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Doctor Slaughter
Lauren Slaughter is a young woman living in near-poverty in London. She has a Ph.D. and works at a research institute. Having already traded sexual favours for help paying the plumber's bills, Lauren easily turns to prostitution to improve her finances. Mysteriously, she receives a video documentary about the Jasmine Escort Agency, a high-priced call-girl service. Feeling herself superior to the women featured on the video, Lauren signs on with the agency. Besides improving her finances, Lauren's second job brings her in contact with the affectionate Lord Bulbeck, a British politician and the mysterious Mr Van Arkady.
155 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
1 person is currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
Paul Theroux
239 books2,614 followersPaul Edward Theroux is an American travel writer and novelist, whose best known work is The Great Railway Bazaar (1975), a travelogue about a trip he made by train from Great Britain through Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, through South Asia, then South-East Asia, up through East Asia, as far east as Japan, and then back across Russia to his point of origin. Although perhaps best known as a travelogue writer, Theroux has also published numerous works of fiction, some of which were made into feature films. He was awarded the 1981 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel The Mosquito Coast.
He is the father of Marcel and Louis Theroux, and the brother of Alexander and Peter. Justin Theroux is his nephew.
He is the father of Marcel and Louis Theroux, and the brother of Alexander and Peter. Justin Theroux is his nephew.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
August 6, 2010
This book is an interesting moral fable, which, in my humble opinion, is grossly undervalued. There's a lot of sex in it, and the central character is a prostitute; I can see that many reviewers here don't like it for those reasons. Some of them call it a male fantasy. I think that's a ridiculously simplistic view of the book: to start with, all three of the other people I know who like it are women. I would in fact say that it's much closer to being a female fantasy.
The question Theroux is exploring here is one most women have had to think about at some time or another. If you're a woman, and you are remotely attractive, you can use your sexuality to get men to do things for you. Of course, it works in the other direction too, but, let's be honest, not nearly as well. So you're a woman, you notice this, and you start wondering how much you can use your sexual power without being unethical.
This theme is wittily discussed in Episode 5 of Sex and the City, where the girls, as usual, have different opinions on the subject. Charlotte, Miranda and Carrie think it's okay up to a point, but there's a line you shouldn't cross: after that, you're a prostitute, which is bad. As the episode graphically shows, though, it can be hard to discover just where the line goes. Samantha, the most sexually extreme character in the gang, thinks it's pointless to do all this hairsplitting. She likes sex, she's not too fussy about who she sleeps with, and why not use it?
In Sex and the City, you never really see what Samantha's take on the question leads to, and I think she's mainly saying it for the reaction. Deep down, Samantha is a good girl, but she's a natural clown. She finds it amusing to shock people, especially the straight-laced Charlotte. In Theroux's book, we get a much more honest and carefully thought out answer. Lauren is a bit like Samantha. She's smart and attractive, and she isn't bothered either by casual sex. But there's an important difference. Samantha is a successful businesswoman, and mainly uses her sexual power for fun. Lauren is a penniless American researcher in London, and she needs to use sex just to keep afloat.
I find Lauren a sympathetic character. She's witty and amusing: Theroux has given her all the best lines. My favourite one comes from a conversation with another girl at the agency. "What do the punters see in you?" asks her colleague, bemused. "I'm user-friendly," says Lauren. That's funny. Theroux has cunningly set things up so that most of the standard objections to prostitution don't work. Lauren doesn't find it degrading to have sex with her clients; she isn't threatened by the agency, and they don't force her to do anything against her will; she isn't feeding a drug habit.
If you're reading hastily, you might come to the conclusion that Theroux saying prostitution is actually okay. This is completely mistaken. If you stick with the story, you see after a while that it's really a philosophical example. It's not obvious at first, since, for historical reasons going back at least as far as Socrates, characters in philosophical examples don't usually give blow-jobs. Theroux is no more defending prostitution here than Nabokov is defending paedophilia in Lolita. He's just saying that the reason it's wrong is more subtle than people sometimes think.
And what is that reason? Well, you might want to read Doctor Slaughter and find out. It left me feeling very thoughtful.
The question Theroux is exploring here is one most women have had to think about at some time or another. If you're a woman, and you are remotely attractive, you can use your sexuality to get men to do things for you. Of course, it works in the other direction too, but, let's be honest, not nearly as well. So you're a woman, you notice this, and you start wondering how much you can use your sexual power without being unethical.
