I want to read something...
Poll I want to read something...
I plan on going to the library tomorrow to pick up something to read *GASP* Actually getting out of the house to go somewhere. Any suggestions would be gladly considered. Putting the author in is a plus.
I plan on going to the library tomorrow to pick up something to read *GASP* Actually getting out of the house to go somewhere. Any suggestions would be gladly considered. Putting the author in is a plus.
I don't like much of the popular stuff. I really enjoy historical fiction. I just finished reading a book for the second time called The Crimson Petal and the White, by Michel Faber. The first time I read it, I was so excited to read ahead to see what happened, that I'm sure I skipped over paragraphs at a time, so the second time I could read slowly and it was just such a pleasure!
Judging from your background you shared, I think either you would really identify with it, or else your will really not appreciate it at all. But I enjoyed it very much. It's very long, but everyone who's liked it just never wanted it to end.
Here is the description from the book jacket:
Meet Sugar, a nineteen-year-old prostitute in nineteenth-century London who yearns for escape to a better life. From the brothel of the terrifying Mrs. Castaway, she begins her ascent through society, meeting a host of lovable, maddening, unforgettable characters on the way. They begin with William Rackham, an egotistical perfume magnate whose empire is fueled by his lust for Sugar; his unhinged, child-like wife Agnes; his mysteriously hidden-away daughter, Sophie; and his pious brother Henry, foiled in his devotional calling by a persistently less-than-chaste love for the Widow Fox. All this is overseen by assorted preening socialites, drunken journalists, untrustworthy servants, vile guttersnipes, and whores of all stripes and persuasions. Teeming with life, this is a big, juicy must-read of a novel that has enthralled hundreds of thousands of readers-and will continue to do so for years to come.
Does that sound completly awful? =-)
What it's really about at the core, is a girl who was an emotionally abused child, forced into prostitution by her own mother,who is trying to improve her life. She eventually meets a little girl neglected by her parents, and is really moved to take action, for the both of them. It's actually reinforced my decision to become a teacher.
Here is a link to an excerpt...if you're interested, take a look and see if it pulls you in.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0156028778/ref=sib_rdr_ex/102-7938585-9893701?%5Fencoding=UTF8&p=S00G#reader-page
I liked it so much, I bought it in hardcover, so I'd be glad to send you my paperback copy. That is, if my mother can find it at her house in Wisconsin. =-) I'm in Florida. I left it on the bookshelf, it should still be there! My mom's house is a complete disaster, and I'm trying hard not to follow her example. =-) But I completely understand if it's just not your cup of tea.
It really has a feminist vibe, and Sugar is one of my favorite characters, along with Ayla from the Clan of the Cave Bear series, by Jean Auel, and Morgaine in the Mists of Avalon, which is a retelling of the King Arthur legend, mostly from the point of view of the women.
Are you familiar with those? I highly recommend those too. And they are not nearly as smutty. =-)
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