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Nancy Chan #1
Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl
A fun, witty, sexy, page-turning novel written by a real-life, high-priced Manhattan call girl.
This is the diary of Nancy Chan, busy career girl, in her thirties, newly engaged and trying to balance job and romance. But Nancy is a high-class call girl, a fact her banker fiance, Matt does not know (he thinks she’s a copy editor) and Nancy wants to keep it that way.
With one foot in the bedrooms of her rich and demanding clients and one in the world of her fiancé and his family, Nancy demonstrates, in her inimitable fashion, that if you know the dance, you can keep those two worlds from colliding. At least for a while.
This wonderfully intelligent, sexually frank, rollicking novel gives us fresh insight into the machinations and politics of being an expensive call girl in the modern world. Quan pulls no punches, gives no apologies, and has written one of the best and most honest books yet on the topic.
This is the diary of Nancy Chan, busy career girl, in her thirties, newly engaged and trying to balance job and romance. But Nancy is a high-class call girl, a fact her banker fiance, Matt does not know (he thinks she’s a copy editor) and Nancy wants to keep it that way.
With one foot in the bedrooms of her rich and demanding clients and one in the world of her fiancé and his family, Nancy demonstrates, in her inimitable fashion, that if you know the dance, you can keep those two worlds from colliding. At least for a while.
This wonderfully intelligent, sexually frank, rollicking novel gives us fresh insight into the machinations and politics of being an expensive call girl in the modern world. Quan pulls no punches, gives no apologies, and has written one of the best and most honest books yet on the topic.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2001
31 people are currently reading
859 people want to read
About the author
Tracy Quan
13 books43 followersTracy Quan is the author of the Nancy Chan trilogy.
Diary of a Jetsetting Call Girl, her latest novel, is a 21st century adventure with a medieval twist. When Nancy travels to sunny Provence, hoping to escape her problems in New York, she discovers that the French countryside is 'ten times trickier than Manhattan.' Nothing in this temporary world is quite what it seems... Sex worker zealots. Mary Magdalen's relics. A Wall Street Viagra junkie. And a stolen dildo. Add a suspicious husband and you've got one deeply confused call girl, anxious to save her reputation and forced to make some rather unexpected decisions.
The Nancy Chan novels are published in more than 14 languages. Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl was recently published in Vietnam.
~
Diary of a Jetsetting Call Girl, her latest novel, is a 21st century adventure with a medieval twist. When Nancy travels to sunny Provence, hoping to escape her problems in New York, she discovers that the French countryside is 'ten times trickier than Manhattan.' Nothing in this temporary world is quite what it seems... Sex worker zealots. Mary Magdalen's relics. A Wall Street Viagra junkie. And a stolen dildo. Add a suspicious husband and you've got one deeply confused call girl, anxious to save her reputation and forced to make some rather unexpected decisions.
The Nancy Chan novels are published in more than 14 languages. Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl was recently published in Vietnam.
~
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 183 reviews
July 24, 2025
Really didn't enjoy this. Really didn't like the main character, Nancy, she made such a drama about such small things, and I found it really unbelievable ... I mean who decides they want to go into the sex industry from age 10?? Really not someone I could warm to or relate to at all.
I have the second book which I will read at some point, but I don't hold out much hope for it.
I have the second book which I will read at some point, but I don't hold out much hope for it.
January 18, 2024
I finished this book purely because I hate to start a book and not finish it. The main character is very hard to like. This has nothing to do with her job. She is a self-obsessed narcissist and although the book centres around her trying to maintain a romantic relationship while being a prostitute, there is no warmth or connection with the character. She states her feelings so matter of fact that it feels almost robotic and disconnected. It paints an untruthful description of her work too.
In one sense and I would say that this is the only positive point, you can see how she prepares for her sex work but all her customers are gentlemen and at no point in the book is there any danger involved.
Other than the fact that she is getting paid to have sex with these men, it feels like she is actually just dating them as all the men are polite and well-behaved, I suppose she backs this up by saying that she hand picks her clients etc but there are times in the books that she meets "new" men recommended by a madam or other girl but again these men seem to be the perfect customers.
