I really enjoyed this novel. I prefer longer books because you really get wrapped up the story lines and the characters. The book is based around a very likable and understandable character named Sugar. It’s very easy to comprehend where Sugar is coming from and why she makes the choices she does. The back of the book is a bit misleading because it says she climbs the ranks of society which made it sound Evita-esque, which isn’t the case. The narrative is refreshingly different and it pulls you along through the story and you get to be in the heads of most of the characters at one point or another. I expected it to be much more graphic than it was from what others have said, but in my opinion it’s not very graphic at all. Normally I like a neat and tidy story ending to sum things up, but somehow the way this novel ended seemed very fitting.

A fascinating peek inside English upper crust and the 'lower' crust. Set in the early 1800s (I think), it's the story of an intelligent whore and the man who is so captivated by her, he loses himself.

The pictures of her life on the street and his, spent navigating the murky waters of his wife's bizarre beharior, is rather Dickensian.

The title, which immediately sets a contrast, kept me guessing all the way through. Which character is the Crimson Petal and which is the White? Faber continually shifts the characterizations so that the reader is always guessing.

Would I read this book again? I loved it, but probably not. The reason? The major effect of this book is the mystery inherent in the title. Now that I've read it and know the ending the enigma is solved for me.

If you can stomach through sexually explicit scenes and language, you'll find a delightful read. This will explore themes of religion, social stratification, cleanliness and family. The characters are vividly portrayed.

A well-written but a bit rambly story of a prostitute in 19th century London. Some great details. Loved the way the story ended, although some I know felt that it disappointed. Just not sure it had to be as long as it was--a bit diffuse. Enjoyable read on the whole--I would recommend this.

I picked this book up because my book club was reading it, and then I never got to read it at that time or discuss it with them. Not all that intrigued with the story synopsis on the book's cover, I read it quite a bit later. I thought I was going to hate it, but I had this brand new (very long, expensive) book and felt I needed to pick it up and give it a try. I was surprised... I enjoyed the story more than I thought I would.

The story takes place in victorian England. It's the story of a prostitute, her client, and his extremely proper family. The characters are all very interesting and well developed. There are parts of the story that are a little slow, but if you stick with it, it gets interesting again.

If you're easily offended, I would steer clear of this. There are some parts of the story that are a little gross. However, if you don't mind some graphic descriptions, you'll probably like this book. It's different from anything else you've ever read.

Huge Novel that just rambles through peoples lives and then ends. Unfortunately, for me at least, I get enough of this in my own life. Leaving me unsatisfied at the end of a really really long book.

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. This New York Ties Notable Book becomes a fast read since you are truly able to put it down.

I have been reading for many years and this is by far the worst book I have ever read. I started the book over 2 years ago, got approximately 100 pages in and could not go any further and abandoned it. I forced myself to pick it up recently and was determined to give it a 2nd chance and finish it. Unfortunately, it never improved. I felt the author was overly discriptive of everything and unnecessarily most of the time. I kept getting the feeling that he was trying too hard. The book was dark and depressing which in of itself wasnt a bad thing but you factor in the ending and it all just seems like a waste of time.

I loved this book. Reading the description, you'd think it'd be horribly vulgar, a trashy romance. But it wasn't; it was a real-life, in-depth drama.

I was drawn to it because of the time period. I love the Victorian era and I thought, well, I could just try it, and if I didn't like it, I would put it down. I ended up reading it twice.

Michel Faber is one of my favourite authors because of how -real- his characters are. The main character, Sugar, goes through a great change, one she never saw coming, as she rises from the bottom of society to a dizzying height of happiness she never knew she could feel. William Rackham, the other main character, struggles with discerning the difference between love and lust. His wife, Agnes, is passionate, innocent, melodramatic, and devoutly religious; adorable and pitiful in her naivety, but beloved despite all.

Other characters enrich and complicate the story: Henry Rackham, an awkward man bound to a religious life; Mrs. Fox, a charitable widow; Clara, a weasel of a servant; Caroline, a poor prostitute; and Sophie, the nearly-forgotten daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Rackham.

Altogether, this novel is an intense tapestry, a tale of the human condition, of weaknesses, trials, love, lust, and greed. It's a tale of healing and hope, of betrayal, and of despair. It's one of my favourite books.

So if you hate soppy romances and dry historical fiction, pick up this book and give it a read. Michel Faber will amaze you with his talent and his deft portrayal of humanity, beyond the romantic brightness of fiction.

I had heard very good things about this book, and love historical fiction, but I couldn't get into this one. I rarely put a book down without finishing it, but this was one that I didn't get through. After reading 400 pages it didn't seem like it was going anywhere, and while I would kind of like to know how it ends, I don't want to know bad enough to spend more time to read another 400 pages.

Read All Book Reviews of "The Crimson Petal and the White"

A fantastic story about an 1800s prostitute and her struggles with existence, love, and money.

Great book. I must admit that I originally picked it up because I was impressed by the paper used! Although the word choices were a it shocking for me (an I'm no prude), I still enjoyed this book.

Meet Sugar, a nineteen year old prostitute in Victorian London who yearns for escape to a better life. From the brothel of the terrifying Mrs. Castaway, she begins her ascent through socirty. Beginning with William Rackham,a perfume magnate whose lust for Sugar soon begins to smell like love, she meets a host of lovable,maddening,unforgettable characters as her social rise is overseen by assorted preening socialites, drunken journalists, untrustworthy servants, vile guttersnipes, and whores of all kinds.

National Bestseller. A New York times notable book. Like new

A colorful story of an uncommon and difficult life in the person of "Sugar", a prostitute of the 19th century.

wonderful historical novel set in london in the mid1800's

It was good for a fiction novel. A thick read and unique perspective, not your usual period romance nor prostitution tale.

I ordered this because of all the great reviews I had read. It is a very good book, though long. I agree that once we got through the beginning narration, it got better. I would be careful who I recommend this too, as it is, as my mother would say, "racy!"

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I think it needed the advice of Dorothy Allison in that most authors should chop off the last fifty to hundred pages they actually write. The end was completely unrealistic and got quite tedious to read. The first half of the book was very enjoyable for me, crude language and all.

good historical fiction, a bit wordy though

Read All Book Reviews of "The Crimson Petal and the White"