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Belle de Jour #2
The Further Adventures of a London Call Girl
What Belle de Jour did next... this is the sparkling, witty and titillating follow-up to the bestselling INTIMATE ADVENTURES OF A LONDON CALL GIRL.''She lists like Hornby. She talks dirty like Amis. She has the misanthropy of Larkin and examines the finer points of sexual technique as she is adjusting the torque on a beloved but temperamental old E-type...It's hard to believe that this clever and candid new voice has no more to say. Whoever the author is, she should give up the day job. Only then will we find out what the real Belle de Jour is made of.' IndependentThis follow-up to the hugely successful 'Intimate Adventures' will be just as bold, funny and brilliant. Peppered with agony-aunt letters and advice, and stories from her 'working' life, it's also the story of a young woman making her way in the world - told in Belle's inimitable voice.
322 pages, Paperback
First published September 14, 2006
27 people are currently reading
972 people want to read
About the author
Belle de Jour
31 books210 followersBrooke Magnanti is a forensic scientist and writer, who, until her identity was revealed in November 2009, was known by the pen name Belle de Jour.
While completing her doctoral thesis, in 2003 and 2004, Magnanti worked as a call girl. Her diary, published as the anonymous blog Belle de Jour: Diary of a London Call Girl became popular, as speculation surrounded the identity of Belle de Jour. Magnanti went on to The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl in 2005 and The Further Adventures of a London Call Girl in 2006. These were followed by Playing the Game, Belle de Jour's Guide to Men, and Belle's Best Bits.
In 2007, the books were adapted for TV as Secret Diary of a Call Girl, starring Billie Piper. In November 2009, fearing her real identity was about to come out, Magnanti revealed her real name and occupation as a scientist. Her first book published under her real name was the non-fiction The Sex Myth in 2012.
Magnanti's first crime novel, The Turning Tide, will be published by Orion in 2016.
While completing her doctoral thesis, in 2003 and 2004, Magnanti worked as a call girl. Her diary, published as the anonymous blog Belle de Jour: Diary of a London Call Girl became popular, as speculation surrounded the identity of Belle de Jour. Magnanti went on to The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl in 2005 and The Further Adventures of a London Call Girl in 2006. These were followed by Playing the Game, Belle de Jour's Guide to Men, and Belle's Best Bits.
In 2007, the books were adapted for TV as Secret Diary of a Call Girl, starring Billie Piper. In November 2009, fearing her real identity was about to come out, Magnanti revealed her real name and occupation as a scientist. Her first book published under her real name was the non-fiction The Sex Myth in 2012.
Magnanti's first crime novel, The Turning Tide, will be published by Orion in 2016.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews
July 2, 2024
An average read.
If you're on holiday and you're not looking for anything too taxing, this book could be it.
Three stars.
If you're on holiday and you're not looking for anything too taxing, this book could be it.
Three stars.
June 1, 2023
Mi-a placut acest roman tocmai pentru ca, desi face parte din colectia Eroscop, nu este chiar tipica acesteia. Este mai mult ca un jurnal pertinent, in cautarea iubirii.
January 13, 2010
I should say, before I go any further, that if it weren't for the first 75 pages of this book, it would have had an even lower grade.
Firstly, this book is not what it claims to be -- considering the fact that Belle is out of the sex trade within the first 100 pages and her 'Adventures' consist almost entirely of a passive-aggressive, co-dependent relationship with a cheating former ex, do not expect this to be anything like the first book.
At first, I was intrigued by Belle's new-found regrets over being in the sex industry. I felt that the first several chapters gave a more realistic view of the challenges of the job than we saw in the first book, with more attention given to the problems that come with such employments.