This glamorises the job and gives an inaccurate account of a working girls real customers.
The reviews on the physical book say that this is an extremely funny book which was the main reason I decided to read it. I can honestly say there is not one word in that book that I would consider funny.
I don't recommend this book.
In one sense and I would say that this is the only positive point, you can see how she prepares for her sex work but all her customers are gentlemen and at no point in the book is there any danger involved.
Other than the fact that she is getting paid to have sex with these men, it feels like she is actually just dating them as all the men are polite and well-behaved, I suppose she backs this up by saying that she hand picks her clients etc but there are times in the books that she meets "new" men recommended by a madam or other girl but again these men seem to be the perfect customers.
This glamorises the job and gives an inaccurate account of a working girls real customers.
The reviews on the physical book say that this is an extremely funny book which was the main reason I decided to read it. I can honestly say there is not one word in that book that I would consider funny.
I don't recommend this book.
August 1, 2007
Well, this book definitely provided me with plenty of trashy entertainment and it was great! You can't expect a literary masterpiece when you pick up a book that has condoms on the cover. But it was a very interesting and I couldn't put it down. The author's writing style was very casual and concise. She included just enough detail, which is neccessary in a book about prostitution I guess. This book is an easy, enjoyable, entertaining, but kind of embarassing read (Come on, condoms on the cover?). It's great for anyone looking for a momentary break from life's serious bullshit.
January 4, 2024
Not very good. Thought it would be a bit of light hearted fun, but the main character Nancy is pretty horrible! She’s vacuous, self absorbed, probably a bit sociopathic and the plot is basically how can she carry on being a high class prostitute without her fiancée or his family finding her out. I didn’t feel sympathetic towards her - either stop having sex with other men, call off the wedding or tell him the truth and chance the slim possibility that your future husband might not mind that you’ve been cheating on him for your job and concealing it since you’ve been together. Weird! Not recommended!!
March 25, 2007
I was seriously disappointed by this book because Quan's short pieces on Salon.com were nothing short of brilliant, an intimate, real look at the life of a career call girl. The book took elements from those pieces and sloppily put them together to form a narrative that was completely unbelievable and unrealistic. I guess it would be OK as a beach book, but only if you get it from the library.
August 19, 2013
I can't figure out what rating to give this. I read it almost straight through in every spare moment of three days recently, staying up until 4 one morning, yet, hmm rating as a great book, I can't do it. a quandary for me.(pun intended?from subconscious after fact.) I was *very* momentarily excited to see there was another similar title by Quan. And if I stumble across it I am sure I will devour it similarly.
I think every man should read this as required reading, and then again, I think no boy should read it and it's probably a bad influence on girls, too. hah.
Good book. Very interesting.
I think every man should read this as required reading, and then again, I think no boy should read it and it's probably a bad influence on girls, too. hah.
Good book. Very interesting.
August 19, 2007
This book was pretty much as trashy as you'd expect, with an ending that was so abrupt that it left me wondering as if pages were actually missing from my copy of the book. Nonetheless, it was pretty readable throughout. If you think this book would appeal to you, you're probably right.
April 27, 2023
God finishing this book was a CHORE
March 24, 2009
I can't believe I read this whole book. The only reason I picked it up at a thrift store was because I really like the Showtime series "Secret Diary of a Call Girl" (based on the memoir that I'm waiting to read called Belle de Jour: Diary of an Unlikely Call Girl) and I was hoping it had the same flavor. I was wrong. It's not that I was looking for a book of any real substance, but this wasn't even high on the raunch-factor. There was no plot, no story, nothing. And the main character wasn't remotely likable or relatable.
April 7, 2009
I had my first and last attempts at reading "chick-lit" last year. I tried really hard but just couldn't get past all the slang and the clothes and shoe references about which I knew nothing. As I wish to remain in my nerdy ignorance I don't see myself dipping my toe into the shallow pool of chick-lit anytime soon. However, in saying all of this I made an exception for this book as it is about the erotic arts and could have proved interesting if I could have gotten past all the tragic designer references - sadly I failed...I am now officially over chick-lit.