This theme is wittily discussed in Episode 5 of Sex and the City, where the girls, as usual, have different opinions on the subject. Charlotte, Miranda and Carrie think it's okay up to a point, but there's a line you shouldn't cross: after that, you're a prostitute, which is bad. As the episode graphically shows, though, it can be hard to discover just where the line goes. Samantha, the most sexually extreme character in the gang, thinks it's pointless to do all this hairsplitting. She likes sex, she's not too fussy about who she sleeps with, and why not use it?
In Sex and the City, you never really see what Samantha's take on the question leads to, and I think she's mainly saying it for the reaction. Deep down, Samantha is a good girl, but she's a natural clown. She finds it amusing to shock people, especially the straight-laced Charlotte. In Theroux's book, we get a much more honest and carefully thought out answer. Lauren is a bit like Samantha. She's smart and attractive, and she isn't bothered either by casual sex. But there's an important difference. Samantha is a successful businesswoman, and mainly uses her sexual power for fun. Lauren is a penniless American researcher in London, and she needs to use sex just to keep afloat.
I find Lauren a sympathetic character. She's witty and amusing: Theroux has given her all the best lines. My favourite one comes from a conversation with another girl at the agency. "What do the punters see in you?" asks her colleague, bemused. "I'm user-friendly," says Lauren. That's funny. Theroux has cunningly set things up so that most of the standard objections to prostitution don't work. Lauren doesn't find it degrading to have sex with her clients; she isn't threatened by the agency, and they don't force her to do anything against her will; she isn't feeding a drug habit.
If you're reading hastily, you might come to the conclusion that Theroux saying prostitution is actually okay. This is completely mistaken. If you stick with the story, you see after a while that it's really a philosophical example. It's not obvious at first, since, for historical reasons going back at least as far as Socrates, characters in philosophical examples don't usually give blow-jobs. Theroux is no more defending prostitution here than Nabokov is defending paedophilia in Lolita. He's just saying that the reason it's wrong is more subtle than people sometimes think.
And what is that reason? Well, you might want to read Doctor Slaughter and find out. It left me feeling very thoughtful.
September 21, 2023
Doctor Lauren Slaughter has a lot in common with Theroux's Saint Jack. Both are Americans hustling to survive in their adopted cities. The Chinese gangsters of Singapore in Saint Jack are replaced by the rich Arabs of London. Instead of a pimp, Lauren is a prostitute. Theroux shows a lot of courage in describing Lauren's customers and what they do to her from her point of view. The twist doesn't work as well as Saint Jack, nor is Doctor Slaughter as funny. London comes across as plain grim beyond the few Westend parties Lauren attends - whereas Theroux's description of Singapore in the 70s is very engaging. Saint Jack inspired a fantastic movie. I haven't seen Half Moon Street based on Doctor Slaughter but I understand the only good thing about it is Sigourney Weaver appears naked.
August 12, 2022
"People have sex for so many reasons, why shouldn't money be one of them?"---Paul Theroux, SAINT JACK
What is it with Paul Theroux, one of our greatest living writers, and prostitution? Is it a metaphor for the universal human condition? Dr. Lauren Slaughter hold a Ph.D in political Science, the Middle East a specialty, from Harvard---which, needless to say, proves useless in the real world---so she takes to hooking in London to pay the bills; caveat, she charges double for smokers. Like many of Theroux's other characters, such as the monomaniac who takes his family to Nicaragua's Mosquito Coast to escape a supposed pending nuclear war or Jack the pimp in SAINT JACK, who thinks he's the king of these mean Singapore streets, our heroine tricks herself into thinking she's in charge of her tricks, who range from Arab oil millionaires to diplomats, when in fact she's just a pawn in a genial, manipulative scheme by British and American intelligence to blackmail her clients and keep her shut up for good. I won't reveal how except to repeat the motto, "You like to watch, don't you?" Speaking of prostitution, Paul Theroux changed the name of this novel to HALF-MOON STREET after several editions and the film version, starring the stunning Sijourney Weaver, lest it be confused with a horror story.