Unfortunately, one of the problems she addresses is how it hurt her relationship with an ex she refers to as 'The Boy' - an ex who she returns to after having left the industry for a plain-Jane office job. The thing is, there is nothing in the way she describes this relationship that makes it seem like one that ought to have been saved in the first place, let alone resuscitated six months after its death. The Boy is a needy, mooching, codependent mess who keeps a blog of the various female conquests he's had during their relationship. What's worse, he makes her needy and codependent as well. Example: she finds out about the blog because she has installed a keystroke tracker on his computer and hacked into his e-mail. Now, I tend more toward the stalker-ish than most people, but seriously -- this creeped me way out.
The best thing I can say about this book? It clearly confirms Belle's theory that sex work, when well-paid and regulated, is empowering to women and their bodies. Why do I think this, you ask? Because she clearly lost her mind and all sense of self when she left the business.
Final Opinion: Run away. Run far, far away. Have you read the first chapter and think you'll enjoy it? You won't.
Firstly, this book is not what it claims to be -- considering the fact that Belle is out of the sex trade within the first 100 pages and her 'Adventures' consist almost entirely of a passive-aggressive, co-dependent relationship with a cheating former ex, do not expect this to be anything like the first book.
At first, I was intrigued by Belle's new-found regrets over being in the sex industry. I felt that the first several chapters gave a more realistic view of the challenges of the job than we saw in the first book, with more attention given to the problems that come with such employments.
Unfortunately, one of the problems she addresses is how it hurt her relationship with an ex she refers to as 'The Boy' - an ex who she returns to after having left the industry for a plain-Jane office job. The thing is, there is nothing in the way she describes this relationship that makes it seem like one that ought to have been saved in the first place, let alone resuscitated six months after its death. The Boy is a needy, mooching, codependent mess who keeps a blog of the various female conquests he's had during their relationship. What's worse, he makes her needy and codependent as well. Example: she finds out about the blog because she has installed a keystroke tracker on his computer and hacked into his e-mail. Now, I tend more toward the stalker-ish than most people, but seriously -- this creeped me way out.
The best thing I can say about this book? It clearly confirms Belle's theory that sex work, when well-paid and regulated, is empowering to women and their bodies. Why do I think this, you ask? Because she clearly lost her mind and all sense of self when she left the business.
Final Opinion: Run away. Run far, far away. Have you read the first chapter and think you'll enjoy it? You won't.
April 7, 2023
When I was a teen, I had read the first book. I'm not entirely sure how long I've had the sequel or why I didn't read it sooner.
But this take of Belle De Jour is 100% different to her first book.
This one reads more as a diary entry rather than as a detailed entry of a sex workers life and what it may/may not cost her personal life.
The further adventures of a London Call Girl is more about an older woman whose trying to leave her once famous past behind, trying to navigate her life through "normal" romances including struggles with the men in her life and trying to navigate the boring 9-5 life.
It's a simple little read that shows Belle can attempt to be just like the rest of us.
But this take of Belle De Jour is 100% different to her first book.
This one reads more as a diary entry rather than as a detailed entry of a sex workers life and what it may/may not cost her personal life.
The further adventures of a London Call Girl is more about an older woman whose trying to leave her once famous past behind, trying to navigate her life through "normal" romances including struggles with the men in her life and trying to navigate the boring 9-5 life.
It's a simple little read that shows Belle can attempt to be just like the rest of us.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 19, 2022
easy to read. most of the book set in Mexico and concerns her cheating boyfriend as supposed to her call girl life in London
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 14, 2008
Holiday read, and only because the only others available were in Norwegian. I still feel I chose the wrong book.
August 20, 2024
boring
April 10, 2025
Even worse than the first book. This one has actually nothing to do with being a call girl as she quit the job and barely talks about it. I would call it "The Further Adventures of a woman with little to no self worth." At some point she said she knows her worth because she was making 300 pounds per hour yet she's obsessing about a pathetic man who's constantly cheating on her, is lying to her face and has absolutely nothing to offer her. Painful read.
