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Crimson Petal And The White (Paperback)

by Michel Faber (Author) "Watch your step ..." (more)

4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)

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Product Details

Paperback: 900 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial Canada (Jul 3 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0006392172
ISBN-13: 978-0006392170

Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)

Amazon.ca Sales Rank: #10,551 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

From Amazon.co.uk

Although it's billed as "the first great 19th-century novel of the 21st century," The Crimson Petal and the White is anything but Victorian. It's the story of a well-read London prostitute named Sugar, who spends her free hours composing a violent, pornographic screed against men. Michel Faber's dazzling second novel dares to go where George Eliot's The Mill on the Floss and the works of Charles Dickens could not. We learn about the positions and orifices that Sugar and her clients favour, about her lingering skin condition, and about the suspect ingredients of her prophylactic douches. Still, Sugar believes she can make a better life for herself.

When she is taken up by a wealthy man, the perfumer William Rackham, her wings are clipped and she must balance financial security against the obvious servitude of her position. The physical risks and hardships of Sugar's life (and the even harder "honest" life she would have led as a factory worker) contrast--yet not entirely--with the medical mistreatment of her benefactor's wife, Agnes, and beautifully underscore Faber's emphasis on class and sexual politics.

In theme and treatment, this is a novel that Virginia Woolf might have written, had she been born 70 years later. The language, however, is Faber's own--brisk and elastic--and, after an awkward opening, the plethora of detail he offers (costume, food, manners, cheap stage performances, the London streets) slides effortlessly into his forward-moving sentences. When Agnes goes mad, for instance, "she sings on and on, while the house is discreetly dusted all around her and, in the concealed and subterranean kitchen, a naked duck, limp and faintly steaming, spreads its pimpled legs on a draining board." Despite its 800-plus pages, The Crimson Petal and the White turns out to be a quick read, since it is truly impossible to put down. --Regina Marler, Amazon.com --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Amazon.com

Although it's billed as "the first great 19th-century novel of the 21st century," The Crimson Petal and the White is anything but Victorian. The story of a well-read London prostitute named Sugar, who spends her free hours composing a violent, pornographic screed against men, Michel Faber's dazzling second novel dares to go where George Eliot's The Mill on the Floss and the works of Charles Dickens could not. We learn about the positions and orifices that Sugar and her clients favor, about her lingering skin condition, and about the suspect ingredients of her prophylactic douches. Still, Sugar believes she can make a better life for herself. When she is taken up by a wealthy man, the perfumer William Rackham, her wings are clipped, and she must balance financial security against the obvious servitude of her position. The physical risks and hardships of Sugar's life (and the even harder "honest" life she would have led as a factory worker) contrast--yet not entirely--with the medical mistreatment of her benefactor's wife, Agnes, and beautifully underscore Faber's emphasis on class and sexual politics. In theme and treatment, this is a novel that Virginia Woolf might have written, had she been born 70 years later. The language, however, is Faber's own--brisk and elastic--and, after an awkward opening, the plethora of detail he offers (costume, food, manners, cheap stage performances, the London streets) slides effortlessly into his forward-moving sentences. When Agnes goes mad, for instance, "she sings on and on, while the house is discreetly dusted all around her and, in the concealed and subterranean kitchen, a naked duck, limp and faintly steaming, spreads its pimpled legs on a draining board." Despite its 800-plus pages, The Crimson Petal and the White turns out to be a quick read, since it is truly impossible to put down. --Regina Marler --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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First Sentence
Watch your step. Read the first page

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover

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Customer Reviews

22 Reviews

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.0 out of 5 stars (22 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nope....... didn't like it., Jan 10 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Crimson Petal and the White (Hardcover)

Having just (finally) set aside this novel, what leaps to mind is that there is a very fine line between being eloquent and being verbose. This author crosses the line far too often. The book is roughly twice as long as it needed to be... that's 400 pages too long by my account.
It soon became evident that the primary characters were all motivated by either the love of, or hatred for, sex. This was the driving force which propelled their generally miserable lives.There was nothing lyrical or engaging about the sex; it was ever-present and almost always lugubrious.
Obviously I wouldn't recommend the book. There are those who purport to have enjoyed it. Good for them but I cannot think why. All the men or women are corrupt in some fashion. It became preposterous and tiresome. Predicatable ending too.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read, Aug 12 2004

By A Customer

If you like historical fiction, you'll like this book. But by the same token, if you don't, don't worry--there's plenty there to hold your attention. And don't be turned off by the "19th century" novel description--this book is very accesible and more "21st" than "19th." I would also recommend another fantastic read that I've just come across called THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD. Very unusual and shocking.

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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Crimson Petal & the White, Jun 22 2003

By	Tamara L. Carr "tamarac661" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Crimson Petal And The White. (Hardcover)

This book was good, though I have to agree with the two main criticisms: a) There was a little too much gritty reality (farting, pooping, the consistency of spunk, etc.), and b) I felt as though the ending totally left me hanging.

The story and the writing style had me hooked, though. I enjoyed this work as a modern take on the Victorian tale. I read it in only five days, which is not an easy task for an 800+ page book. I would recommend this book to those that I feel would appreciate historical fiction, but not to everybody I know. (As I would other books that I loved.)

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A Deliciously Scandalous Tale!
Not for the faint of heart, this book brilliantly describes slumming it in 18th century London through the words and stylings of a 21st century writer. Read more

Published on Jul 14 2007 by L

5.0 out of 5 stars One for the book clubs
I wish I had a book club, or at least knew someone else who had read this. I need to talk about it. The first seven-eighths are an intriguing what-happens-next story that you can... Read more

Published on Nov 30 2004 by Brenda Shaw

3.0 out of 5 stars Fairly good, but ultimately bothersome
I had high hopes going into this novel and, for the most part, they were fulfilled. Faber really drew me into the story, and I loved the narrative structure. Read more

Published on Oct 1 2004 by Memory

1.0 out of 5 stars gives one reason to ignore the hoopla of critics
Others have outlined the plot of this novel far better than I can. I abandoned the book after 100 pages. Read more

Published on Jun 25 2004