March 8, 2008
This could have been so much better than it was. The bits about her being a call girl were entertaining but the author seemed to want to make it more than that. The main character in therapy and is planning to get married which is compelling but everything falls incredibly short. She slapped together the ending. Her editor apparently got paid for nothing.
July 6, 2007
Trashy, yes, but also funny, poignant, and even (at times) thought provoking.
April 7, 2014
Well, what a mess.
My fist reaction was like, is she going to cover bad writing with shocking scenes on every page? It's not the worst book I've read, but judging by the reviews I must say I expected more. At least better language I guess. One technical detail that made me furious every five sentences (or ever more often) - the author must have been promised one milion dollars every single time she uses exclamation mark. Ugh, looks like manhattan call girls communicate with each other, and not only, by shouting. Constantly!
But on the other hand, as much as I disliked book for the first 50 pages, it somehow grew on me. What kept me struggling with it was problably the fact that Tracy Quan shows a world so distant from what I've always expected to be a call girls universe. Most of the books I've read on the subject showed girls and women who somehow ended up in that business, because of violence, human trafficking, abusive relatives etc. These characters are so much different. It would be probably too much to say that they're proud of what they're doing (but sometimes I thought they looked down on other professions) but they are comfortable with it and confident about it. It is for sure not new to the literature, but it was new for me.
My fist reaction was like, is she going to cover bad writing with shocking scenes on every page? It's not the worst book I've read, but judging by the reviews I must say I expected more. At least better language I guess. One technical detail that made me furious every five sentences (or ever more often) - the author must have been promised one milion dollars every single time she uses exclamation mark. Ugh, looks like manhattan call girls communicate with each other, and not only, by shouting. Constantly!
But on the other hand, as much as I disliked book for the first 50 pages, it somehow grew on me. What kept me struggling with it was problably the fact that Tracy Quan shows a world so distant from what I've always expected to be a call girls universe. Most of the books I've read on the subject showed girls and women who somehow ended up in that business, because of violence, human trafficking, abusive relatives etc. These characters are so much different. It would be probably too much to say that they're proud of what they're doing (but sometimes I thought they looked down on other professions) but they are comfortable with it and confident about it. It is for sure not new to the literature, but it was new for me.
June 26, 2011
Written in diary-like format, which I always like a lot. Makes it super easy to read. The story went on and on and then wrapped up so quickly at the end, you weren’t even sure what happened, which was very very weird. So to sum it up, the ending sucked. Here is what happened before that. Girl is a hooker but her fiancé doesn’t know. She has crazy friends in the business and spends like half her time trying not to let her two worlds overlap. I wish she was more damaged. She wasn’t. I wish this book had more details at some parts. It didn’t. I wish the ending wrapped up a little better. It didn’t. This book was missing a lot of stuff. Someone needs to rewrite in today’s hooker-obsessed world. This book was from like 2000, which in chick-lit terms, is a million years ago.
Grade: C-
Grade: C-
August 5, 2011
I don't like giving a bad review, but have to be honest - I thought this book was utter tosh. I thought it might be kinda 'Sex and the City Uncut' or something, but I just found it uninteresting, unfunny and completely unsexy.
I don't think my lack of enthusiasm is due to the writing style as I've enjoyed 'diary' books before; but more due to the lack of plot and inability to feel interested in either Nancy's personal or professional life.
I don't think my lack of enthusiasm is due to the writing style as I've enjoyed 'diary' books before; but more due to the lack of plot and inability to feel interested in either Nancy's personal or professional life.
January 30, 2012
Hideous. And it's so rare for me to criticize a novel. But really, the main character has no redeeming qualities, or even a pleasant personality. Whiny, shallow, sickeningly superficial - her clients were the only characters that held even a glimmer of redeeming qualities. The ending, which I held out for in hopes of some depraved drama at the narrator's expense, was sheer disappointment. Not even satisfying if I had been rooting for a "happy ending."
