Harvesting

by Lisa Harding

Sammy is a spiky, quick-witted and sharp teenager living in Dublin; Nico is a warm and conscientious girl from Moldova. When they are thrown together in a Dublin brothel in a horrific twist of fate, a peculiar and important bond is formed . . .

This is a novel about a flourishing but hidden world, thinly concealed beneath a veneer of normality. It’s about the failings of polite society, the cruelty that can exist in apparently homely surroundings, the bluster of youth and the often appalling weakness of adults.

Harvesting is heartbreaking and funny, gritty, raw and breathtakingly beautiful, where redemption is found in friendship and unexpected acts of kindness.

Harvesting was inspired by Harding’s involvement with a campaign against sex trafficking run by the Children’s Rights Alliance. Although it is a fictionalised account, the text has been read and approved of by representatives for NGOs in both Moldova and Dublin.

Genres: Ireland, Fiction, Contemporary

280 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2017

About the author

Lisa Harding is an Irish writer, actress, and playwright whose work spans on fictional novels, play, anthologies and journals. She is considered an important voice in contemporary Irish literature, with her works contributing to discussions around social issues. Her novels engage readers with compelling stories while prompting reflection on the lives of those on the margins of society.

Reviews

[Dem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Club Read. A heartbreaking and tough read but one that will create discussion and awareness of sex trafficking in Ireland and around the world. I struggled to get through this one due to the difficult subject subject matter but after reading an article explaining that........... The story was inspired by Harding’s involvement with a campaign against sex trafficking run by the Children’s Rights Alliance. Although it is a fictionalised account, the text was read and approved by representatives for NGOs in both Moldova and Dublin.<\i> I felt I needed to push through and finish in order to participate in the discussion.

This is the terrifying story of two yong girls named Sammy and Nico. Sammy is a sharp quick-witted teenager living in Dublin who struggles with life and an alcoholic mother, Nico is young girl from Moldova just entering her teenage years with her whole life ahead of her. These girls lives should never have touched and yet they are thrown together. In circumstances that is the stuff of nightmares.

This is a book you choose to read and certainly not one chosen for you. So when this came up as my real life book club read I made a decision that I would sit this one out and not read it as I wasn’t comfortable reading about child abuse and the sickening acts of violence and pain caused to girls and children at the hands of and by despicable people. However I changed my mind as I realize sometimes i need to step outside my bubble in order to take on board just how ugly and greedy the human race has become.

The book is extremely well written and the characters are vivid and real, certainly worth 5 Stars.
But I struggled through every chapter, skipping tough paragraphs and pages because it was such harrowing reading. I was exhausted by the end with anger and frustration but I do think it raises awareness that will start conversations and that is what reading is about.

[Conor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing is brilliant, you are sitting right inside the heads of the girls. Now I understand the term deep point of view. The story is horrific, but then it is real. The ending is haunting. I was in Eastern Europe back in the 90's and I have seen the ghost girls. This is a book you wish boys and young men would read so that they could see beyond the objects we have made women, on the internet, in our marketing campaigns and in our false beliefs the prostitution is a choice. Men are the buyers and seller, they also harvest the crop. The book captures this harsh reality and creates two real character through which we experience the reality of their situation and how it came about. It must have taken great courage to write from such a deep perspective, the prose sings in your head as you read, the characters haunt you when you put it down. It kinda drives home Stephen Kings premise: the only real monster is man. But it is through the cracks that light shines through and this book tells a story that needs to be told so we might understand the true horrors of trafficking and prostitution and how the innocent are condemned because we turn a blind eye or wish to believe that it is their choice. An impressive book.

[Eibhlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found it very difficult to put this book down until I had finished reading it. ’Harvesting’ is a wonderful, haunting read. Not only has it got all the elements of a great novel - memorable characters, a gripping storyline and really well written with beautiful prose throughout - it also exposes the stories of the tragically real girls behind the horrendous crime of human trafficking into the sex industry in Europe and Ireland. Don’t let the subject matter put you off. The author does not flinch from presenting us with the full awfulness of her heroines’ predicament, but there are no graphic descriptions here designed to shock for shock’s sake. Lisa Harding writes about her two heroines with great care and while their story is heartbreaking and anger-inducing, ultimately ‘Harvesting’ is reassuring about the redemptive power of human relationships and the triumph of the spirit in the face of adversity. The two heroines, Nico and Sammy, in particular are extremely well drawn, highly engaging and believable characters that will remain with you long after you finish reading. The author writes very convincingly in the first person for both girls, giving each of them a distinctive, consistent voice. The book is structured as alternating chapters, intertwining the girls’ stories very cleverly. The sense of place and the character descriptions throughout are excellent. The author does not resort to lazy stock ‘goodies’ or ‘baddies’. Instead we are introduced to believable characters and situations as seen through the eyes of the two girls - the dreamy, precocious intelligence of Moldovan Nico who has seen so little of the world and the brash, unreliable narration of middle-class Sammy, who imagines herself to be worldly wise but in reality is vulnerable and troubled. The dialogue works really well and the whole book is an effortless read. The author weaves her background research in very skilfully, the reader is not bombarded with facts or preached at in any way. The detail throughout is convincing and feels very authentic. This is a wonderful book which deserves a wide audience.

[Rachel Gregan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author of this book should be commended on how well she portrayed the girls stories without going into gruesome details. Harrowing story but very well written. Unfortunately it's the harsh reality that surrounds us but this book succeeds in giving the reader the impact and utter devastating goings on of human trafficking into the sex trade in Europe and Ireland. The reader feels like they personally know the two main characters Nico and Sammy and the novel succeeds in enraging great apathy for them both and the realization of shear powerlessness to the position they find themselves in. This is one of those books which I found hard to put down.

[Ethel Rohan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A harrowing and powerful novel. I had no idea human trafficking was so pervasive in Ireland and the read both enraged and deeply moved me. Heartfelt thanks and respect to Lisa Harding for taking on this difficult topic and for giving these girls, both real and imagined, a voice that humanizes them and that demands we not only see them, but that we put an end to their horrific violation.

[Natasha (jouljet) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a harrowing, hollowing read about two young girls who have fallen into the world of sex trafficking in Ireland. The character depth, and the compelling story is hard to put down, and will stay with me long after those final pages.

Nico is from a tiny village in Moldova, who has big dreams and is very good at school. But as soon as she gets her first period, she is sold off, told of the promise of a husband and a good life.

Sammy is an Irish girl from a troubled home, with an absent father, and an alcoholic, abusive mother. She finds she has no choice but to flee, but falls into a world of desperation and sex for sale.

Both land in a house together, with an unknown debt to pay, in the outskirts of Dublin. Their nightly role is controlled, dangerous and unpredictable, violent and traumatic. Only lived through via the drugs they are given, their inner strength and ability to disassociate, and the support of each other.

This is a look at human sex trafficking, via the voices of two unforgettable characters. Bringing to light this most underbelly of our society. An incredible read.

[Helena Enright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. I started it on the bus to the airport from Limerick to Dublin and couldn't put it down. It tells the story of the horrifying and brutal world of human trafficking through the eyes of two teenagers, one Irish and the other Moldovan. From the beginning we are taken on an emotional rollercoaster as these two young girls navigate their way through a horrific world of drugs and prostitution which they find themselves caught up in through no fault of their own. Through Sammy and Nico, Harding gives a voice to the thousands of young women who find themselves caught up in this appalling world and forces us to bear witness to a world that exists right under our noses. Human trafficking is always something that we think happens somewhere else, however in Harvesting, we are reminded that this is an underworld that exists right on our own doorsteps and we are forced to confront our own sense of duty and citizenship. A gripping and beautifully written story which while utterly heart-wrenching is at the same time extremely important and one that needs to be told. A difficult and challenging subject to tackle but one that this writer does with a sensitivity and authenticity that is as beautiful as it is devastating. A brilliant debut from a talented writer. I can't wait to read her next book.

[Orla McAlinden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like all the best horror writers, Lisa Harding has produced a book wherein what is not said and not written is often more terrifying than what is set out in black and white. And make no mistake, this is a horror novel. The fact that it is based firmly in reality and portrays a world that exists all around us in reality, does not prevent it from being a horror.
This brilliantly written novel should be a wake up call to us all...we must never forget the danger of buying into the "monster" narrative..."my son, my husband, my brother, my father; these men wouldn't behave in this way because the men who behave like this are "monsters" and I would know how to spot a monster... wouldn't I?" This is the lie that most women tell themselves every day, because to face the truth would bring us to our very knees, howling.
Although the subject matter is horrendous, the book never relies on shock or gore... instead it relies on the empathy of the reader and the undeniable beauty and skill of the writing.
I cannot wait for Lisa Harding's next book...