November 16, 2020
Avevo letto vari anni fa, apprezzato e recensito, “diario di una squillo perbene”, l’ineffabile libro di “Belle de Jour”, all’epoca ancora un’anonima escort inglese, che aveva avuto molto successo e suscitato scalpore in Inghilterra e non solo: una donna giovane, a fronte delle evidenti difficoltà a trovare un lavoro che le consenta di mantenersi nella costosissima Londra decide, quasi per caso e senza nessuna costrizione, di assecondare la sua passione per il sesso e di diventare una escort, tenendo poi un blog intrigante e divertente delle sue avventure… non solo le “professionali” ma anche quelle private, nell’ambito delle quali conduce ugualmente una vita sessuale abbastanza movimentata. Oggi, qualche anno dopo, si sarebbe potuto dire tranquillamente che lei fosse una “poliamorosa”, ma all’epoca - nemmeno troppi anni fa, poi - questo termine non era così abituale.
Un primo scandalo fu che una donna potesse trovare soddisfazione, piacere e realizzazione in contesti di questo genere dove la narrazione comune vuole esclusivamente donne costrette, schiavizzate, manipolate. Un secondo fu quando, a un certo punto, Belle de Jour decise di gettare la maschera, ormai forte della sua notorietà e dei crediti di stima che riscuoteva, e quello che venne fuori non fu una donna che vivesse nel milieu della City, della finanza e del terziario avanzato, come aveva dato ad intendere nei suoi libri, bensì una rispettabile ricercatrice in ambito clinico, specializzata in oncologia infantile, di origini italo-ebreo-americane, di nome Brooke Magnanti. E che non rinnegava il suo passato, non un’invenzione romanzesca alquanto raffinata e sicuramente ben scritta come molti auspicavano, spaventati dall’ipotesi una donna così padrona di sé stessa e della sua libertà, ma una realtà che le aveva consentito di pagarsi parte dei suoi studi.
Mi sono ricordato di lei, ed essendomi venuta voglia di vedere come fosse andata avanti la sua storia, mi sono procurato il suo secondo libro: The Further Adventures of a London Call Girl, credo mai pubblicato in Italia, e infatti l’ho letto in inglese.
Pensavo che dopo aver letto il libro sulla materia oscura e i dinosauri di Holly Randall non avrei avuto problemi con le tematiche decisamente più “leggere” di questo, ma mi sbagliavo: è scritto in un inglese estremamente complesso, pieno di espressioni gergali e di termini non comuni, sconosciuti al dizionario del mio e-book, e la cosa mi ha provocato una lettura sicuramente affascinante ma molto lunga e faticosa. In effetti nel primo libro avevo colto delle incongruenze che pensavo dovute a una traduzione in italiano piuttosto disattenta, ma leggendo questo ho capito che il lavoro di traduzione della scrittura della Magnanti non è affatto semplice.
Rispetto al volume precedente, qui la storia è decisamente meno orientata sulla prostituzione e anche per certi versi meno trasgressiva. Belle continua la sua professione solo nella parte iniziale del racconto; poi, nel momento in cui trova un lavoro d’ufficio in ambito “terziario avanzato”, per timore di poter essere riconosciuta da clienti e colleghi decide di “mettere la testa a posto”. Non è che il lavoro “normale” le dia chissà quali soddisfazioni, anzi; vi trova molta noia, molte meschinità, colleghe pettegole e insignificanti, e poco altro. Tanto che ad un certo punto si licenzia e parte per una lunga vacanza in Messico, invitata da un cugino con cui aveva molta confidenza nella sua infanzia, il quale si è stabilito lì dopo una serie di disavventure esistenziali, tra cui droga e galera. Buona parte del libro è proprio questo: vita vacanziera messicana, qualche incontro, poco o niente sesso agito, e molto, invece, immaginato o ricordato. Uno dei punti più interessanti è una notte d’amore che si concede con un’altra