October 30, 2008
I usually enjoy this kind of trashy chick lit type book, even if it is terribly predictable and silly, but there's nothing wrong with a good light read. However, even by my accepting standards this was a right piece of trash. I don't think anything ever actually happened, and the characters were simply too shallow.
September 5, 2010
It's shit, pure and simple. I hate the characters, I hate the plotline, I hate the fact that the forward mentions that Darren Starr has bought the option to make it into a TV series, it may be the first book that I don't bother to finish in a long time.
Ok, I finished it. Waste of time, the stories simply ended, without resolution. Pile of crap.
Ok, I finished it. Waste of time, the stories simply ended, without resolution. Pile of crap.
February 8, 2009
Ok. Definitely chick-lit.
February 18, 2009
One of the worst books I have ever read. I was reading it while in Puerto Rico visiting my mother and had nothing else to read.
July 13, 2024
3.5
przyjemna rozrywka, łatwy język więc większość rozumiałam, a z kontekstu wszystko, końcówka meh
przyjemna rozrywka, łatwy język więc większość rozumiałam, a z kontekstu wszystko, końcówka meh
July 15, 2025
Obviously I wanted to read this based on the title alone (and @kellie’s recommendation) and I was not disappointed!
July 20, 2024
It was OK.
January 22, 2015
Having recently read both Belle De Jour's "Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl" and David Henry Sterry's "Chicken", it seemed that Tracy Quan's "Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl" was the next natural step. Especially having seen it advertised all over the London Underground. I was hoping it would prove to be yet another look into the world of prostitution from the point of view of the prostitute and would have the same effect of making it seem like they are simply normal people with a slightly abnormal job.
That said, knowing that the book had a predominantly pink cover with a drawing of a woman in her panties prominent on it did make me wonder what kinds of looks I'd get from the other passengers on the Tube. Even more so having got some sideways glances when I was reading nothing more risqué than "Bridget Jones's Diary".
Nancy leads something of a double life. In one life, she is a call girl in New York, who seems to have very few friends or acquaintances who she hasn't met through her work. In the other, she is a supposedly respectable fiancée to Matt and, as far as he and his sisters are concerned, works in a far more respectable job.
"Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl" is four months in Nancy's life. She leads us through her working days and nights and the time she spends with Matt and her friends. We get to find out how she juggles both sides of her existence and the trials she faces keeping them apart. We hear her conversations at work, at the gym and with her therapist.
As with "Belle De Jour", this is written in a diary format and, again similar to that book, some of the entries are pretty long. Unlike that, however, this does not deviate from that format. Indeed, there is no variation of style here and the only real break from the present is the small bit of back story where Nancy explains how she first became a call girl and what she did before she became a call girl in Manhattan.
Before I had even started reading the story, I had my misgivings. With the previous books I'd read on the subject, the covers were a little more discreet, whereas this shouts out to everyone what you're reading with the colour scheme and the cover picture. The way the book is divided into chapters and the slightly corny titles some of them have been given suggests this isn't taking itself as seriously as "Belle De Jour" did and the way the type on some of the pages is shaped like a woman's body suggests it's trying a little too hard to impress.
Sadly, it does seem that this book is a victory of style over substance. Although it's worth noting that this book is marketed as a work of fiction, whereas both "Chicken" and "Belle De Jour" claimed to be true stories, it is really only the subject matter than links the three books. "Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl" has none of the gritty realism and the shocking impact of those earlier books. It's really a watered down version of the genre, perhaps falling part way between "Belle De Jour" and "Bridget Jones's Diary".
Worst of all is the ending of the book. Having built up to an unresolved situation, Quan commits the cardinal sin of dodging the issue at the end. Had you actually succeeded in building up a relationship with Nancy through these pages, this would be a huge let down. Fortunately, I was never that involved in the story, so I didn't find it much more than a disappointment, albeit a pretty massive one.