[Don Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The amount of time this book sat on my shelf is completely shameful. The only reason it sat there was because I was actually scared of the content. It took a drunken chat to convince me to pick it up, and I am so glad I did. While the content of this book is NOT easygoing, it is easy to read – and thoroughly deserves your attention.
Everyone should read it

[Peg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes it is important to read what is unfathomable.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. "Harvesting" tells the stories of two underage sex slaves. Nico, a Moldovan who has been sold by her father and is trafficked through Italy and England to Ireland. Sammy is a teenage runaway from a troubled Dublin home who initially thinks prostitution is just a means of earning money. Using alternate chapters, we read both their stories, starting with their home lives and journeys into prostitution until they end up sharing a room in the suburban house where they are held. Unable to leave, their lives consist of sitting around during the day, watching TV, re-reading the same two books available to them and waiting for the evening when they will be ferried to more "clients".They appear in bars etc, in plain sight of the part of society that thinks they have nothing to do with prostitution. Using first person and present tense narratives, Harding gives us two very distinct points-of-view from two very believable characters. The author takes us right into the heads of these two girls as they try to make sense of a disorienting world. Through their eyes we see the panoply of male and female handlers and the variety of clients who facilitate their exploitation. The subject matter rightly makes for challenging reading but the author handles it brilliantly. Despite the constantly threatening atmosphere in which the girls live, we see friendship, hopes and dreams. The blurb gives us the author's motivation for writing the book and the research she conducted to ensure that the novel is a fair representation of the lives of young girls in this situation. The result is an absolutely compelling story. A must-read.

[Niall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't let the difficult subject matter put you off, this is an excellent book that deserves to be read for its prose, as much for its story and area of society it highlights. It is an area many of us, out and in the book, try to ignore as someone else's problem. I found it an intense and gripping read, trying to read it slowly, yet unable to put it down from start to finish. A book that holds on to you through the quality of its writing. The author has created two real characters, extremely well drawn, the prose helps us see them in a complete sense. We read and understand their traits that keep them (and us) strong, or can spiral us downwards, hitting up against the realities of life and what people (in this case two young girls) can be forced to go through. The story is of course sombre, but without being forced. The dialogue and inner thoughts are well done and reads authentic. At the same time, we travel with them within a grey and grubby physical world. This twilight world is all very eloquently described with some wonderful imagery in places. Yet always in tune with the characters and style.
An amazing début novel. A difficult subject handled with care and a hard clear intelligence. There's a lot to think about on the story. But there's also a lot to enjoy in the reading of it. I certainly look forward to future novels by the author.

[Michelle M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I simply loved it. This book swallowed me whole just like the dark world swallows up Nico and Sammy. Beautifully written in clean, pure prose, you can drink the words off the page. Two girls, two lives, two stories merge in the harrowing reality of underage prostitution. Harding tackles the unsavoury world of human trafficking and teen prostitution with exceptional sensitivity.

By writing the dual narrative in the first person singular, from the opening line to the haunting close we see, breath, feel, smell, touch and taste the world through the girls senses. I was relieved and impressed by how artfully Harding manages to face the sordid subject matter head on without the need for graphic description to drive home the point.

I was also struck by the highly astute portrayal of the various relationships in the book both emotionally and politically. For instance, the helplessness of Nico 's brother Luca and Sammy's friend Lucy is devastating. Yet it is through the most fragile relationships that the light shines through.

This is a brave, compelling and important read with an emotional and political hook. If you need further convincing, I'll leave you with Roddy Doyle’s endorsement: ‘ Harvesting is shocking – and shockingly good. It is thought-provoking, anger-provoking, guilt-provoking ….a brilliantly written novel.’