turista inglese; Belle è solidamente bisessuale, in maniera spontanea e priva di esitazioni, anche se i suoi momenti con altre donne sono sempre puramente sessuali, non lasciano spazio a passioni e innamoramenti come invece le capita con gli uomini. Tanto è vero che l’argomento principale della sua vita in vacanza (e del libro) è il suo rapporto con The Boy, di cui è caduta pesantemente innamorata, caso eccezionale nella sua vita poliamorosa. Al punto da installare uno spyware sul suo computer in modo tale da poter leggere la sua posta elettronica, e scoprire le sue sospettate varie storie parallele con altre donne, cosa che le causa rabbia e delusione… Uno potrebbe dire: da che pulpito parte la predica! E tu, con le tue mille storie, con la tua “professione”, eccetera… In effetti quello che la disturba non sono i tradimenti sistematici di lui, ma la mancanza di sincerità, il raccontare balle a ripetizione e nasconderle la sua vera vita sessuale vendendole l’immagine di uno “tutta casa e famiglia”. Arriva anche a telefonare a una delle sue amanti, e lui, su tutte le furie, la accusa di essere come Glenn Close in Attrazione fatale (“bunny boiler”). Teme che lui la tenga nascosta ai suoi amici perché non la consideri dello stesso livello suo e loro. Ad un certo punto si chiede, retoricamente, perché gli uomini siano sempre così falsi e menzogneri.
Una risposta provo ad azzardarla io: non sarà perché le donne, generalmente, tendono ad incazzarsi come bisce quando scoprono di non essere l’Unica e l’Eletta? Cioè, non è che gli uomini non siano capaci di atteggiamenti di uguale possessività che può anche diventare violenta, in certi casi. Ma le donne, comunque, sarebbe bene che non si ritengano moralmente tanto migliori. Magari non arriveranno a scannare il fedifrago, ma brutti momenti glieli faranno comunque passare.
In effetti, tendo a pensare che Belle de Jour - Brooke Magnanti sarebbe la donna ideale per molti uomini: intelligente, bella, col dono dell’ironia, sessualmente curiosissima, con la capacità, straordinaria in una donna, di gestire un “multitasking” sessuale senza dubbi né sensi di colpa (proprio come gli uomini - o come gli uomini ambirebbero ad essere); bisessuale il giusto, e anche con qualche gustosa venatura BDSM ma priva di idioti ritualismi e desideri di appartenenza.
Per molti uomini, ma non per tutti. Non certo per quelli per i quali la loro donna dev’essere proprietà esclusiva, privata del diritto di pensare, fare, desiderare e incontrare altri uomini. Quegli uomini, è meglio che girino al largo, magari proprio dall’universo.
Un primo scandalo fu che una donna potesse trovare soddisfazione, piacere e realizzazione in contesti di questo genere dove la narrazione comune vuole esclusivamente donne costrette, schiavizzate, manipolate. Un secondo fu quando, a un certo punto, Belle de Jour decise di gettare la maschera, ormai forte della sua notorietà e dei crediti di stima che riscuoteva, e quello che venne fuori non fu una donna che vivesse nel milieu della City, della finanza e del terziario avanzato, come aveva dato ad intendere nei suoi libri, bensì una rispettabile ricercatrice in ambito clinico, specializzata in oncologia infantile, di origini italo-ebreo-americane, di nome Brooke Magnanti. E che non rinnegava il suo passato, non un’invenzione romanzesca alquanto raffinata e sicuramente ben scritta come molti auspicavano, spaventati dall’ipotesi una donna così padrona di sé stessa e della sua libertà, ma una realtà che le aveva consentito di pagarsi parte dei suoi studi.
Mi sono ricordato di lei, ed essendomi venuta voglia di vedere come fosse andata avanti la sua storia, mi sono procurato il suo secondo libro: The Further Adventures of a London Call Girl, credo mai pubblicato in Italia, e infatti l’ho letto in inglese.
