Rating: 
Summary: A literary peat bog
Review: Nineteen year-old Sugar is a whore in 1870s London. William Rackham is the proud, immature inheritor of the Rackham perfumery. William's wife, Agnes, is mentally off. William's brother, Henry, is confounded by his religion. William's young daughter, Sophie, is hidden away in the Rackham mansion and cared for by servants. Is it any wonder William seeks out a prostitute? Of course, we all know he's going to find Sugar. The only question is, what sort of tortured relationship between them can fill up 834 pages?Victorian, THE CRIMSON PETAL AND THE WHITE most assuredly is not. Whatever I was expecting from this novel, it was not the graphic and often repulsive sex scenes that I got. And when the plot isn't reading like soft porn, it's drowning in details. I managed to read the first 300 pages word for word, but after that it was either start skimming or give up, so I started skimming. And although the last third of the book was a pleasant surprise -- the characters become more fully developed, the plot takes some interesting turns, and the sickly sweet tone of the first half is focused into something much sharper -- I was still considerably relieved to reach the end. Some other disappointments I would note: Several of the characters die without apparent reason, perhaps simply because Michel Faber tired of them. But neither did I miss them, since I never enjoyed any of the people in the first place, although I did grow closer to Sugar near the end. William positively disgusted me and I rue the 500 pages I spent in his company. And Faber's interesting technique of addressing the reader personally as "you" and tossing in little side comments (welcome comic relief, if you ask me) is lost about halfway through and unfortunately seldom reappears. Least you think I am totally down on this novel, there were a couple of interesting points. The time period and its people are well researched and depicted with a sort of graphic honesty that's a lot like a car accident -- you'd like to look away, but you can't. Bodily functions are common in these pages. Dirt and grime and pain and insanity abound. Nothing escapes the author's probing finger. Nothing is too sordid to discuss. I cannot recommend this novel. I found it irritating at best and regret the time I wasted on it. Still, THE CRIMSON PETAL AND THE WHITE is notable for its honesty, crude is that may be.
Rating:
Summary: yeah, the ending
Review: I enjoyed this book. I would only like to comment on the ending: it was abrupt and did leave us hanging. Faber even knows it and trys to rationalize this with his note at the end of the book. For me, I was hit hard emotionally near the end when William asked Sugar to leave the house and basically fired her as governess. He fell in love with Sugar but eventually lost interest in her and she became no more than a servant. She tried hard to keep him but her efforts were in vain. I kept thinking William may come around but he was too far gone and his interest in Sugar became nothing more than someone to care for his daughter. Had the book ended with William asking Sugar to leave, I would be here writing about this being one of the greatest books Ive ever read. As humorous as this book was throughout, the story of their relationship was very sad. Instead of ending when William asks Sugar to leave (or fires her), Faber continued and had Sugar take Sophie and run off somewhere (we never find out where) and William goes looking for her in the whore-houses, streets etc. then the chapter just ends. Maybe there will be a sequel?
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing end
Review: While this book had the potential to be a great read, it spirals out of control towards the end. The heroine just seems to lose that special something that made the first half of the book so enjoyable.
Rating: 
Summary: The Crimson Petal and the White
Review: I loved the book. Sugar is a totally beleivable character and the story she has to tell is an honest appraisal of the "Times".What a brave woman.I also enjoyed the geographical look at London in 19th Century
Rating:
Summary: Such potential...*sigh*
Review: This book had so much potential to be a really engrossing and wonderful novel, but somewhere along the line, it just unraveled. I was fascinated by the very original approach to the narrative voice, but I was very disappointed that this technique was abandoned like Sugar's old bedsheets. I also felt that some of the characters were sort of "painted into a corner," and for lack of anything else to do with them, the author kills them off. I was especially unhappy with the way that Agnes was so casually written out of the story--she was one of the most important characters! I kept thinking that she would make a reappearance somewhere. The book also begins with such realistic details, describing every piece of London in the 19th Century, from the smells to what ladies were reading at the time, but that too goes astray. I found it very hard to swallow that Sugar could so seamlessly fit into the family life of the Rackham house when she had never had any sort of structure to her life, and also that William could turn from a ne'er-do-well loafer to the prosperous head of a perfume business seemingly overnight. Also, things which seemed as if they might be important to the story, such as the fatal carriage crash at the beginning, turned out to have no significance at all. I'm giving this book 3 stars for the excellence in research and detail which the author gives, since that is the most interesting part, but I will warn that the plot is rather weak and has almost no resolution. Perhaps a sequel is in the works...
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: This is one of those rare books you come across every few years:
a unique story written in a brilliant way. I was reluctant at first to commit my time to a "Victorian" novel, but this is actually about personalities and is still applicable today. I highly recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: What a bore!
Review: This book was way too long, with to many details and no real plot. I kept waiting for something, I don't know what, but it never came. First book I have ever considered not finishing.
Rating:
Summary: loved it
Review: This book kept me entertained continually and was a realistic account of the rage and anger underneath a woman's show of servitude. Highly sexy and entertaining.
Rating: 
Summary: Read real victorian novels instead
Review: So, let's say a person reads "Jane Eyre" in this day and age decides to base a novel off of it. The author decides that instead of an orphan, the main character will be a prostitute. Instead of being a dashing, strong man like Rochester, the male lead will be a chauvinistic, selfish and weak jerk -- and rather than just a mere background character, the role of the wife will be fleshed out and we'll find out more from HER side of the story-- oh, and instead of just being insane, the author will go ahead and explain her illness as being a brain tumor. Also, wouldn't it be exciting if at least 40% of the 700+ novel talked about bodily fluids? After all, Bronte never really told us what Jane felt like when she had stomach problems-- shouldn't we rectify that if we are writing a novel in THIS century? After the author is finished writing the novel, we have what is known as, "The Crimson Petal and the White" -- a mere [take]-off of a classic.
I'm sure some of you are wondering why I gave this novel 2 stars if this is my attitude towards it-- well, it's quite simple-- I finished the book in less than a week and that's more than I can say for how long it took me to read "Jane Eyre". Just because it's not a good book doesn't mean that it's not well written or that it's not entertaining while you're reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Great characters, but in the end frustrating
Review: Despite its billing as the great Victorian novel of the year, The Crimson Petal and the White is, in the end,the most frustrating Victorian novel of the year. The Crimson Petal and the White developes characters very well over its 800 plus pages. However, after coming to care for these characters, the reader is frustrated by Faber's decision to stop the novel in mid climax. A much better Victorian novel published last year was Sarah Water's Fingersmith. The characters are equally compelling, the plot is great and the reader is not frustrated at the end.
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