A cautionary tale...
If you happen to be in your public library...bored and uninspired, then please DO NOT just wander through the shelves and pick up a book with an interesting title. Learn from my mistake.
The Crimson Petal and The White (by the way, I still have no idea what this friggin title means. I thought it sounded mysterious but now I think it's just pretentious.) is described as "the first great 19th-century novel of the 21st century." Dude, you had me at "Hello". Are you kidding me? Doesn't this sound like it would be my favorite book of the millenia? Well, it wasn't.
It'a a really long book that took me well over a week to read. That's a ton of my life that I will never get back people. I kept wanting to move on to something else but I just kept reminding myself of how many pages and days I had already wasted. I was just convinced that there would be some kind of redemption. I just knew that eventually this book would start getting good.
It didn't.
The novel is about a young prostitute named Sugar (seriously)who is determined to better herself. She becomes the mistress of a goofy, rich businessman. He has a crazy wife (don't they all?) He has a young daughter. Sugar volunteers to be the daughter's governess. The goofy businessman lets her (for real).
I think this author fancies himself to be a modern day Dickens. He describes in ridiculous detail every sight and smell his characters experience. I'm pretty sure modern day publishing doesn't work on the 'pay per word' principal. I'm not sure if this author realized that.
If you ever get sentenced to 20 years in prison, this book might be a good way to pass the time. Otherwise, skip it.
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