Pensavo che dopo aver letto il libro sulla materia oscura e i dinosauri di Holly Randall non avrei avuto problemi con le tematiche decisamente più “leggere” di questo, ma mi sbagliavo: è scritto in un inglese estremamente complesso, pieno di espressioni gergali e di termini non comuni, sconosciuti al dizionario del mio e-book, e la cosa mi ha provocato una lettura sicuramente affascinante ma molto lunga e faticosa. In effetti nel primo libro avevo colto delle incongruenze che pensavo dovute a una traduzione in italiano piuttosto disattenta, ma leggendo questo ho capito che il lavoro di traduzione della scrittura della Magnanti non è affatto semplice.
Rispetto al volume precedente, qui la storia è decisamente meno orientata sulla prostituzione e anche per certi versi meno trasgressiva. Belle continua la sua professione solo nella parte iniziale del racconto; poi, nel momento in cui trova un lavoro d’ufficio in ambito “terziario avanzato”, per timore di poter essere riconosciuta da clienti e colleghi decide di “mettere la testa a posto”. Non è che il lavoro “normale” le dia chissà quali soddisfazioni, anzi; vi trova molta noia, molte meschinità, colleghe pettegole e insignificanti, e poco altro. Tanto che ad un certo punto si licenzia e parte per una lunga vacanza in Messico, invitata da un cugino con cui aveva molta confidenza nella sua infanzia, il quale si è stabilito lì dopo una serie di disavventure esistenziali, tra cui droga e galera. Buona parte del libro è proprio questo: vita vacanziera messicana, qualche incontro, poco o niente sesso agito, e molto, invece, immaginato o ricordato. Uno dei punti più interessanti è una notte d’amore che si concede con un’altra turista inglese; Belle è solidamente bisessuale, in maniera spontanea e priva di esitazioni, anche se i suoi momenti con altre donne sono sempre puramente sessuali, non lasciano spazio a passioni e innamoramenti come invece le capita con gli uomini. Tanto è vero che l’argomento principale della sua vita in vacanza (e del libro) è il suo rapporto con The Boy, di cui è caduta pesantemente innamorata, caso eccezionale nella sua vita poliamorosa. Al punto da installare uno spyware sul suo computer in modo tale da poter leggere la sua posta elettronica, e scoprire le sue sospettate varie storie parallele con altre donne, cosa che le causa rabbia e delusione… Uno potrebbe dire: da che pulpito parte la predica! E tu, con le tue mille storie, con la tua “professione”, eccetera… In effetti quello che la disturba non sono i tradimenti sistematici di lui, ma la mancanza di sincerità, il raccontare balle a ripetizione e nasconderle la sua vera vita sessuale vendendole l’immagine di uno “tutta casa e famiglia”. Arriva anche a telefonare a una delle sue amanti, e lui, su tutte le furie, la accusa di essere come Glenn Close in Attrazione fatale (“bunny boiler”). Teme che lui la tenga nascosta ai suoi amici perché non la consideri dello stesso livello suo e loro. Ad un certo punto si chiede, retoricamente, perché gli uomini siano sempre così falsi e menzogneri.
Una risposta provo ad azzardarla io: non sarà perché le donne, generalmente, tendono ad incazzarsi come bisce quando scoprono di non essere l’Unica e l’Eletta? Cioè, non è che gli uomini non siano capaci di atteggiamenti di uguale possessività che può anche diventare violenta, in certi casi. Ma le donne, comunque, sarebbe bene che non si ritengano moralmente tanto migliori. Magari non arriveranno a scannare il fedifrago, ma brutti momenti glieli faranno comunque passare.
In effetti, tendo a pensare che Belle de Jour - Brooke Magnanti sarebbe la donna ideale per molti uomini: intelligente, bella, col dono dell’ironia, sessualmente curiosissima, con la capacità, straordinaria in una donna, di gestire un “multitasking” sessuale senza dubbi né sensi di colpa (proprio come gli uomini - o come gli uomini ambirebbero ad essere); bisessuale il giusto, e anche con qualche gustosa venatura BDSM ma priva di idioti ritualismi e desideri di appartenenza.
