Belle de Jour: Diary of an Unlikely Call Girl

Belle de Jour: Diary of an Unlikely Call Girl I've read some of the other reviews here on this book and I think some of them miss the Englishness of this book. The English are so loose and casual about sex. I don't mean in its execution, more in the attitude towards it. I think the English lack the puritanical aspect that seems to dominate other nations, particularly America and its hypocrisy about sex.The sex scenes are described more like a mechanic talking about a days work. Note the lack of shame, self-disgust and judgement, just the plain facts ma'am, with a touch of respect for her clients.As a story, I liked the well spelled out relationships that she inhabits, how friendships are most times more solid than romantic show more relationships. All up a good read, nothing earth shattering in the sex either, as she says, anal is the new black. I'm old enough to remember when blow jobs were new to the middle class burbs and that was a long time back.The oldest profession! Well written with a terrible ending. Loved it show less

The tv series that was based on this book/siary/blog was panned for being a cheap knock off trying to capitalize on the scuccess of HBO's Sex and the City, but the book is actually where Belle shines. Her tv persona (played by Billie Piper) was funny, but her writing really brings out the quirks in her personality. I found myself laughing a lot while reading about Belle's life, which really focuses more on the regularities of her life in London than on the "glamour" of the sex trade - which was clearly the focus of the tv series since sex sells (sorry). What really got me about this book though was her frank attitude towards sex and sexuality, which goes far beyond the novelized version of Sex and the City. Clearly she has very show more different limitations than I do (if any limitations at all), but I genuinely appreciated her liberation. show less

After reading the first few pages of Belle de Jour, I felt like I'd had all my innocence removed. Like so much of the material that's recommended as erotica, the focus of this book is a woman with an insatiable sexual appetite, and a decidedly masochistic tendency. Which is all very well and up to her...except that I'm a bit bored of the implicit suggestion that I'm somehow supposed to aspire to this if I'm to become a properly liberated woman.

My concern was not about Belle's activities as a prostitute, but her private relationships. Men seem drawn to bruise her, humiliate her and threaten her; she presents this without analysis. Even though I read this after the 'real' Belle had supposedly revealed herself, I couldn't help but feel show more that this was all a carefully-constructed work of pornography, the same old stereotype of the woman who absorbs abuse with pleasure, and is not too concerned about her own orgasm.

Belle came across as a joyless, manipulative cypher whose relationships (even friendships) centre on sex alone. There is nothing aspirational about her or her sexuality. show less

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/2891969.html

This is a really funny and frank look at the high end of the London sex work market, by a scientist and feminist who ended up being played by Billie Piper on TV in her first major role after Doctor Who. I guess some readers will be disappointed to find that the sexual politics in the book is more prominent than the actual descriptions of the act, but if you want a provocative and witty read about sex and society, this is a very good place to start.

Picking up a used and discarded copy of this in Newcastle airport may not have been the best idea I ever had - it's stained, and one does wonder. ;-)

This was a fairly quick read and entertaining enough. Despite the cover and the hype, the book barely qualifies as erotica, let alone porn. And let's face it, 300 pages of porn would be extremely boring (unless, maybe, written by Alan Moore). Most of it is social commentary. Belle's occupation does gives her a unique perspective on a few things, and there were a couple of moments that were laug-out-loud funny. I came across Belle's new book in a shop the day after I finished this one, though, and it would appear I don't care enough about her as a character to want to read more about her show more adventures. Ah well. show less

If you want matter of fact, sometimes bemused depictions of fucking, this book delivers. The narrator sounded smug at times, which irked me; I would have appreciated a bit more self reflection and vulnerability.

Favorite lines:
"A client was latched onto my nipples like a bulldog clip. 'Careful there, premenstrual,' I said, gently guiding his hands elsewhere."

"The miracle of information interconnected by technology means that any site is only three clicks away from an escort service, really."

[About the appeal of receiving physical pain during sex:] "It was perhaps the only time when there was nothing else in my head. It hurt, but the pain was neutral: there was no hate or disgust behind it. It was pure and exhilarating like any other show more physical experience. Like the moment of orgasm where you forget yourself, your partner, the world."

"Rimming...It feels like trying to push yourself into pursed lips. It's a challenge, and the tiniest flicker of your tongue goes further there than anywhere else. It's cunnilingus on the miniature scale."

"Sexy is the result of being pulled together and comfortable in your skin. Holding your stomach in when your clothes are off is not fuckable. Slapping your ample behind and inviting him to ride the wobble is."

"A first-time submissive is usually easy to handle and eager to please. It takes months before they start trying to deviously control the action from below."

"We walked into the water, which was exactly as warm as the air. It felt like bathing in sweat."

[When a drunk man at a club asks her and her friend to expose their breasts, because "it's my birthday":] "So women are expected to act like whores for free, and this is considered being a good sport, while actual prostitutes are objects of mockery and revulsion. You have to wonder." show less

In this entertaining memoir, a 28-year-old British university grad gravitates to London to find a proper job, gets discouraged by temp office work and numerous rejection letters and so turns to the lucrative world of the sex trade.

The anonymous writer (Belle) is frank and enterprising, and eager to dish the details of her life as a call girl for an elite London agency that charges £300 per hour. When Belle first catalogued her exploits in an anonymous online diary (http://belledejour-uk.blogspot.com) she caused frenzied speculation as to her identity, and now even has a tv series being made patterned after her secret life.

The problem with Belle de Jour is that once you get past the initial voyeurism, there's no real substance. Belle's show more day to day life simply isn't that interesting. The book is mostly witty, only occassionaly introspective, and sometimes tedious, but always unprentenious and honest.

Book Details:

Title Belle De Jour: The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl
Author Belle De Jour
Reviewed By Purplycookie show less