I learned about this book on LT. It was quite controversial, so of course I had to read it. It was only available new in hardcover which I don't buy, and it would have had to be ordered. None of my local stores had it. My new Kindle ability came to the rescue and I downloaded it.

It was a short, quick read. The writing was fine (translation). It lived up to its billing it is controversial. It is possibly the most disgusting book I have ever read - so if you are easily grossed out or offended, skip it. There are lots of descriptions of the body and its functions and the fluids and solids it creates and excretes. The main character helps out with the distribution of these fluids and solids and in fact revels in what most would find repulsive.

She is 18 and in the hospital due to an anal lesion she produced when shaving between her butt cheeks. It has become infected and she required surgery to repair it. While she is there she is musing about her life and her beliefs regarding her body, sex, and hygiene. The other issue that drives her is the divorce of her parents and how she feels lost and betrayed by their split. She schemes of ways to bring them back together, like a much younger child would.

As has been described elsewhere she battles with the idea of hygiene that society has imposed on people in general and women in particular. But I also think that her despair at her parents' divorce ties into her behavior and is not just a secondary story line.

She is clearly acting out, possibly because she feels invisible to her parents. They are too busy with their own lives to take her or her feelings into account. Her grossness is her way of shouting for attention with her extreme actions making her stand out and actually 'exist'. She is also showing her anger in how she forces her beliefs on others.

She will interact with others but they don't know that the hand they shake has just been inside her, and has not been washed. She will rub her used tampon on the walls and hand holds in the elevator, all manifestations of anger. She is forcing her beliefs on others without giving them a chance to accept or reject them. That part pissed me off.

Mostly I thought she was interesting, and sad as well as gross. Her treatment of others, rather than her grossness was what lost me her sympathy.

Read at your own risk. ( )

The grossest book I ever read. ( )

Jetzt mal ehrlich...: ...warum gibt es denn von diesem Buch, das noch nicht einmal zwei Wochen in den Läden ausliegt, schon so viele Rezensionen? Die meisten, die sich "Feuchtgebiete" gleich nach dem Erscheinen gekauft haben, wussten doch wohl sehr genau, dass in diesem Roman kein Blatt vor den Mund genommen wird. Deshalb verstehe ich die vielen schlechten Bewertungen nicht!? Klar, 99% der (un)hygienischen Praktiken von Helen (oder auch Charlotte Roche) würde ich selbst auch nicht anwenden, trotzdem lese ich es gerne. Zwar bleibt auch mir öfters schlichtweg mal die Spucke weg und ich staune sehr, auf was für Ideen die Autorin gekommen ist, aber meistens habe ich einfach nur ein breites Grinsen im Gesicht. Es ist eine willkommene Abwechslung zu den Romanen, die sonst in der Bücherei stehen. Es ist ja kein Ratgeber und man muss/sollte auch nicht alles ausprobieren, was Helen da berichtet.
Charlotte Roche nennt die Dinge beim Namen und das finde ich sehr mutig.
Also Leute, ihr wisst ja wohl langsam, um was es in diesem Buch geht und wenn Euch schon bei dem Gedanken an diverse Körperausscheidungen übel wird, ja dann kauft dieses Buch eben nicht!
Ich finde es grossartig und es bekommt von mir volle fünf Sterne!

Before I decided to buy this book I was slightly sceptic. The things I had read about it were not very promissing, but also made me curious. And I'm glad that I deciced to read it. Not because it's a fantastic good story, because it isn't. But it made me laugh and feel good. Helen is really dirty. And that for her age, only 18.

The story plays in a hospital, where Helen is because she shaved her bum and did that a little to good. Now surgery is needed to repair it. She is terribly un-hygienic and has a heavy sex life, especially for her age. But on the other hand she tries hard to get het divorced parents back together. Recommended if you need some fun and don't mind some dirty stories.

Most stars are for the originality.

http://boekenwijs.blogspot.com/2009/1... ( )

Roche is a strong writer - however I couldn't discern a narrative amidst her explicit prose. This self-conciously sexualised novel is proof that even the most prurient subject can be rendered dull by an undisciplined writer. ( )

This is the most unusual,original book I had the pleasure to read in the past six month.Charlotte Roches dares every subject that would seem shockingly disturbing otherwise,and she does it with such style,in such a natural and pleasurable way that it is almost impossible to close the book until you reached the last page. ( )

An interesting comment on the effects of divorce on children. Where the explicitness may be uncommon in every day reading, the effects are not.

i found it well written and it kept my attention but i wasn't really waiting to hear the story of an anus-operation of a disfunctional girl. ( )

I loved the character's frank discussions of hygiene & sexuality, but hated the plot. I kept telling myself, of course she's immature, she's still a teenager, but the whole thing with her parents just felt preposterous. ( )

This book is amazing. Charlotte Roche is fearless, and talks about things you don't want to think about but you know you do. This book is raw, and painful and truthful and original. Couldn't put it down. ( )

I tried describing this book to a friend and had a difficult time. I've heard it described as provocative, and I would agree. It's both humorous and disturbing. It's definitely not for everyone.

The young woman is shockingly open about her sex life and her obsession with hygiene or rather her battle with society's obsession with hygiene. But at the heart is a girl who is just struggling to adjust to her parent's divorce. ( )

It's a book about two things:

1. The female body, as it shits and pisses and menstruates and functions and malfunctions.
2. Seriously broken families.

Do not read this if you're squeamish. Most certainly do not read it while you're eating.

I must admit I'm still not 100% sure what I think of it. But the fact is that I read most of it on aeroplanes and in Heathrow T5 and people looked at me as though I was crazy as I giggled quietly to myself and occasionally laughed out loud. So I must have enjoyed reading it, in between all the cringing, and it's certainly a very brave book.

It reminds me of a few things. In some ways, it's a tongue-in-cheek take on the Vagina Monologues. In some ways it's a 21st century female take on The Catcher in the Rye, anrguably a more successful one at that.

That's probably as much as I can say about it now. It sure as hell is weird. ( )

Saai. Meer woorden heeft dat niet nodig. ( )

http://radiergummi.wordpress.com/2008... ( )