Per molti uomini, ma non per tutti. Non certo per quelli per i quali la loro donna dev’essere proprietà esclusiva, privata del diritto di pensare, fare, desiderare e incontrare altri uomini. Quegli uomini, è meglio che girino al largo, magari proprio dall’universo.
May 6, 2012
If I hadn't read this book purely for the mindless entertainment value I'd be more disappointed, but I can't say I didn't know what to expect. That being said this wasn't even as good as the first book, in that Belle spends the majority of it as an ex-Call Girl, making the title a bit of a misnomer. So whilst the sex was still present, it wasn't as lurid or interesting a read as one would hope. In fact, reading about Belle dealing with 'normal' relationship woes such as cheating partners became quite dull quite quickly. I would have preferred for the novel to go the same route as the television series and have Belle decide her love of being a call girl outweighed her love of any man (even though this is a decidedly depressing outcome), at least the read would have been somewhat more fun. Ending sucked.
March 24, 2013
I bought this book primarily because I had bought and read the first one. I thought this book was okay as a sequel but felt like it was a bit of a let - down, as she was no longer a call girl but it focused primarily on her adventures afterwards, that being said however it still contained enough descriptive sex to keep the reader content. I also love that it shows what happened after the first book closed. It's always nice to read what happens later in life. It was an okay book and a must read for anyone who read the first one x
February 8, 2020
More of the same really but I liked it slightly more than the first. It's more about Belles life after quitting call girling so there's slightly more of a plot and fewer gratuitous sex scenes. I still found Belle snobbish and annoying, especially as half of the book is whining about the Boy cheating but also how she still loves him.
November 15, 2021
Not what I expected and I won’t be reading any more books in the series. This book was no longer about the “adventures of a London call girl” and degenerated into plain old uninteresting diary entries. It was junk food reading for me but it was unsatisfactory for even that. Also it was fat-phobic as all hell.
December 29, 2021
2021 52 Book Challenge - 50) A book with a shoe on the cover
I literally cannot describe how boring this book was. I just kept waiting for something to happen and all that happens is a really bad relationship that should never have happened but yet is still going at the end of the book. How, I have no idea.
I literally cannot describe how boring this book was. I just kept waiting for something to happen and all that happens is a really bad relationship that should never have happened but yet is still going at the end of the book. How, I have no idea.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2018
It is a bit disappointing when you pick up a book about a London Call Girl and the first thing she does is drop out of business.
July 21, 2023
Total snooze, at least the first was semi interesting even if i didn't buy the authenticity but Belle is far worse in the sequel. Huge pick me girl and extremely judgmental to anyone that isn't her. Fat shaming galore. Frustratingly one dimensional, if she can truly orgasm as easily as she claims then I'm happy for her but the insinuation that other people are less than or broken because they can't is puerile.
Desperate to brag about shitting on people for money but can't handle a significant other taking a wee with the door open, puh-lease. The fear of real intimacy or perhaps just an intense need to be seen as permanently sexy (at the age of 30 to boot) makes her seem exhausting.
Hard to finish, many eye rolls and cringe. Hope the author has matured tbh.
Desperate to brag about shitting on people for money but can't handle a significant other taking a wee with the door open, puh-lease. The fear of real intimacy or perhaps just an intense need to be seen as permanently sexy (at the age of 30 to boot) makes her seem exhausting.
Hard to finish, many eye rolls and cringe. Hope the author has matured tbh.
January 27, 2019
While I really enjoyed the first book. The second book left me frustrated and annoyed with Belle. The first book told a tale of a self assured women working in the sex industry with no shame and offered a tantalizing peek behind the curtain of the London call girl business. The second book however tells a completely different tale. One of a women trying to stay in a failing relationship and obsessing over it. While I can empathize with her situation I don’t necessarily want to read an entire book on her obsessing over “the boy”.