What is it with Paul Theroux, one of our greatest living writers, and prostitution? Is it a metaphor for the universal human condition? Dr. Lauren Slaughter hold a Ph.D in political Science, the Middle East a specialty, from Harvard---which, needless to say, proves useless in the real world---so she takes to hooking in London to pay the bills; caveat, she charges double for smokers. Like many of Theroux's other characters, such as the monomaniac who takes his family to Nicaragua's Mosquito Coast to escape a supposed pending nuclear war or Jack the pimp in SAINT JACK, who thinks he's the king of these mean Singapore streets, our heroine tricks herself into thinking she's in charge of her tricks, who range from Arab oil millionaires to diplomats, when in fact she's just a pawn in a genial, manipulative scheme by British and American intelligence to blackmail her clients and keep her shut up for good. I won't reveal how except to repeat the motto, "You like to watch, don't you?" Speaking of prostitution, Paul Theroux changed the name of this novel to HALF-MOON STREET after several editions and the film version, starring the stunning Sijourney Weaver, lest it be confused with a horror story.
June 12, 2020
I don’t propose to spend much time reviewing this utterly lamentable novel as I have already wasted too much valuable time reading it.
I first came across Paul Theroux’s writing when Wilf Massiah, my English teacher at school in what we would now call either Year 8 or Year 9, read us a chapter from his then recently published account of his train journeys traversing both North and South America, The Old Patagonian Express. Theroux has since then carved out his own niche of querulous travelogues, in which he travels throughout an extensive region, often by train, and indulges in a sustained emission of bile. To be fair, I have read and enjoyed several of his accounts of his train odysseys, as much for the unfolding catalogue of his own reading as anything else. The extract from The Old Patagonian Express that my teacher read detailed his frightening experiences attending a football match (indeed, a World Cup qualifying tie) between El Salvador and Nicaragua. The previous such match between the two countries had resulted in them going to war, and Theroux paints the atmosphere in the stadium as similar to one of Dante’s circles of Hell
Theroux has, however, also produced a substantial body of fiction, although it has never proved as popular as his travel writing. It is, however, liberally infected with the same querulousness and general nastiness. In this mercifully short (although still not short enough) book, the principal protagonist is Lauren Slaughter, the doctor of the title, an American academic living in straitened circumstances. She is a particularly unpleasant character, without a single evident redeeming trait, although she is probably the least loathsome figure in the whole book.
At the risk of being castigated for a spoiler (although to my mind Theroux himself spoiled the book by simple dint of writing it), finding herself perpetually hard up and struggling to survive on her pittance of a salary, Doctor Slaughter is persuaded to work as an escort in a Mayfair establishment catering to upper echelons of society (in fact, an Establishment Establishment,) where she becomes embroiled in blackmail-oriented work for an intelligence agency.
All very sleazy, and sadly not redeemed by any linguistic fireworks or deathless prose.
I first came across Paul Theroux’s writing when Wilf Massiah, my English teacher at school in what we would now call either Year 8 or Year 9, read us a chapter from his then recently published account of his train journeys traversing both North and South America, The Old Patagonian Express. Theroux has since then carved out his own niche of querulous travelogues, in which he travels throughout an extensive region, often by train, and indulges in a sustained emission of bile. To be fair, I have read and enjoyed several of his accounts of his train odysseys, as much for the unfolding catalogue of his own reading as anything else. The extract from The Old Patagonian Express that my teacher read detailed his frightening experiences attending a football match (indeed, a World Cup qualifying tie) between El Salvador and Nicaragua. The previous such match between the two countries had resulted in them going to war, and Theroux paints the atmosphere in the stadium as similar to one of Dante’s circles of Hell
Theroux has, however, also produced a substantial body of fiction, although it has never proved as popular as his travel writing. It is, however, liberally infected with the same querulousness and general nastiness. In this mercifully short (although still not short enough) book, the principal protagonist is Lauren Slaughter, the doctor of the title, an American academic living in straitened circumstances. She is a particularly unpleasant character, without a single evident redeeming trait, although she is probably the least loathsome figure in the whole book.
At the risk of being castigated for a spoiler (although to my mind Theroux himself spoiled the book by simple dint of writing it), finding herself perpetually hard up and struggling to survive on her pittance of a salary, Doctor Slaughter is persuaded to work as an escort in a Mayfair establishment catering to upper echelons of society (in fact, an Establishment Establishment,) where she becomes embroiled in blackmail-oriented work for an intelligence agency.
