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novelbloglover's review
5.0
Book Review
Title: Callgirl: Confessions of a Double Life
Author: Jeannette Angell
Genre: Memoir
Rating: *****
Review: Now, I had a lot of reservations before cracking open Callgirl because a lot of similar fiction books and memoirs I have read on this subject are vague and so self-centred that I can’t stand to finish them but the introduction and opening chapter of this book really hooked me. We learn that Jeannette is a teacher and was cheated on by her boyfriend who also took all of her money when he left leaving her broke with debts pilling up that she has no way of paying. Like most of us in that situation she is completely panicking thinking of anything and everything that could get her through until her payday at the end of the semester in two months’ time. She initially consider work in sex chat but finds the whole things dull and boring, plus for only $8 she is sure there is something out there that will give her the money she needs when she stumbles upon ads for escorts.
At first Jeannette is really hesitant about even considering escort work because there is seemingly a huge social stigma around it but when she applies her analytical mind to her situation she realises actually her boyfriend did the same thing, she had sex with him, enjoyed it and he took her money, so she technically paid him for his services. She ends up speaking to “Peach” the madam who runs the service and she throws her in at the deep end. Peach’s method is to give new girls a good client to see if they enjoy the work, if they do they join the agency and make money, if they don’t they made $200 and can go home. Jeannette under the name of Tia sees Bruce who works closely with Peach as she sends him all the new girls and during their meeting “Tia” realises that this is the best sex she has had in ages and that she isn’t opposed to doing it again especially with Bruce, and so begins her journey.
It is only after a month of working for Peach that Jen begins to understand the world she is working in, Peach keeps her distance from the girl almost never meeting them in person, Jen is the exception here, because is she gets too close to them she knows she won’t be able to send them to the more difficult clients, which is exactly what she does to Jen. Peach sends Jen to Barry who immediately is quite violent towards her but she tries to put up with it, but when he tries to force her into having anal sex she asserts her dominance and leaves. Later she learns from another of Peach’s girl, Margot, that she actively takes Barry on as a client. Jen can’t understand this but when Margot explains she sees him as a textbook rapist and allowing him to blow off steam with her protects other women as Barry only uses Peach’s service then she can live with it. It is also a bonus for her that no one challenges her for Barry as a client so in the long term she makes more money. The smart Jen begins to see and understand the different types of women that become escorts and why they do it.
As she continues to live two lives Jen finds certain elements of either life wearing her down, whether its her clients or her students she knows that she can’t live two lives forever and seeks ways to bring both lives together without telling the whole world that she is a callgirl. In the end she decides that teaching a class on the history and sociology of prostitution and telling a friend about her other life is the right way to go about it. I really liked reading about Jen’s client both good and bad and seeing the subtle and glaring differences between them all. Most of the clients she sees are relatively normal, whatever that is, and then there are the men that really stand out, the cross-dresser, the masturbator, the gambler that were just so interesting to read about. She tells her friend Seth who has a lot of misconceptions about what she does and she educates him on the way she thinks about her job and it seems that she converted a man to her way of thinking. However, when Seth visits on a work trip everything seems normal, they have dinner, drink and catch up but everything goes south when he offers to pay her in return for her services because she is a hooker now, this is a huge betrayal in Jen’s eyes as she thought he understood and that she could trust him with this information but he just confirms that he is just like every other stereotypical male on the planet. I have to admit I didn’t agree with this but when you consider the horror stories Jen has lived through and heard about coupled with her previous relationship with Peter, you can really sympathise with Jen even if you have never walked in her shoes.
As we approach the halfway mark in the book, Jen begins talking about how her job and drug culture often overlap, she isn’t a stranger to drugs herself but she only takes them as a pick me up during and before work but her friend Sophie is an addict. At first Jen doesn’t see a problem with Sophie’s habit but when her furniture starts going missing, she starts stealing money from Jen and clients, she turns to a friend Henry who is also Chinese for some cultural background. Jen is appalled by what she hears and understand why Sophie is an addict but she comes to realises that Sophie isn’t her friend, she is only using her to get her next fix and Jen has to back off from her. She does mention that the last time she heard of Sophie before leaving the business she was trading sexual favours for drugs and this still haunts her to this day but she has the love and support of her husband to get through it. Throughout it all Jen is able to keep her day job and her other job separate even when she begins teaching a class on prostitution but very quickly the parents of students have an issue with the subject matter which she has to battle.
As time goes on working with Peach is just another job to Jen but she has never dated since she started working as a callgirl until she gets involved with Luis Mendoza, a friend of Peach’s and she swears she is in love with him but between the drinks and cocaine I wasn’t to sure whether it was actually love or whether it was just easy as Luis didn’t question her job with Peach or get jealous about it like other men would. Jen only continues to work because of the financial pressures she is under and after a while she wants to do more with her life so she stops working, meets her now husband, Tony and continues to lead a normal life. One thing I really loved about this book is that it shatters a lot of myths surrounding the profession (Yes, profession). It explains a variety of reasons that women end up doing this kind of work, the pressures and trials they face but some like Jen thrive in this environment, it gives them the empowerment and strength to get over the bad things in their lives and makes them stronger for it. On the reason side, some of this book was hard to read, especially concerning Sophie and the bad clients Jen had but it is glamorising the profession, it is realistic, hard hitting and an exceptional read.
Title: Callgirl: Confessions of a Double Life
Author: Jeannette Angell
Genre: Memoir
Rating: *****
Review: Now, I had a lot of reservations before cracking open Callgirl because a lot of similar fiction books and memoirs I have read on this subject are vague and so self-centred that I can’t stand to finish them but the introduction and opening chapter of this book really hooked me. We learn that Jeannette is a teacher and was cheated on by her boyfriend who also took all of her money when he left leaving her broke with debts pilling up that she has no way of paying. Like most of us in that situation she is completely panicking thinking of anything and everything that could get her through until her payday at the end of the semester in two months’ time. She initially consider work in sex chat but finds the whole things dull and boring, plus for only $8 she is sure there is something out there that will give her the money she needs when she stumbles upon ads for escorts.