December 11, 2019
what a gargantuan waste of time. goodreads needs to implement a zero star ratings for sh-tty books like this. i thought it was gonna be like the first book but it was mostly about her personal life and her relationship with her ain't sh-t a-hole boyfriend HOW DREADFUL. plus belle is such an awful awful person im surprised she has one friend let alone 3 or 4
i hope the author does us all a favor and never picks up a writing utensil ever again in her life.
i hope the author does us all a favor and never picks up a writing utensil ever again in her life.
January 11, 2022
Well, the book is a kind of an intimate tour. Women are mysteries to us and it feels always intimate to know their personal thoughts. This 'further adventure' is not really an adventure like the first one. It's rather an quiet piece about how Belle bears with her own love life after she left the job of being a call girl. Love, sex and marriage - all have their own charms. I loved her books. They are Insightful and intimate.
June 23, 2023
This novel is stupid. She’s only a call girl for about the first 100 pages, then she gets a very boring job in an office. The rest of the novel is about her boring office job, her toxic relationship with her cheating boyfriend, and her not very exciting holiday in Mexico. It’s very ordinary and not really worth her writing or anyone reading about it. A complete waste of my money and time. It should be renamed “The Boring Adventures of an Ex-London Call Girl”.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 1, 2017
С трудом это можно назвать книгой, блогерные измышления с претензией на "правду-матку".
May 7, 2019
Thought the first was much better
July 12, 2019
She gives up tricking!! Such a relief. She's an engaging writer but the pleasure comes from her being real and not sweet. No shrouding her shortcomings, I admire that.
January 15, 2021
Would give it no stars if I could. Horribly written.
January 24, 2023
Actually did not finish…totally not like the first book. I just couldn’t get into this one.
December 19, 2023
I liked the first book a lot because it was funny. This one started off okay, but then it went to self-loathing focusing on a failed relationship.
August 19, 2024
Better than the first one but still not very good. Not my cup of tea
April 23, 2025
Good read
November 2, 2024
There are some interesting and intelligent insights into relationships, mostly into male/female relationships.
She gets into an addiction with a man that she describes as beautiful with an unflagging sexual energy, but not too bright and constantly cheating.
Her own insights and rules and conclusions fail.
That goes on for the longest part of the book and it is annoying, though somewhat interesting how she just can’t break free.
It’s hard not to despise her a little for her lack of intelligence (she tries to justify her sticking to him) or consequence or backbone.
She gets into an addiction with a man that she describes as beautiful with an unflagging sexual energy, but not too bright and constantly cheating.
Her own insights and rules and conclusions fail.
That goes on for the longest part of the book and it is annoying, though somewhat interesting how she just can’t break free.
It’s hard not to despise her a little for her lack of intelligence (she tries to justify her sticking to him) or consequence or backbone.
February 6, 2015
When Belle De Jour’s first book “Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl” was published, it was notable enough that I first heard about it via the BBC London News. With that kind of press attention, it came as a surprise to discover that there had been a sequel; not only published, but available in paperback, without me noticing. Given how much I’d enjoyed the original, however, the shock was not enough to prevent me grabbing a copy of “The Further Adventures of a London Call Girl” straight away.
I will admit to having some minor doubts, though. Although you should never judge a book by the cover, the cover of this one was a cause for slight concern. Gone was the understated and classy cover of the original, to be replaced with a cartoon drawing of a figure, in a style not too dissimilar from the cover of Tracy Quan’s “Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl”. Compared to Belle De Jour’s original, Tracy Quan’s was a dreadful book and I was hoping this follow up would be more of the former than the latter.
After a brief introduction to bring those who may not have read her original book up to speed, we appear in Belle’s life in a September. Starting from the very first entry, I wonder why I was concerned by the cover. We’re taken straight into Belle’s working life as a call girl and she recounts a session with one of her professional clients. Soon after, however, we are greeted with the upsetting news that Belle is attempting to leave this world behind and work in an office instead.