This is a book for someone who enjoyed "Bridget Jones's Diary" and wants something with a slight edge to it. This would also be suitable reading for someone who was disgusted or shocked by "Belle De Jour". I saw a lady on a train recently reading that book with an expression on her face that covered both shock and disgust. She would probably have felt more at home with this book. For me, personally, having loved the on the edge feel of "Belle De Jour", this felt horribly watered down and not quite real.
I suspect that anyone reading this as their first foray into the subject may not be as disappointed as I was. The stories of call girls and the like seem to be coming more into the mainstream than ever before, with "Belle De Jour" seemingly leading the way. Sadly, this book proves that bandwagon jumping isn't always (or, indeed, often) a good thing and that Quan isn't fit to lace Belle De Jour's knee high boots.
This review may also appear 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
That said, knowing that the book had a predominantly pink cover with a drawing of a woman in her panties prominent on it did make me wonder what kinds of looks I'd get from the other passengers on the Tube. Even more so having got some sideways glances when I was reading nothing more risqué than "Bridget Jones's Diary".
Nancy leads something of a double life. In one life, she is a call girl in New York, who seems to have very few friends or acquaintances who she hasn't met through her work. In the other, she is a supposedly respectable fiancée to Matt and, as far as he and his sisters are concerned, works in a far more respectable job.
"Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl" is four months in Nancy's life. She leads us through her working days and nights and the time she spends with Matt and her friends. We get to find out how she juggles both sides of her existence and the trials she faces keeping them apart. We hear her conversations at work, at the gym and with her therapist.
As with "Belle De Jour", this is written in a diary format and, again similar to that book, some of the entries are pretty long. Unlike that, however, this does not deviate from that format. Indeed, there is no variation of style here and the only real break from the present is the small bit of back story where Nancy explains how she first became a call girl and what she did before she became a call girl in Manhattan.
Before I had even started reading the story, I had my misgivings. With the previous books I'd read on the subject, the covers were a little more discreet, whereas this shouts out to everyone what you're reading with the colour scheme and the cover picture. The way the book is divided into chapters and the slightly corny titles some of them have been given suggests this isn't taking itself as seriously as "Belle De Jour" did and the way the type on some of the pages is shaped like a woman's body suggests it's trying a little too hard to impress.
Sadly, it does seem that this book is a victory of style over substance. Although it's worth noting that this book is marketed as a work of fiction, whereas both "Chicken" and "Belle De Jour" claimed to be true stories, it is really only the subject matter than links the three books. "Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl" has none of the gritty realism and the shocking impact of those earlier books. It's really a watered down version of the genre, perhaps falling part way between "Belle De Jour" and "Bridget Jones's Diary".
Worst of all is the ending of the book. Having built up to an unresolved situation, Quan commits the cardinal sin of dodging the issue at the end. Had you actually succeeded in building up a relationship with Nancy through these pages, this would be a huge let down. Fortunately, I was never that involved in the story, so I didn't find it much more than a disappointment, albeit a pretty massive one.
This is a book for someone who enjoyed "Bridget Jones's Diary" and wants something with a slight edge to it. This would also be suitable reading for someone who was disgusted or shocked by "Belle De Jour". I saw a lady on a train recently reading that book with an expression on her face that covered both shock and disgust. She would probably have felt more at home with this book. For me, personally, having loved the on the edge feel of "Belle De Jour", this felt horribly watered down and not quite real.
I suspect that anyone reading this as their first foray into the subject may not be as disappointed as I was. The stories of call girls and the like seem to be coming more into the mainstream than ever before, with "Belle De Jour" seemingly leading the way. Sadly, this book proves that bandwagon jumping isn't always (or, indeed, often) a good thing and that Quan isn't fit to lace Belle De Jour's knee high boots.
This review may also appear 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
July 30, 2018
Stated simply: this is a bad book not worth your time.
For some who used to be a prostitute Tracy Quan writes like a detached bitch with no understanding of the world, but then again maybe that's just her personality.
None of the plot lines are tied up and I mean that NONE of them are. It's sloppy to the point of embarrassing and I can't believe someone actually read this garbage and deemed it good enough to publish.