All very sleazy, and sadly not redeemed by any linguistic fireworks or deathless prose.
April 6, 2010
Dr Lauren Slaughter (Mopsy Fairlight to friends, except she doesn’t have any) is a research fellow, an American living in London. To pay her way, she doles out sexual favours without a care and, after receiving a video from an anonymous source, becomes a call-girl. There is a thriller element, relating to all the Arab men she sees (who like to ‘bum’ her) and a politician but, bleurgh. This is not a good book and I can’t tell if age (it was published in 1984) has diminished it or it was really this bad all along (I first read it in my late teens but can’t remember much about it). Slaughter is a terrible character, as misogynistic as the book and ego-tistical to a fault, the supporting characters are barely sketched in (when you find out who sent the tape, it’s like Scooby Doo - there weren’t many suspects) and the sex is treated as if this was a book for naughty schoolboys. In fact, apart from some nice turns of phrase and a lot of research on Chinese/Middle East socio-political affairs, this could have been written by a naughty schoolboy - Slaughter is attractive (we’re told), thin, likes sex (she says, to Lord Bulbeck, “I’m the sort of healthy, open-minded girl that people used to call a nymphomaniac”), is good at sex and likes to wander around naked and comment on it. But it’s not thrilling or sexual, it’s dreary and unpleasant, prudish and nasty and often too far-fetched to connect with anything at all, let alone the reader. Give this one a wide berth.
October 12, 2023
To be honest when i read what the book was about (a woman that during the day works at an office and at night works as a sex worker) i thought that it’s an interesting story but when i saw that it was written by a male author it made me question things for a bit. To my surprise the portrayal of Dr Slaughter was alright-sure there are a lot of sex references but her womanhood was there as if it wasn’t “poisoned” by the male point of view. She was a woman who believed in her abilities and could easily please the male eye and she took pride in that(and why wouldn’t she?) It was an interesting read and at the very last chapters you’re actually quite shaken at how fast things change.
April 22, 2019
Built her up to tear her down
December 28, 2020
Yesterday evening I read Doctor Slaughter. I found the characters in the book very flat there was not much of a story to it either. I think the book rode on the sex that was in it.
October 3, 2022
I should have been put off by the title, the front cover, the back cover, the first page and the first chapter---but I ignored all the warning signs. Dreadful. Avoid.
2/10
2/10
March 19, 2024
Ok but a bit thin in plot and character
September 22, 2025
Interesting premise and an entertaining read.
Unfortunately, the hidden plot is revealed so hastily at the end that it feels like the writer was running out of pages.
Unfortunately, the hidden plot is revealed so hastily at the end that it feels like the writer was running out of pages.
April 6, 2019
The Mosquito Coast is one of my favourite novels, I picked this up in the hope of more of the same: disappointed in that respect. This is a novella; only a small format and a large font eke my copy out to 155 pages: disappointed in that respect too!
It was probably a mistake for Theroux to write a sexual novel from a women's perspective, but his protagonist also fails to convince as an academic. The plot that ties the two aspects of her life together is good, but could have been got through in fewer pages. All in all comfortable reading, if you want something more challenging on a similar theme, I recommend Story of O
It was probably a mistake for Theroux to write a sexual novel from a women's perspective, but his protagonist also fails to convince as an academic. The plot that ties the two aspects of her life together is good, but could have been got through in fewer pages. All in all comfortable reading, if you want something more challenging on a similar theme, I recommend Story of O
June 15, 2009
Hmm. Now what do I say about this one?
See, I like Theroux. I think I've mentioned that. And I like that theroux's books are personal, that he sometimes gets to uncomfortably close.
Well, Dr. Slaughter is (at least I hope it isn't) not personal. Seeing how Dr. Slaughter is a prostitute and everything, I rather hope that this has no resemblance to Mr. Theroux real life. Except, maybe it's not that far away? I mean, all of us who've worked in academics know that it's not that far from prostitution. And who you sleep with kinda still decides a lot about what is happening with your life (just stating the truth here, not saying it's right.)
And so I rather think that this book is probably one of these ideas that popped into Mr. Theroux head while he was in the tube, but instead of writing it down as general ramblings in one of his travel books, he wrote a novel about it.
