Helpful Score: 1
This book is an object lesson in the danger of judging a book by its cover -- in this case, a cover suggesting that the story within will be a lush costume drama in which the sensual main character experiences erotic ecstasy. Instead of sensual pleasure, it depicts the violent, disease-ridden details of Mary Saunders' hardscrabble survival amid desperate conditions as an urban prostitute in 18th century England.
I found myself wishing not so much for modern feminism and economic liberation for Mary, but the very least for penicillin, soap, and condoms. Detailed descriptions were cringe-worthy and evocative, and Mary's story was both gripping and bleak. I rooted for Mary as she defended her liberty, but dreaded the next page because with almost every step in search of economic independence and self-determination, Mary's life only became worse.
Mary was both deeply unlikeable and strangely appealing, stubborn and self-defeating, selfish, thoughtless, and admirably determined to control her own destiny. Slammerkin is worth reading, richly evocative in detail, but neither easy nor enjoyable at times.
I found myself wishing not so much for modern feminism and economic liberation for Mary, but the very least for penicillin, soap, and condoms. Detailed descriptions were cringe-worthy and evocative, and Mary's story was both gripping and bleak. I rooted for Mary as she defended her liberty, but dreaded the next page because with almost every step in search of economic independence and self-determination, Mary's life only became worse.
Mary was both deeply unlikeable and strangely appealing, stubborn and self-defeating, selfish, thoughtless, and admirably determined to control her own destiny. Slammerkin is worth reading, richly evocative in detail, but neither easy nor enjoyable at times.
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