[Dawsonamy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew the subject matter of this book before I started it: the trafficking of young girls for the sex trade. I knew it would be maybe an uncomfortable read so expected a certain amount of gory detail.
But that is not doing this book justice: it certainly examines and highlights this issue but what the book is about is the emotional journey of two young girls whose lives run parallel and eventually intertwine.
Sammy and Nico are juxtaposed from their backgrounds of Eastern Europe and suburban Dublin respectively: two very different worlds but the common thread for these girls is their heartbreaking vulnerability that corrals them into a world they can't get out of. It is shocking how easy it happens for each of them and is eye opening in that it demonstrates how easily it might happen plus how prevalent this issue is and how in any society it is hidden in plain sight.
The writing is beautiful: each sentence is crafted to give a beauty to the grotesque, making it surprisingly easy to read. It is a book you could read in a sitting - it's a page turner. There is little gratuitous detail making it more stark - in what she doesn't say, Harding makes us imagine what these girls experience and feel, making the book even more affecting. It certainly stays with you. It is an important read, and while set in contemporary Dublin is applicable to any place and any time.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading it; the experiences of the two young girls playing out in your mind when you least expect it. Despite its difficult subject matter, this is a very readable novel and I found I didn’t want to put it down.
The author skilfully draws the reader into the minds of the two young girls, Nico and Sammy, and gives us a vivid sense of place as we travel with them on their different journeys. The interaction of the girls with the men who are paying for their services is devastatingly understated rather than graphic. Their lifestyle becoming almost routine and mundane, which makes the storytelling all the more effective. The ending is very effective and in keeping with the novel itself. Harvesting moved me in a way that very few books do.
This is a novel which challenges our preconceptions about the girls and women who work in the sex industry in Ireland and the men who pay for them. For those of us who are parents, it will make us want to hold our daughters more tightly and think very carefully about how we raise our sons - the values we give them, and the type of men we ultimately want them to be.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has devestated me. I can't remember the last time I was so affected by a book.

I read a good bit of horror but this book, the story of 15 year old Dubliner, Sammi and 13 year old Moldovan, Nicoletta being trafficked into the sex trade has been the scariest read of the year for me.

As a mother to teenage girls myself, I felt every word, every paragraph and every.single.page of this book. How easy it is to fall through the cracks, to be sold for greed, or simply because you are a girl, to come from the "wrong background", to be broken inside and think nobody cares what you do or what happens to you, how seemingly respectable pillars of the community can have double lives too and how the unscrupulous will always find a way to exploit that for their own gain, to the detriment and sometimes the very lives of young women.

I would definitely like to read more about this subject but, for now, I need time to digest and recover.

My book of the year so far. A definite 5+ star read 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

[Phillip J. O'Brien · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing debut from Lisa Harding.

It tells the story of the experience of two girls from very different backgrounds - Nico and Sammy - in the world of trafficking and prostitution.

The writing is very skilful and allows us to see the world through the eyes of both characters in alternate chapters which I feel works very well.

In books on this subject the sex scenes could be graphically described but here they are not however the writing of the author leaves us in no doubt as to the brutality of what happened.

There is a Rescuer inside of me and I wanted to reach out and save these girls from their horrible world and the characters controlling them.

Whether there is a satisfactory outcome for Nico and Sammy will depend on your point of view but prepare to have the wind knocked out of you.

Quote - "Although her energy is high and strong, beneath her laughter and dancing, this girl is more hurt than I can imagine." (Nico about Sammy).

[Orla Rc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished Harvesting, and I'm totally blown away.
The incredibly descriptive yet concise prose places you very firmly inside the minds and situations of the two main characters and their shared journey together, making it a very invasive read, in that you are living and breathing the characters as you read.
Although it is, at times, very harrowing, for me, anyway, it was ultimately a story of unexpected friendship and great strength, somehow managing to find chinks of light in the murkiest of situations.
Harvesting is a gripping read from beginning to end. Impossible to put down once you meet it's two compelling and engaging main characters. It's an an absolutely fantastic book, and I highly recommend it.

[Clazzzer C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve just finished Harvesting by Lisa Harding. She’s an Irish writer. I got this recommendation from the Rick O’Shea Book Club. Its subject matter is grim but the author tackles it very well. We meet Sammy, 15 and Nico 13, both trafficked for different reasons. Their treatment is deplorable, beyond most civilised humans’ comprehension. Sammy borders on the insane, dictated most likely by her genes but also by circumstance. Nico copes as best she can by conjuring up memories of past survival, her brother and words of wisdom from a veteran of the business. This is a tough read, but because of inference gladly rather than graphic detail. It highlights the horrors of what millions suffer daily world wide.

[Conor Bowman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an absolutely fantastic book. It deals with the horror of human trafficking
in a sensitive, caring, comprehensive original and articulate manner. It pulls no
punches but neither does it sensationalize or exploit the subject-matter which might
so easily have been the case if this book were written by a less sensitive and capable
writer. This is not an easy book to choose to read from the pantheon of current novels
written by Irish writers but it is the most rewarding reading choice I have made in years.
Move over trite angst-ridden self-obsessed college diarists; this is a real book about real
people by a really talented writer!!

