DESCRIPTION: Belle couldn't find a job after University. Her impressive degree was not paying her rent or buying her food. But after a fantastic threesome with a very rich couple that gave her a ton of money, Belle realized that she could earn more than anyone she knew--by becoming a call girl. The rest is history. Belle became a twenty-something London working girl--and had the audacity to write about it--anonymously. The shockingly candid and explicit diary she put on the Internet became a London sensation. Now, in BELLE DE JOUR, she shares her entire journey inside the world of high-priced escorts, including fascinating and explicit insights about her job and her clients, her various boyfriends, and a taboo lifestyle that has to be read to be believed. The witty observations, shocking revelations, and hilarious scenarios deliver like the very best fiction and makes for a titillating reading experience unlike any other.
Belle de Jour: Diary of an Unlikely Call Girl
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
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 turns to the lucrative world of the sex trade, where she is asked how she does on her A-levels"not university requirements, but "anals." Anonymous 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""more than 30 times what I would have made doing anything else," she notes briskly. She's had a little experience as a dominatrix and isn't averse to having sex with women; she's open, definitely, to certain procedures such as fisting, rimming and OWO, or Oral Without (a condom). What sets this chronicle apart from being a numbing operations manual is the author's saucy, ironic tone (she loves her Jewish family), her evident intelligence (she studied French and catches clients' literary allusions) and well-placed friends she describes with hilarious precision. With her "straitlaced as a whalebone corset" boyfriend, she actually hopes for true love, and even reveals to him her profession"which she details on her Web site that the Guardian awarded in 2003 "Best Written British Blog." (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
'this is a no-holds-barred account of the high-class sex trade, and an insight into the secret life of an extraordinary woman.' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH (11.9.05) 'Belle is wickedly witty and you'll pick up a kinky trick or three on the way.' COSMOPOLITAN (October) **** 'Belle's tamer anecdotes would make Graham Norton choke. But it does possess a raw emotional intimacy, which is surprising given that it started off as an internet blog...it is Belle's portrayal of city-life alienation that is so candid.' -- Isobel Shirlaw TELEGRAPH (24.9.05) 'Insight into life as a high-class hooker. Shocking but funny.' HEAT (1-7 October) **** 'A good diarist draws you in through intrigue or through empathy. Belle does both...Everyday middle-class London is caught with its trousers down.' GOOD BOOK GUIDE (1.1.06)
--This text refers to the
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
47 of 54 people found the following review helpful
By R. Thomas
Format:Hardcover
I found this book to be sexy, witty, charming and funny. It's an amusing and entertaining read, and gives you a glimpse of a lifestyle you probably know little about.
It's also taken, word for word, from her blog.
I started reading Belle's blog a few years ago and as I quickly got into it, I went back and read every entry from the beginning. This book is taken directly from the blog (minus a few "entries" in the book, and the Being a Call Girl from A to Z dealio at the beginning of each chapter). There is almost no new material, and what is new, is few and far between and not anything earthshattering.
Frankly, I was a little disappointed, being a devoted reader of her blog, to find out the book is just the blog, in hard copy. It for me was not worth what I paid for it, since I'd already read it for free, and can back and read it again, for free, anytime I want. Also, the blog has a lot more content, much of which is not in this book. She posts regularly.
I do recommend reading this book as it's delightful, but you may want to save yourself the $ and just read the blog. I think, personally, you get more out of it (since it's more comprehensive), and it's also current.
It's also taken, word for word, from her blog.
I started reading Belle's blog a few years ago and as I quickly got into it, I went back and read every entry from the beginning. This book is taken directly from the blog (minus a few "entries" in the book, and the Being a Call Girl from A to Z dealio at the beginning of each chapter). There is almost no new material, and what is new, is few and far between and not anything earthshattering.
Frankly, I was a little disappointed, being a devoted reader of her blog, to find out the book is just the blog, in hard copy. It for me was not worth what I paid for it, since I'd already read it for free, and can back and read it again, for free, anytime I want. Also, the blog has a lot more content, much of which is not in this book. She posts regularly.
I do recommend reading this book as it's delightful, but you may want to save yourself the $ and just read the blog. I think, personally, you get more out of it (since it's more comprehensive), and it's also current.
17 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The problem with Belle de Jour is that once you get past the initial voyeurism, there's no real substance. Belle's 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.
11 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By MPS
Format:Hardcover
Ditto another reader's observations on this. If you've been reading along with the blog these past few years - the book is an unfortunate duplicate. Or, I should say, 98% is duplicate, but unfortunately, that extra 2% is rather like the extra two minutes on some director's cut of a movie. Doesn't change the story, doesn't change the book itself, and you really could have kept it out - but guess that's what I get for not looking closely before I bought it.
Aside from that - if you haven't read the blog, the book is fun. Nothing earthshattering, just leisurely and running occasionally to voyeuristic.
Aside from that - if you haven't read the blog, the book is fun. Nothing earthshattering, just leisurely and running occasionally to voyeuristic.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not what I expected
I only discovered Brooke Magnanti recently when she was on Q&A in Australia. She struck me as being both intelligent and irresistible. Read more
Published 25 days ago by pure_predat0r
4.0 out of 5 stars
True sex stories! Great!
I think I heard about this book on NPR first. I like reading peoples life stories even better than smutty romance novels.
Published 25 days ago by a.a.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Adventures sadly lacking
I thought it would be as enjoyable as the TV series but I was so very wrong. Not worth a read.
Published 1 month ago by MLM
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyed!
Really enjoyed kicking back with this book when I didn't feel like reading something heavy. Therefore there were days I would read chapters and not be able to stop, and then other... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Miss J. Reimers
3.0 out of 5 stars
Honestly written
This book delves into a side of prostitution most people don't ever get to see, let alone understand. Interestingly, this seems to be the result, whether this is the goal or not. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Rezzie
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not what I expected
I was glad the book was available (thank you merchant!) but the read was certainly not what I expected. Read more
Published 3 months ago by M
4.0 out of 5 stars
Love Belle de Jour
Aside from being an accomplished and desired escort, the author is an excellent writer. Her stories are amusing and detailed. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Franny Franklin
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sexy
An exciting, interesting read! An exciting, interesting read! An exciting, interesting read! An exciting, interesting read! I liked it. It was good!
Published 3 months ago by boydy_mac
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good
Good fun book. Great weekend read, will keep you amused and laughing out loud too. Very fun writing, and a bit confronting lol
Published 3 months ago by jane
1.0 out of 5 stars
Shoiuld be entitled, "Diary of a Depraved Call Girl"
I intended to buy "Belle de Jour," a fictional book that was written years ago about a married prostitute in France, but decided to read the newer, London based account... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Richard K.