Do not bother reading it, don't waste you time. There is 100s of better books out there about the business. Not this unemotional mean crap.
For some who used to be a prostitute Tracy Quan writes like a detached bitch with no understanding of the world, but then again maybe that's just her personality.
None of the plot lines are tied up and I mean that NONE of them are. It's sloppy to the point of embarrassing and I can't believe someone actually read this garbage and deemed it good enough to publish.
Do not bother reading it, don't waste you time. There is 100s of better books out there about the business. Not this unemotional mean crap.
August 8, 2009
Another book picked up in a hurry at LAX.
From the very first page I was wondering what scheme I could come up with, to be able to return the book (no scheme needed probably, I could have just walked back and returned it, huh?).
But then I kinda got used to it.
The story was VERY basic, although, thanks to the paranoid and detailed nature of Nancy, the main character, now I feel like I know everything about the High Class call girl etiquette.
Good to know…I will make a perfect call girl if I ever choose that path :p
Truth is, the book was ok to read just cause I grew closer to the main character, however nothing happened till the end…and when things started happening, we were just left hanging…with no closure on any of the situations that developed.
I don't want to write a spoiler so I won’t get into details…but the whole “Charmaine” story for example was pretty interesting…it took just a few pages to describe what was going on…and then it was dropped all in a sudden, who knows how it ended?!
I kept reading thinking that beside Nancy’s day to day paranoia, something was bound to happen, but the number of pages left got smaller and smaller, and nothing concrete really happened.
I know…I know…with a title like this, what kind of story did I expect?
Hey…something! some drama, some humour, some suspance…anything! even a good ole cat fight or two would have been ok.
Nothing.
Still, I am pretty proud of myself for reading the whole thing.
Usually if I don’t like a book I can’t bring myself to finish it, so I guess I didn’t totally mind reading about Nancy’s day to day uneventfull life as a call girl in Manhattan.
From the very first page I was wondering what scheme I could come up with, to be able to return the book (no scheme needed probably, I could have just walked back and returned it, huh?).
But then I kinda got used to it.
The story was VERY basic, although, thanks to the paranoid and detailed nature of Nancy, the main character, now I feel like I know everything about the High Class call girl etiquette.
Good to know…I will make a perfect call girl if I ever choose that path :p
Truth is, the book was ok to read just cause I grew closer to the main character, however nothing happened till the end…and when things started happening, we were just left hanging…with no closure on any of the situations that developed.
I don't want to write a spoiler so I won’t get into details…but the whole “Charmaine” story for example was pretty interesting…it took just a few pages to describe what was going on…and then it was dropped all in a sudden, who knows how it ended?!
I kept reading thinking that beside Nancy’s day to day paranoia, something was bound to happen, but the number of pages left got smaller and smaller, and nothing concrete really happened.
I know…I know…with a title like this, what kind of story did I expect?
Hey…something! some drama, some humour, some suspance…anything! even a good ole cat fight or two would have been ok.
Nothing.
Still, I am pretty proud of myself for reading the whole thing.
Usually if I don’t like a book I can’t bring myself to finish it, so I guess I didn’t totally mind reading about Nancy’s day to day uneventfull life as a call girl in Manhattan.
July 2, 2017
That's about the only conclusion that I could come to after reading this work.
There were a few problems, mainly with plausibility. For instance: How much of this is really true, knowing her penchant to bend reality? On more than one occasion, she described herself trying to decide which version of the truth to tell her boyfriend. I'm sure that she took a lot more artistic license with readers than she would have us believe. Are there really *so* many people who would pay *so* much for sex that she could make a living by being a call girl who only accepts referrals?
Another: Did anyone get the feeling that she was a bit....... whiny? Bursting into tears in the psychiatrist's chair? Bursting into tears with her boyfriend over this or that?
