Customer Reviews

Ordeal: An Autobiography by Linda Lovelace

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Linda Lovelace's third book (and the first to be directly quoted from her, instead of other sources) unwinds a horror tale of abuse at the hands of her crudely ambitious husband, Chuck Traynor. Chuck appeared at a time in Linda's life when she was feeling restricted by her parents at age 21, and had a poor self-image. She lapped up his flattery and "star treatment" at first, since he seemed to be an "important businessman". Later, his behavior was straight out of a "cult recruits" manual: get girl to rebel against her parents, remove her (symbolic) umbilical cord, then attach your own cord and make her your love slave. After this, Chuck's methods went from pouring on the charm to veiled threats to outright abuse (classic pimp profile). Linda relays nightmarish stories in which she was regularly subjected to rape, prositution and physical pain. One day, Chuck just happened to trot her out to another crudely ambitious filmmaker, who was fascinated by Linda's talent for oral sex. The movie "Deep Throat" was born, and the rest, as they say, was history. Linda maintains that she never had the strength or courage to leave Chuck until all of these celebrities (like Hugh Hefner and Sammy Davis, Jr.) became part of her life, and in effect, took away some of Chuck's power over her.

Some skeptics have suggested that Linda's book is a potboiler to make money now that she can't get any more pornography work (because of her age). There are certainly sections that I felt Linda could have elaborated on, such as her getting pregnant as a young adult, and giving up her baby for adoption. Maybe as part of the "Chuck Traynor" story it's not relevant, but when you're trying to make the case that poor self-esteem played a large role in your actions, it seems strange not to explain your out-of-wedlock pregnancy in a little more detail. There is also a section when Linda, working on the set of "Deep Throat", laughs out loud at a joke, and realizes that she feels good because she "belongs" and she's "part of a group". She doesn't explain why she would want to be a part of any group that's into pornography, since she spends the whole book talking about how degrading it was.

Overall, though, I don't agree with the "sour grapes" theory. Linda made very little money as a porno star under Chuck Traynor's management, but she could definitely have made a bundle once she left him and got her own attorney. The fact that she chose NOT to become another Marilyn Chambers or Bambi Woods is consistent with her allegations. Also, Linda never claims that "females" hate pornography, prostitution, etc. She sites several examples of women who are into it, or at least claim to be, such as Andrea True. Women who aren't, as Linda claims she wasn't, are most often brutally forced into "scenes" (what could have caused all her bruises in "Deep Throat" if it wasn't a beating?). Whenever I see reviews of "Ordeal" that talk about how "sexy" it is, it's completely baffling. Unless, of course, one finds gang-rape, bestiality and torture erotic. If anything, "Ordeal" is a very unflattering portrayal of the so-called "Sexy 70's", since most of the people mentioned in the book are "brothers under the skin" like Hugh Hefner and Chuck Traynor. There's very little compassion or generosity among most of the "cast"; self-love and instant gratification are the buzzwords with this aptly named "Me" Generation. For those who were hoping for a sexy play-by-play with celebrities galore, this chilling look at the Ultimate Male Fantasy is sure to have all the effects of a cold shower. It's not a heavy-handed argument against pornography per se; it simply peels away the gold glitter and leaves the tarnish underneath for all to see.

I'm an ex-sex worker. I now belong to Sex Workers Anonymous. I've lived this industry and I know the crowd Linda spoke about in her books. She had the courage to write about what wasn't just her experiences - but also many of ours experiences - but we go off into hiding and fear once we leave rather then speak out like she did knowing what it could and did cost her. I watched while people who knew nothing of this industry attacked her for speaking out about this industry doing what men do - always blame the woman/victim. Speaking out about what really goes on in this world affected her health deeply from the stress and contributed to her early death I'm sure. She's not the only one who had lasting health problems to deal with after having left the sex industry though no fault of her own. In America - a man can go to jail for raping his wife - but not for raping a sex worker. What people don't realize is that many of these men, women and children are living out Linda's story - they can't get out without fear of themselves being killed or their family members. I knew a pimp once who would hold a woman's child hostage until she came back each night with "his" money. One night she got arrested and wasn't able to come home on time. The pimp cut off the left arm of this six year old girl. Anyone who thinks you can't be held in this business against your will - obviously hasn't been there and should shut up about something they know nothing about. I consider Linda a martyr for taking all the guff she took to tell our stories and to try to enlighten people about what goes on every day - but we don't have the guts to tell about our stories ourselves. Anyone who wants to know what this industry can really be like - should read her stories. If all she wanted was to keep making money and just made this up to sell books - she would have done what Xavier Hollendar or Norma Jean or Heidi Fleiss - did. Sell a hell of a lot more books feeding into the american myths about this business - without any of the flack she took for telling the truth. The woman had the courage of a lion - not only to survive what she did - and to live to tell about it - but also to tell about it in the hopes that us "unknowns" are more believed when we try to tell our stories and try to get help to get out.

In 1972, with the release of "Deep Throat" the most famous porno film ever made, Linda Lovelace was known as an open-minded, attractive and liberated young lady who enjoyed sex and wasn't afraid to say so. ORDEAL chronicles the real truth of her life. She was the victim of a violent, manipulative mentor who insisted she prostitute herself and perform in sex movies for easy money. This book doesn't disparage the actual movie "Deep Throat" which is still considered one of the best adult films for its unusual storyline and quirky humour. What the book does do is expose the horrific tactics used to manipulate a woman into doing this movie. Lovelace's life would not be unique but neither would it be every porno stars story. Despite her fame, much of her life was sour - abusive partners, poverty, and being the subject of crude jokes and staring. ORDEAL covers all of these aspects as does the books excellent sequel "Out Of Bondage". ORDEAL is a good book because it sets the record straight. Hopefully, it serves the dual purpose of Linda Marchiano getting her true horror stories off her chest and drawing attention to the fact that such a chain of events can happen to other young women. One is absolutely sympathetic to Lovelace throughout the book, despite the fact she makes herself a TOTAL victim. That's questionable. I read a novel version of "Deep Throat" which intended to pad out the movie. Naturally, it made Linda a cute and sexy gal that just loved to please. Many a mans fantasy I suppose, but this real account of the stars life continually reinforce the message - "It's a fantasy story. Sex, humour and willing to please girls cannot exist without darker emotional undercurrents." Read ORDEAL for a well-written, intelligent but disillusioning true tale.

It took me five months after Ms. Linda Boreman's (Linda Lovelace) death in April 2002 to get a ratty paperback copy of Ordeal. Not only does Linda describe her descent into becoming a Porn Star, but also her dealings with her abusive boyfriend turned pimp turned husband turned porn actress agent. Although Linda speaks out against the porn industry, it is largely ignored for what it really is, a case study on abusive partnerships. The story is believable because Linda falls into the pattern of an abusive relationship. The abuse was taken to a sick extreme by her husband. It just so happens that her husband was into extreme sex acts and took a great amount of joy seeing Linda in pain. This is not much different than any other abusive relationship. There is a demension to this book that people are not connecting with. It is anti-porn. It is also about violence against women.
One side note, this book is extremely graphic in its descriptions. Many of my friends could not get past some of the detail and did not finish reading it. Not for the light hearted.

I am going to defend Linda Lovelace against those reviewers here who really don't believe her story by quoting from the groundbreaking psychotherapy book "Trauma and Recovery" by Judith Herman:

"Most people have no knowledge or understanding of the psychological changes of captivity. Social judgment of chronically traumatized people therefore tends to be extremely harsh. The chronically abused person's apparent helplessness and passivity, her entrapment in the past, her intractable depression... and her smoldering anger often frustrate the people closest to her. Moreover, if she has been coerced into betrayal of relationships, community loyalties, or moral values, she is frequently subjected to furious condemnation.