And that, Mr. Theroux, is why the novel doesn't work. It's a thought, yes, but it's not interesting or deep enough to fill a whole book. Because while I enjoyed reading it, ultimately the characters motivations were a mystery to me. as was most of the story.
Plus, there's that whole thing where it's really hard to identify with and understand the main character when said main character is a prostitute. Just saying.
See, I like Theroux. I think I've mentioned that. And I like that theroux's books are personal, that he sometimes gets to uncomfortably close.
Well, Dr. Slaughter is (at least I hope it isn't) not personal. Seeing how Dr. Slaughter is a prostitute and everything, I rather hope that this has no resemblance to Mr. Theroux real life. Except, maybe it's not that far away? I mean, all of us who've worked in academics know that it's not that far from prostitution. And who you sleep with kinda still decides a lot about what is happening with your life (just stating the truth here, not saying it's right.)
And so I rather think that this book is probably one of these ideas that popped into Mr. Theroux head while he was in the tube, but instead of writing it down as general ramblings in one of his travel books, he wrote a novel about it.
And that, Mr. Theroux, is why the novel doesn't work. It's a thought, yes, but it's not interesting or deep enough to fill a whole book. Because while I enjoyed reading it, ultimately the characters motivations were a mystery to me. as was most of the story.
Plus, there's that whole thing where it's really hard to identify with and understand the main character when said main character is a prostitute. Just saying.
August 30, 2015
Dr Slaughters fascinating and outrageously heedless descent into a scarily massive predicament is one that Theroux managed to keep me oblivious to until the very end. While I knew something bad was going to crop up I was kept guessing until the inevitable (in hindsight) reality hit like a sledgehammer. Since that left me having to revise my whole understanding of what I (and Lauren) thought was happening this gets remembered as one of Theroux 's more thought provoking books. Similar in ways to the delusional trajectory of Mosquito coast.
December 27, 2013
Filmed as Half Moon Street with Signourney Weaver and Michael Caine. Short but very powerful! Still confused why a woman who managed to discipline herself enough to get a very serious degree and job writing a thesis on oil revenue, could be so bored to get into this high level call girl life evenings but she does and with enthusiasm after receiving a video sent to her! Things are not really what they seem on the surface though and .... good read!
June 21, 2010
I'd probably give this a 3 3/4th stars. I have always wanted to read some of Paul Theroux's work and this short novel seemed like a great way to give it a try. This is one of those books where you get to the end and you go, "humm?" and think about picking the book up again and re-reading the whole thing. Interesting. Not earth shattering, but a great quick read.
September 20, 2010
After reading the brilliant "Mosquito Coast" and some of his great travel books this book really is a disappointment. Actually the best thing about this book is that at only 155 pages it was a quick read.
After reading this I get the feeling that Theroux is much better at writing a male character into a lead role than a female. Will have to read some more of his novels and find out.
After reading this I get the feeling that Theroux is much better at writing a male character into a lead role than a female. Will have to read some more of his novels and find out.
May 23, 2015
Women are beautiful creatures. An ambitious lady, who counts on her healthy vegetarian diet and a lot of exercise, leads a double life. She is known as a doctor at a famous London institute, but as a man-pleasing godess as well.
Troubles find the beautiful woman, but she doesn't lose hope.
A read, motivating you to be careful with your life.
Troubles find the beautiful woman, but she doesn't lose hope.
A read, motivating you to be careful with your life.
January 1, 2011
Verging on the misogynistic and borderline racist in places, Theroux takes a swipe at quite a few targets in this novel. I read it a long time ago, and would probably return to read it again because it struck me as very readable at the time.
August 2, 2019
Men admired and wanted Lauren Slaughter for her striking good looks and ability to please. In London to write a thesis on oil revenue, but needing money, she joins Mayfair's Jasmine Escort Agency, oblivious to danger and quite unaware that money is not all that is involved.
October 17, 2015
I was disappointed by this one. A good surprise ending and a lot of sex from near the beginning, but a thin plot and, from what I remember of other of Theroux's books, weak writing. Perhaps in this genre Theroux was out of his comfort zone.
May 12, 2020
Read it in English. Reviewed on FB.
July 5, 2014
Goodreads rating 63
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews