Crack

by Danielle Imara

Imara's elegantly told memoir gives a detailed insight into her journey from London champagne hostess and sex worker to a life of petty crime and prison, via hard drugs and an abusive relationship. It is sexy, shocking, and startlingly honest, filled with fascinating detail. A gripping and intoxicating read. Once you start CRACK you will be hooked.

306 pages, Paperback

First published May 24, 2014

Reviews

[Yolande · Rating 5 out of 5]

CRACK is gripping. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. Modern, raw, and in-your-face, CRACK digs into the worlds of champagne hostessing and petty theft, and pulls out a glittering truth about our common humanity, even in the darkest places. From the juicy sex scenes to the warm friendships to the desolation of prison, Danielle brings the reader into those worlds she passed through, holding nothing back. If you want to be excited by reading again, try Danielle Imara’s CRACK.

[Kaleesha Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given a copy of this book, from the author, to read and offer an honest review.

I admit, I enjoyed it more than I suspected I would. It didn't grab me immediately, but after a few pages the author seemed to really find her voice and the book just got better and better. I loved it. It's a fascinating story about one woman's loss of identity; lost to drugs, empty sex, theft, and other empty people; with honest, raw details. Knowing next to nothing about drugs, hostessing/prostitution, I occasionally found myself lost in the lingo, but not so much that it threw the story off, and before the book is through you've learned what "brown" and "kiting" refer to (for instance). The story has a distant, cold feel in in the beginning, making it somewhat difficult to get into the leading lady's head, but you feel that it is necessarily somewhat cold and empty, because it's representative of her life. Before long the author finds her voice and somehow manages to bring you into the story, into Di's head, while maintaining an sense of disconnection from the world around her; I imagine it's just how disconnected a person would be who leads such a life. Fascinating and well done! I'm withholding a star only because it could really use some editing; in particular it's easy to lose track of who's who in the dialogue. If Imara brushed this up she'd have a real winner. It's beautiful, edgy read. Within a few chapters I had a hard time putting it down. I would read more from this author.

[Lena Nisula · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to rate this book. It describes a world I'm unfamiliar with so it kept me turning the pages. Well-written but strangely devoid of any feeling or analysis and the ending was abrupt.