"Observers who have never experienced prolonged terror and who have no understanding of coercive methods of control presume that they would show greater courage and resistance than the victim in similar circumstances. Hence the common tendency to account for the victim's behavior by seeking flaws in her personality or moral character."

So, think hard before you judge her.

I'm a big porn fan, but I feel sorry for all the hypocrites on this board who choose not to believe Linda's very plausible story, just because it interferes with their own self-serving ideology.

A woman being exploted by a domineering man for sex and money is the oldest story in the world.

The book itself is a very interested story not only of how it happened to Linda, but also how the cultural fad the movie inspired was based on something so criminal. A very American story.

It's hard to imagine that the life of Linda Boreman aka Linda Lovelace, the porn actress is not full of roses.Indeed, she had to go through abusive husband, force prostitution, and coercing into starring in Deep Throat. In this book she gives out a sad and violence detail of the event when she was forced to be gang raped by her very own husband.

Reading Ordeal is an uneasy experience, and I do not give it four stars because it of its quality as a book. Linda Boreman/Linda Lovelace remains opaque in its pages, as she does in nearly every other evidence of her life that still remains in view. In the 70s, she was the ultimate me-girl-- sex-crazy and enjoying it. In the eighties the hangover had begun. With Ordeal she decided to tell the truth about what had happened to her, at least the truth from an older and presumably wiser perspective.

As a woman, I really want to believe Ordeal. I do not want to think that someone would lie or exaggerate about matters so serious or so damaging to other people or women in general. If pushed, I would have to say that I do not believe that she was lying. The trouble is that this book is taken so literally, and has had such a galvanizing effect on the anti-porn movement that people lose sight of the fact that there is a difference between not lying and telling the objective truth.

Have you ever had a professional victim as a friend? At first, you feel sorry for them. Later, their stories start to make you uneasy because even though they seem to be basically true, they are completely devoid of any awareness of their own responsibility. It is as though they think that you are going to like them more, the more of a victim that they have been. Ordeal has a little bit of that same tone.

On the one hand, it rings true that Taylor dominated her, hit her, and used her low self-esteem to push her into a career that she did not want. On the other hand, she seems to be a victim wherever she goes. She never encounters kindness and is forced to do every bad thing that she does. It does not ring true with how life works, and in the end makes her whole story more open to doubt and gives as much ammunition to the people who want to believe that all porn is voluntary as it does to the people who want to believe that all porn is exploitative.

In the end, you can use Linda Boreman as a lens for the world that she was caught up in during all the phases of her life. I give Ordeal four stars because it is an important book historically, and a sad one-- Linda herself is not in these pages either.

Probably obviously, this is not a book for young readers. It is very explicit, despite the anti-porn tone.

Your opinion of this book may hinge on your personal knowledge of and experiences with domestic violence, sexual abuse and your (un)willingness to "blame the victim." I found this sad story very believable (and difficult to read) because of experiences that I and other women friends have had surviving abusive relationships. Hard-core porn is not the only sexual abuse. Self-esteem is fragile, and the conspiracy of silence that surrounds domestic and sexual violence creates challenges for women (and Linda) that can be almost insurmountable. It is not simple or easy to escape even with supportive friends and family, and Linda had neither for much of her life. When someone you love reports abusive hehavior, believe them. Be patient during the process of leaving. Above all, be respectful of choices even when you don't understand them.

I was very surprised when I read the other reviews of Linda Lovelace's autobiography on this site. The crimes committed against this woman were horrible. And for those who say she's lying, you are just trying to pretend that we live in a world where the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus make everything chirper. Reading this book could help protect some young girl from being victimized by the porn industry or men in general the way Lovelace was. Go ask any woman you know. Probably every one can tell you an experience she has had where some dirty old (or young) man has tried to paw her just because he thinks it's ok. If you want to be outraged that this kind of sexual abuse happens then you must be willing to take a stand against the sexual mistreatment of women in all forms.