Lastly: I've been in the mental health game for a while and know that Quan was rather selective in revealing details of her relationship with her therapist. What was she diagnosed with? I happen to know that psychiatrists DON'T spend that much time listening to a patient muse about this and that problem/ dark desire. They want to find out what are the symptoms, medicate them, and then get you OUT of there. Most visits last about 15 minutes-- if that. Her mention of either any medication regimen or a diagnosis are conspicuously absent, given the level of detail that she included in other aspects.
The writing itself was pretty decent. But the book didn't stand the test of plausibility. At least not from the perspective of a mental health patient. This view has been echoed on here by reviewers who have worked in the sex industry and found this piece a bit..... inconsistent.
There were a few problems, mainly with plausibility. For instance: How much of this is really true, knowing her penchant to bend reality? On more than one occasion, she described herself trying to decide which version of the truth to tell her boyfriend. I'm sure that she took a lot more artistic license with readers than she would have us believe. Are there really *so* many people who would pay *so* much for sex that she could make a living by being a call girl who only accepts referrals?
Another: Did anyone get the feeling that she was a bit....... whiny? Bursting into tears in the psychiatrist's chair? Bursting into tears with her boyfriend over this or that?
Lastly: I've been in the mental health game for a while and know that Quan was rather selective in revealing details of her relationship with her therapist. What was she diagnosed with? I happen to know that psychiatrists DON'T spend that much time listening to a patient muse about this and that problem/ dark desire. They want to find out what are the symptoms, medicate them, and then get you OUT of there. Most visits last about 15 minutes-- if that. Her mention of either any medication regimen or a diagnosis are conspicuously absent, given the level of detail that she included in other aspects.
The writing itself was pretty decent. But the book didn't stand the test of plausibility. At least not from the perspective of a mental health patient. This view has been echoed on here by reviewers who have worked in the sex industry and found this piece a bit..... inconsistent.
July 6, 2010
I wanted to give this book 4 stars but because of the ending, I am torn between a 3 to 3.5 star rating.
I enjoyed reading this book, despite the stares and disapproving looks I got while riding the train or bus in the city, LOL. The whole call girl business and how women get into the profession is interesting to me in a voyeuristic kind of way. This book tells the story of Nancy Chan, a multi-ethnic/Asian woman who becomes a prostitute after running away from home at 14. She makes her way from prostituting in hotels in London to escort agency and brothel in New York before finally arriving as a private call girl living in Manhattan.
The narrator details the life of a call girl, the business aspects, the private nuances and etiquette requisite to the lifestyle, the tricks, the madams and the other sex workers involved. Nancy has best friends/sex workers, Allie and Jasmine and is engaged to a nice "straight" guy named Matt. She has demanding customers with exotic fetishes and a nosy future sister-in-law to contend with.
But when her "work life" intersects with her "personal life," the story becomes most interesting and the plot really thickens. Unfortunately, I felt the ending, while positive, was kind of a let down. We find out where Nancy ends up but it feels as though it's only an afterthought.
I know that the series continues and I will pick those up as well.
I enjoyed reading this book, despite the stares and disapproving looks I got while riding the train or bus in the city, LOL. The whole call girl business and how women get into the profession is interesting to me in a voyeuristic kind of way. This book tells the story of Nancy Chan, a multi-ethnic/Asian woman who becomes a prostitute after running away from home at 14. She makes her way from prostituting in hotels in London to escort agency and brothel in New York before finally arriving as a private call girl living in Manhattan.
The narrator details the life of a call girl, the business aspects, the private nuances and etiquette requisite to the lifestyle, the tricks, the madams and the other sex workers involved. Nancy has best friends/sex workers, Allie and Jasmine and is engaged to a nice "straight" guy named Matt. She has demanding customers with exotic fetishes and a nosy future sister-in-law to contend with.
But when her "work life" intersects with her "personal life," the story becomes most interesting and the plot really thickens. Unfortunately, I felt the ending, while positive, was kind of a let down. We find out where Nancy ends up but it feels as though it's only an afterthought.
I know that the series continues and I will pick those up as well.
February 15, 2011
So the title and the cover say it all. Literary fiction this is not. But it IS a fun read. What else could a book about a private call girl be?