At first Jeannette is really hesitant about even considering escort work because there is seemingly a huge social stigma around it but when she applies her analytical mind to her situation she realises actually her boyfriend did the same thing, she had sex with him, enjoyed it and he took her money, so she technically paid him for his services. She ends up speaking to “Peach” the madam who runs the service and she throws her in at the deep end. Peach’s method is to give new girls a good client to see if they enjoy the work, if they do they join the agency and make money, if they don’t they made $200 and can go home. Jeannette under the name of Tia sees Bruce who works closely with Peach as she sends him all the new girls and during their meeting “Tia” realises that this is the best sex she has had in ages and that she isn’t opposed to doing it again especially with Bruce, and so begins her journey.
It is only after a month of working for Peach that Jen begins to understand the world she is working in, Peach keeps her distance from the girl almost never meeting them in person, Jen is the exception here, because is she gets too close to them she knows she won’t be able to send them to the more difficult clients, which is exactly what she does to Jen. Peach sends Jen to Barry who immediately is quite violent towards her but she tries to put up with it, but when he tries to force her into having anal sex she asserts her dominance and leaves. Later she learns from another of Peach’s girl, Margot, that she actively takes Barry on as a client. Jen can’t understand this but when Margot explains she sees him as a textbook rapist and allowing him to blow off steam with her protects other women as Barry only uses Peach’s service then she can live with it. It is also a bonus for her that no one challenges her for Barry as a client so in the long term she makes more money. The smart Jen begins to see and understand the different types of women that become escorts and why they do it.
As she continues to live two lives Jen finds certain elements of either life wearing her down, whether its her clients or her students she knows that she can’t live two lives forever and seeks ways to bring both lives together without telling the whole world that she is a callgirl. In the end she decides that teaching a class on the history and sociology of prostitution and telling a friend about her other life is the right way to go about it. I really liked reading about Jen’s client both good and bad and seeing the subtle and glaring differences between them all. Most of the clients she sees are relatively normal, whatever that is, and then there are the men that really stand out, the cross-dresser, the masturbator, the gambler that were just so interesting to read about. She tells her friend Seth who has a lot of misconceptions about what she does and she educates him on the way she thinks about her job and it seems that she converted a man to her way of thinking. However, when Seth visits on a work trip everything seems normal, they have dinner, drink and catch up but everything goes south when he offers to pay her in return for her services because she is a hooker now, this is a huge betrayal in Jen’s eyes as she thought he understood and that she could trust him with this information but he just confirms that he is just like every other stereotypical male on the planet. I have to admit I didn’t agree with this but when you consider the horror stories Jen has lived through and heard about coupled with her previous relationship with Peter, you can really sympathise with Jen even if you have never walked in her shoes.
As we approach the halfway mark in the book, Jen begins talking about how her job and drug culture often overlap, she isn’t a stranger to drugs herself but she only takes them as a pick me up during and before work but her friend Sophie is an addict. At first Jen doesn’t see a problem with Sophie’s habit but when her furniture starts going missing, she starts stealing money from Jen and clients, she turns to a friend Henry who is also Chinese for some cultural background. Jen is appalled by what she hears and understand why Sophie is an addict but she comes to realises that Sophie isn’t her friend, she is only using her to get her next fix and Jen has to back off from her. She does mention that the last time she heard of Sophie before leaving the business she was trading sexual favours for drugs and this still haunts her to this day but she has the love and support of her husband to get through it. Throughout it all Jen is able to keep her day job and her other job separate even when she begins teaching a class on prostitution but very quickly the parents of students have an issue with the subject matter which she has to battle.
As time goes on working with Peach is just another job to Jen but she has never dated since she started working as a callgirl until she gets involved with Luis Mendoza, a friend of Peach’s and she swears she is in love with him but between the drinks and cocaine I wasn’t to sure whether it was actually love or whether it was just easy as Luis didn’t question her job with Peach or get jealous about it like other men would. Jen only continues to work because of the financial pressures she is under and after a while she wants to do more with her life so she stops working, meets her now husband, Tony and continues to lead a normal life. One thing I really loved about this book is that it shatters a lot of myths surrounding the profession (Yes, profession). It explains a variety of reasons that women end up doing this kind of work, the pressures and trials they face but some like Jen thrive in this environment, it gives them the empowerment and strength to get over the bad things in their lives and makes them stronger for it. On the reason side, some of this book was hard to read, especially concerning Sophie and the bad clients Jen had but it is glamorising the profession, it is realistic, hard hitting and an exceptional read.
kinderny's review
2.0
The book was not sleazy, but I could not warm to the author of this first person account of supplementing her college lecturer job with being a call girl. She was pretty full of her insights and definitive about being right about various issues. It crystallized that she was not my kind of person when she says being paid for sex was not that different than some of her dates: one time she gave into having sex as she was so tired, it was easier than arguing with the guy.
celiaedf12's review
4.0
This was fascinating - the story of a college teacher's years in the mid-90s spent working as a prostitute, while at the same time teaching a class on the history of prostitution. Intelligently written and thoughtful - I found it really difficult to put down, and her thoughts on the differences in the way men and women approach sex in the context of sex work really struck me. Unfortunately, as the author notes, while she had a relatively good experience as a sex worker, there are many women who are terribly exploited by the industry (which is why I found Belle de Jour's book glamourising the sex work industry so disappointing and shallow).
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