[Pam M · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Harvesting' by Lisa Harding is the story of two girls, one Irish and one Moldovan, both in their early teens, who are held in a normal suburban house and forced into sex work. While it is a very difficult subject, the book is easy to read, well laid out and engaging. The most disturbing aspect is that it is happening in plain sight, today, in a town near you, in a society that appears to be blind to this human rights abuse. 'Harvesting' should be compulsory reading for anyone interested in or responsible for law and order, for mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers, everyone who believes in justice and human rights.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harvesting is a shockingly, good debut novel told from the point of view of two young preteen girls caught up in the sex trade in Dublin, one of the major hubs in the world. One girl is sold to a sex trafficker by her father in Moldova as soon as she first begins to menstruate. The other girl is a young Dubliner from a broken home in middle-class suburbia. Both find themselves trapped together in a clandestine house of other similarly aged girls outside of Dublin. Every night they are drugged and driven into Dublin to meet multiple men. This story is angering and thought-provoking. The author was inspired to write this fictional account of young girls being trafficked based on her own involvement in the Stop Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People Campaign run by the Body Shop, ECPAT International, and Children's Rights Alliance in Ireland. The details in her story come from actual written accounts of the young female victims following their rescue.

[tree richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too graphic and sad

Although I can’t deny that the author can write I didn’t like this subject matter and found it painful and upsetting well I suppose that got her point across . Did I learn anything from this .. no not really as I was aware what happens in prostitution. Contrasting the two characters was a good device to show how two girls could both end in the same place but yes I knew that already however probably a good read for a young girl reader late teens . Too disturbing for me and definitely not holiday reading !

[Eeeeelecktricteeeee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a remarkably well written novel. The reader never loses sight of the fact that, despite the dire scenario, the protagonists are children. The structure of alternating viewpoints of the protagonists is brilliantly sustained and indeed developed once they meet. The cumulative effect on the protagonists is devastingly revealed by the posing of a seemingly mundane question at the end of the novel.
I'm looking forward to seeing what this author will produce next.

[Kerry White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harvesting is a hauntingly powerful read. Although the subject is dark, it doesn't feel heavy. The relationship between the two girls is what balances the horror of the subject. It is indeed shocking that such an industry is thriving in Ireland, and the author has been brave in choosing her subject. It's for this reason that it has such impact. I feel that my eyes have been completely opened to this world. As well as being highly educational, its a brilliant read.

[Annie King · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my best reads for a very long time, finished the book a few days ago and the characters remain firmly in my mind. Beautifully written from the heart ,the author takes you in completely
from the off. It's a powerful shocking heart breaking eye opening piece of work with a lovely Irish
sense of humour in the lighter side of the book. I urge you to pick this piece up and join these tragic beautiful souls on their journey at such tender ages .

[laurasinnerton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great quick read of a book that is both thought provoking and devastating. It manages to avoid being gratuitous while still conveying the seemingly hopeless, dangerous and claustrophobic atmosphere the protagonists find themselves in. Some readers may feel the book could have been grittier or plumbed the depths of the horror of the girls' situations more, but I feel that this would ultimately have taken something away from story and blurred the focus from that of the girls' plight.

[Rebecca Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book in very short order! Even though it covers a dark and sensitive subject, Harvesting is brilliantly written and you're right there with the girls through everything they experience. That it's based on real experiences is truly terrifying and my dreams after reading it were warped and dark, to say the least. I've been left wanting to contribute to stamping out sex trafficking and protecting vulnerable young women.

[Anamaria Serrano · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful, if disturbing novel about sex trafficking, by Irish author Lisa Harding. Harvesting is the story of two young girls, Sammy, who is Irish, and Nico from Moldova, whose lives are presented in parallel, in alternating chapters. It is a clever structure that keeps us engaged as we learn how each young girl ends up working in the sex trade in Ireland, where they meet.
Despite being very different in character - Sammy with her sharp edges, lashing out at the world, and Nico the more thoughtful, quiet girl - they form a friendship.
Through funny moments and harrowing moments, we are made aware not only of the horror of life for girls in the sex trade, but of how society in many ways colludes in perpetuating that trade.
Apart from being well written, the novel succeeds in part because of the author's knowledge of her subject. Her authoritative voice gives us the sense that the characters and what happens to them are real, not just fictional, and that something must be done to stop this apalling abuse of young girls and women.