The style and content of this book are very similar to that of the original; we get eleven months in the life of Belle. She tells us about her relationships with family and friends; boyfriends current and previous; sexual escapades both professional and personal. The major differences this time is that she spends six months abroad getting away from it all, which results in her having far less to do with family and friends and that she is not working as a call girl for the vast majority of the book.
This is where the book falls down. What made the original so interesting was that Belle was still a call girl and was telling us all about what that entailed. Now, she is no longer a call girl and, sadly, that means she’s no longer all that interesting. Admittedly she still talks candidly about any sex acts she may take part in, but Belle is now someone who sneaks around spying on her on-off boyfriend and has drinks with old school friends. In short, Belle has become just like anybody else.
This makes the title of the book misleading on two counts. Firstly, Belle is no longer a call girl, which takes some of the anticipation out of things. This would not completely ruin the book on its own, except that there are relatively few adventures recounted here either, which just makes things boring. Whereas the original book was Bridget Jones with an exciting twist, this is Bridget Jones with maybe slightly different neuroses, but with no other major difference.
If you’ve read the original “Intimate Adventures…”, then I would advise against reading this, as it will come as a huge disappointment. If you’ve not read the original, please read that instead of this, especially if you’ve previously heard of Belle de Jour, as this will only leave you wondering what all the fuss is about.
Before, Belle de Jour was selling sex; now it appears that she’s just sold out. The woman of the day has become your average every day woman and the dish of the day has gone cold. Sequels to good things are frequently disappointing and Belle’s sequel is just like one of Belle’s former clients; just one more in a long line of them.
This review may also appear, in whole or in part, under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk
I will admit to having some minor doubts, though. Although you should never judge a book by the cover, the cover of this one was a cause for slight concern. Gone was the understated and classy cover of the original, to be replaced with a cartoon drawing of a figure, in a style not too dissimilar from the cover of Tracy Quan’s “Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl”. Compared to Belle De Jour’s original, Tracy Quan’s was a dreadful book and I was hoping this follow up would be more of the former than the latter.
After a brief introduction to bring those who may not have read her original book up to speed, we appear in Belle’s life in a September. Starting from the very first entry, I wonder why I was concerned by the cover. We’re taken straight into Belle’s working life as a call girl and she recounts a session with one of her professional clients. Soon after, however, we are greeted with the upsetting news that Belle is attempting to leave this world behind and work in an office instead.
The style and content of this book are very similar to that of the original; we get eleven months in the life of Belle. She tells us about her relationships with family and friends; boyfriends current and previous; sexual escapades both professional and personal. The major differences this time is that she spends six months abroad getting away from it all, which results in her having far less to do with family and friends and that she is not working as a call girl for the vast majority of the book.
This is where the book falls down. What made the original so interesting was that Belle was still a call girl and was telling us all about what that entailed. Now, she is no longer a call girl and, sadly, that means she’s no longer all that interesting. Admittedly she still talks candidly about any sex acts she may take part in, but Belle is now someone who sneaks around spying on her on-off boyfriend and has drinks with old school friends. In short, Belle has become just like anybody else.
This makes the title of the book misleading on two counts. Firstly, Belle is no longer a call girl, which takes some of the anticipation out of things. This would not completely ruin the book on its own, except that there are relatively few adventures recounted here either, which just makes things boring. Whereas the original book was Bridget Jones with an exciting twist, this is Bridget Jones with maybe slightly different neuroses, but with no other major difference.
If you’ve read the original “Intimate Adventures…”, then I would advise against reading this, as it will come as a huge disappointment. If you’ve not read the original, please read that instead of this, especially if you’ve previously heard of Belle de Jour, as this will only leave you wondering what all the fuss is about.
Before, Belle de Jour was selling sex; now it appears that she’s just sold out. The woman of the day has become your average every day woman and the dish of the day has gone cold. Sequels to good things are frequently disappointing and Belle’s sequel is just like one of Belle’s former clients; just one more in a long line of them.
This review may also appear, in whole or in part, under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk
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