDutchwoman from Heemstede, Noord-Holland Netherlands on Saturday, September 3, 2005
Ooo yes the YBS #4. What a fight we had over this book. You and me and I think someone else, we all wanted this book and I lost :-( but actually I did not cause sandy and you both offered to send it to me, when you were done.great friends that you are.
And you did. I really love to read this.
Right now i am reading the dark Tower series but have the urge to stop it and read this one, lol.
But I am strong and will do what I'd planned to do and that is finally finish the series (only 4 books to go (:whistle:) lol
But I know this book will not be waiting very long for me to read it.

Thank you so much.

Journal Entry 6 by CrazyDutchwoman from Heemstede, Noord-Holland Netherlands on Tuesday, October 11, 2005
It was great. really enjoyed the read. It was quit graphical ,but life was tough for women like Mary.
Really want to read more of this writer.
one of the great books I've read this year

Released 18 yrs ago (1/6/2006 UTC) at Mailed in Yankee Book Swap Book Relay, A book trading site -- Controlled Releases

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

RELEASE NOTES:

I mailed this yesterday but forgot to make a release note.
I offered this book dyring the great and lots of fun YBS 10 of December on Bookrelay.
Beatrice was the one that ended up with it so Beatrice, I am really curious if you will love it as much as i did.
Enjoy!

Journal Entry 8 by beatrice-s from West Vancouver, British Columbia Canada on Monday, January 23, 2006
Thanks Marlene! I've already started reading it and I'm enjoying it very much so far. I think the author is very good at developing characters with substance, without relying on sentimentality to illustrate the hardships they face in life. Good book so far!

And the little Dutch clogs are sooo cute! Thank you! Reminds me of how much I want to visit the Netherlands :)

Journal Entry 9 by beatrice-s from West Vancouver, British Columbia Canada on Monday, February 27, 2006
I'm bad... I read this a while ago and never made a journal entry. I'm catching up on journalling a bunch of books right now and I have to dig around in my brain to try and remember what I was planning to comment on!

Overall I thought it was a great book. Very well written, with good characters and a compelling plot. At times it seemed very harsh and crude, hitting my squeamishness buttons, but I think that was very effective because it is a harsh and crude life that Donoghue is describing. Also, I thought that the premise of prostitution as liberating was very interesting; I have never looked at it that way. I'm not sure how accurate Donoghue's portrayal of the thoughts and feelings of a sex-trade worker is (I'm assuming this isn't coming from personal experience), and at times I wasn't sure that I found it believable, but for the most part it seemed plausible.

One problem I had was that I didn't find any of the characters particularily sympathetic. I was generally supportive of Mary, but I tend to prefer characters that I can empathise with. It's not that I like characters who are all good, but I like it when I can look at something negative the character has thought or done and think that I might have felt or done the same thing in that situation. I didn't really feel that connection to Mary or any of the other characters, and as a result, I was not as involved with the story - especially considering it was told in first person - as I might have been.

Anyway, before I turn this into as essay, I will add a recommendation for anyone who liked this book: Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace is similar in theme and style and is an excellent book!

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