Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your email address or mobile phone number.
Download to your computer
Kindle Cloud Reader
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
Qty:1
  • List Price: $12.00
  • Save: $0.93 (8%)
FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books.
Only 4 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Whore has been added to your Cart
Want it Thursday, July 7? Order within and choose Two-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Ship to:
Select a shipping address:
To see addresses, please
or
Please enter a valid US zip code.
or
FREE Shipping on orders over $25.
Used: Good | Details
Sold by SHOP FORTUNA
Fulfilled by Amazon
Condition: Used: Good
Comment: (Paperback) This book shows minor wear and tear, it may or may not have a cracked spine or dog eared pages.

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon's fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. Something we hope you'll especially enjoy: FBA items qualify for FREE Shipping and .

If you're a seller, Fulfillment by Amazon can help you increase your sales. We invite you to learn more about Fulfillment by Amazon .

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon
Flip to back Flip to front
Listen Playing... Paused   You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more
See all 3 images

Whore Paperback – November 30, 2004

by
Nelly Arcan (Author)
› Visit Amazon's Nelly Arcan Page
Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
See search results for this author
Are you an author? Learn about Author Central
Nelly Arcan (Author), Bruce Benderson (Translator)
2.1 out of 5 stars 9 customer reviews
See all formats and editions Hide other formats and editions
Price
New from Used from
Paperback
"Please retry"
$11.07
$3.50 $0.01
Featured Titles in Fiction
Beloved
Beloved
Beloved
$11.07 FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books. Only 4 left in stock (more on the way). Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
click to open popover

Frequently Bought Together

  • Whore
  • +
  • Burqa of Skin
Total price: $29.07
Buy the selected items together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.
Back
  1. Burqa of Skin
    Nelly Arcan
    Paperback
    $18.00 Prime
  2. Hysteric
    Nelly Arcan
    Paperback
    $20.00 Prime
  3. Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade
    Assia Djebar
    4.3 out of 5 stars 10
    Paperback
    $18.75 Prime
  4. Exit
    Nelly Arcan
    4.0 out of 5 stars 1
    Paperback
    $20.00 Prime
  5. Playing the Whore: The Work of Sex Work (Jacobin)
    Melissa Gira Grant
    4.2 out of 5 stars 29
    Paperback
    $13.57 Prime
Next
NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE
The Girls
June's Book with Buzz
"The Girls" by Emma Cline - a remarkable debut novel, gorgeously written and spellbinding, with razor-sharp precision and startling psychological insight. The Girls is a brilliant work of fiction. See more

Product Details

  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Grove Press, Black Cat (November 30, 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0802170021
  • ISBN-13: 978-0802170026
  • Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 0.5 x 8.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 2.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,901,262 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 starsPoints for effort
By Rosana on March 7, 2015
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
To be honest I found myself pretty much engrossed and hanging on to every word dying to know what happens next, wanting to understand why a woman resorts to degrading and destroying herself like this, trying to judge with an open mind. I previously wrote for a newspaper in which I interviewed a police officer who told me that she had spoken to many prostitutes and that this was never a life that any of them wanted or chose. However, I didn't get that tone from this book at all, I felt the main character was conveying honestly that she chose this profession because she DOES enjoy it, gets a certain sort of perverse and unexplainable high or thrill out of "pleasure as labor"; apparently it wasn't even so much that she felt she had no better options and was simply doing what she had to do to survive, it was what she really wanted. I felt a mixture of emotions just as disgusted by her candor as much as I was admiring of it, unable to help wondering if this really might be what many hookers secretly think but are just never as open to admitting. I felt similarly about the somewhat graphic and audacious prose. If readers are annoyed by the run-on sentences and repetitiveness and monotony of sentence and paragraph structure I think the author actually intended for it to be that way, as a certain sort of symbolizing parallel for the repetitive monotony and seeming pointlessness and senselessness of the character's life in itself, as well as the seamless succession and her blasé attitude about all the men she encounters. I tried my best to be as nonjudgmental as possible but ended up being frustrated that I didn't really get the answers I wanted, didn't get any sort of profound epiphany or anything.Read more ›
Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsDon't judge a book by its cover (name).
By Eumaeus on September 10, 2015
Format: Paperback
While this book appears to be only a condemnation of prostitution from a woman's viewpoint, it broaches a number of other issues, primarily whether a person's life is a matter of their choice or almost ordained by their childhood experiences. Arcan comes down squarely on the side of the latter. While the word "whore" and comments regarding sexual interactions are frequently used, the words "mother" and "father" also make up a significant part of the book.
The actions of the narrator's parents are characterized as even more caustic and psychologically brutal than those of her clients. In fact, a number of times she concedes the positive aspects (if one can call them that) of her profession, while the tirades against her parents continue unabated.
Other topics mentioned in the novel are;
the lives of prostitutes are, on average, no more dangerous than workers in other professions.
the character debunks psychiatry and highlights the ridiculousness of assuming one can know the true feelings, motivations and fears of another person.
These and other ideas are overshadowed by the long, stream of consciousness paragraphs with plenty of commas. This writing style can be difficult to endure, especially with the topic matter, but it merits reading if only to challenge many common beliefs regarding human interaction, whether it is sex for money or parental responsibility or the adolescent's journey to adulthood.
Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
1.0 out of 5 starsNot Worth The Effort
By Nick Santa Rosa on March 1, 2005
Format: Paperback
I got to page 34 of, out of 172, before finally giving up on this piece of trash. I'm not commenting on the subject. The life of a prostitute, and how a woman chooses to become one, can be interesting. Frankly, if you want to read an entertaining and coherent account of that, pick up `The Happy Hooker', by Xaviera Hollander.

Nelly Arcan might be a talented whore. As a writer, she leaves a lot to be desired. This book is nothing but stream-of-conciousness presented as a series of run-on sentences. Don't get me wrong. A well placed and thought out run-on can be useful but, like anything, can be overdone. Arcan overdoes it by orders of magnitude.

Not to mention the constant shifts is tense and point-of-view. Have you ever tried to listen to a teen-age girl explain anything? It can make you dizzy. That's how I felt by the time I threw in the towel.

The book reads like one long excuse for her decision to become a whore. And that's a word she loves very much. Whore. She uses it constantly. Like an epithet hurled in the reader's face. She denies it, of course.

Raised by Catholic nuns, hates her mother, loves her overly pious father, lives in the shadow of her deceased sister. Naturally, she becomes a prostitution. Who wouldn't, under those circumstances?

If you must read this tripe, do so while still in the bookstore. Read the first eleven pages. You'll get everything you need by then. However, to be fair to the author, it was translated. Maybe it reads better in French.
Comment 7 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsViciously good read
By Librarian on November 12, 2013
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
She is so talented! I love this author! Her life story is so interesting! This book is as beautiful as it is brutal.
Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
1.0 out of 5 starsBe a whore... not a writer.
By Montgomery Kubecheski on March 17, 2006
Format: Paperback
Horrible, horrible, horrible. She's hot! but she sure can't write worth a crap. I use to work in the adult industry and was eager to hear other stories, but i've met girls like this over and over before. There is much more interesting and entertaining things to write about. Interesting she tried to change her life and become a writer, but i think she'd do much better at her old profession.
Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Whore
Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway
This item: Whore
Set up a giveaway

There's a problem loading this menu right now.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.