Yes it's trashy, but you know that before picking it up and so if trashy isn't your thing you should be observant enough to steer clear. That said, if trashy IS your thing and you're in need of a fun escape from the stress that is life, you could do far worse than pick up this book.
It follows Nancy, who is questioning whether she wants to marry her fiance. Can she give up the job she's been doing for so long and has come to love? Can she really commit to one guy for the rest of her life? She's trying to put off marriage for as long as possible, but the people around her keep pushing her to set that date. Trying to balance her personal life and her work life isn't easy, and makes for entertaining reading.
The book is pretty descriptive, but I think it stays away from being too explicit. I guess it depends on how easily offended you are. I'm not at all phased by sex in books and so it didn't bother me. Again, you've gotta expect it from a book about a call girl.
It wasn't amazing, but I did want to know what happened and I did enjoy reading this. It's not a work of art, but it is a fun, escapist read that's perfect for the beach/a lazy day, or for a quick, light read in between more literary reading.
Will I read the sequel? Possibly...
Yes it's trashy, but you know that before picking it up and so if trashy isn't your thing you should be observant enough to steer clear. That said, if trashy IS your thing and you're in need of a fun escape from the stress that is life, you could do far worse than pick up this book.
It follows Nancy, who is questioning whether she wants to marry her fiance. Can she give up the job she's been doing for so long and has come to love? Can she really commit to one guy for the rest of her life? She's trying to put off marriage for as long as possible, but the people around her keep pushing her to set that date. Trying to balance her personal life and her work life isn't easy, and makes for entertaining reading.
The book is pretty descriptive, but I think it stays away from being too explicit. I guess it depends on how easily offended you are. I'm not at all phased by sex in books and so it didn't bother me. Again, you've gotta expect it from a book about a call girl.
It wasn't amazing, but I did want to know what happened and I did enjoy reading this. It's not a work of art, but it is a fun, escapist read that's perfect for the beach/a lazy day, or for a quick, light read in between more literary reading.
Will I read the sequel? Possibly...
January 29, 2013
It always adds an extra bit of spice to a book when someone whose opinion you trust recommends a book to you. You think that this person who knows you reasonably well feels that reading a specific book is likely to resonate with you in some way, and that some sort of deeper insight into life is going to take place.
How empty, disappointed and even confused I feel therefore having struggled through this rather dirge like tome none the wiser as to why it was suggested I might find something from it.
As the title suggests, it’s the diary of a call girl. There are some spicy bits in it – but to be honest, I find explicit pornographic description fairly boring – it leaves little to the imagination, and it lacks a certain frisson. Those who understand what I mean need no further explanation – and no amount of explanation will work with people that don’t understand it.
So this diary keeps track of the sexual encounters the writer has with various clients, it jumps to some pretty far fetched sex workers’ collective meetings and it sort of tries to moralize on the author’s attempt at a non mercenary relationship. It sort of tries – but falls a long way short of succeeding. Which pretty well describes the whole book – it half heartedly tries to be something more than just a list of smutty encounters, but in reality, fails dreadfully.
And I’m still completely intrigued as to why this was recommended to me!
How empty, disappointed and even confused I feel therefore having struggled through this rather dirge like tome none the wiser as to why it was suggested I might find something from it.
As the title suggests, it’s the diary of a call girl. There are some spicy bits in it – but to be honest, I find explicit pornographic description fairly boring – it leaves little to the imagination, and it lacks a certain frisson. Those who understand what I mean need no further explanation – and no amount of explanation will work with people that don’t understand it.
So this diary keeps track of the sexual encounters the writer has with various clients, it jumps to some pretty far fetched sex workers’ collective meetings and it sort of tries to moralize on the author’s attempt at a non mercenary relationship. It sort of tries – but falls a long way short of succeeding. Which pretty well describes the whole book – it half heartedly tries to be something more than just a list of smutty encounters, but in reality, fails dreadfully.
And I’m still completely intrigued as to why this was recommended to me!
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