Rating: 
Summary: haunting
Review: like so many others who've posted here, i simply couldn't put this book down. sugar, william, henry, emmeline, poor agnes - i became very attached to them and found they really took on a life of their own. i enjoyed the second-person insertions and was a little disappointed when they seemed suddenly to cease (with a few exceptions) about halfway through. as for those who are puzzled by the title, right near the end, when she is rereading agnes' diaries, sugar finds "a crimson petal and a white" float out from between two pages where agnes is remembering the nursing and death of her mother. i'm still pondering the precise meaning of it.
as for the ending... well, i can't say i wasn't somewhat frustrated but, like the victorian age itself, it was messy; it left things hanging; i think to tie things up would have been artificial on faber's part, given the world and characters he created.
i must admit i would have liked a little more on emmeline - she was one of the most fascinating characters, as she was in some respects the "ideal" victorian woman - but whose passions burned underneath.... waiting for the 20th century to arrive.
Rating: 
Summary: This Bawdy Victorian-Era Novel is First Rate!
Review: When I read the excerpt of this novel on Amazon, I was thoroughly seduced by the clever way the narrator entices the reader into the story (like a prostitute with a potential client). I thought it was quite clever and well-done. Once I had this book, I had a hard time putting it down. The narrator's playfully cynical commentary was delightful. However, the narrator seemed to gradually disappear once the introductions to the characters had been made. I thought the characters were well-developed. The reason I gave this book 4 stars is because I thought the pace slowed down considerably toward the middle. Other than that, I liked the plot and character development, and felt as if I were actually seeing (and smelling) Victorian England, with all of its contradictions and hypocrisies amongst the social classes of that era. I did not have a problem with the ending, as I thought that was exactly what the chauvinistic and selfish W.R. deserved. I recommend this book to anyone who won't be offended by a clever, yet bawdy, Victorian novel.
Rating:
Summary: The meaning of the title is ................
Review: This is for the lady who desperately wants to know the meaning of the title. Well if she had read the first two hundred pages or so carefully she should have guessed that the 'crimson red' refers to Sugar's genitalia and the 'white' refers to William's white semen. I hope you are enlightened by this information. By the way, a great read!
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read for anyone who loves the English Language
Review: What a marvelous book. Faber's brilliant command of the English language brings to life Victorian England, the sights, the smells, the rituals and obligations of the classes and how they interact....or don't.
Every character who inhabits these pages, from Sugar, our heroine, and William.....not exactly our hero but a nice insight to the Victoran man, to the most minor characters in the book, all are wonderfully drawn...we know who these people are, and what they are about.
The ending surprised me at first, but then seemed absolutely right.
Life is like that. We don't know what life holds in store for us or those we love ( and indeed, this reader grew to love Sugar). Based on what I've learned about her in the first 800+ pages, she will triumph.....but a 800+ page sequel would be most welcome.
Must we wait 20 years? And what does the title of the book mean?
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding novel with a few shortcomings
Review: This is a great read, the writing itself is fantastic, Faber's style alone kept the pages turning, particularly since I barely have the patience for 500+ page novels. The only real complaint that I do have--and the reason for the 4 instead of 5 stars--is the ending; I like others felt cheated after having read the minute details of these characters' daily lives through 800 pages only to be left hanging so abruptly--never realizing the fates of the three primary characters: Sugar, Sophie, and William. It was somewhat anti-climactic but overall I was most thoroughly impressed with the writing style and the close attention paid to detail; you can't walk away without sensing or even knowing that Faber strove for nothing short of perfection in every paragraph, sentence, and word between the covers of The Crimson Petal and the White. If this were a movie a sequel would be expected, I can only hope for the same here.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Let the Movie Spoil It!!!
Review: This is a vast and engrossing novel and when I heard it was to be made a movie I could see how attractive that prospect would be to a filmmaker since the novel is so evocative. A good film maker could draw out even more the sights and sounds (if not the smells, thank you!) of the era as well as the drama (and humor) of the story. When I read that Kurstin Dundst is to play Sugar I was thrilled because I think she could be just right for the part...IF...if if if the screenwriter is true to Michael Faber's story. I began to worry that it could be turned into a "love story" with Rackman cast with a handsome heartthrob. WHAT a mistake that would be...Rackman is a selfish rake who loves no one more than himself. He buys Sugar only so that no one else may have her and then tires of he when she becomes too available. If they turn it into "Pretty Woman" I'll cry. And it's possible because they guy who did "Pretty Woman" (and sent the message to the young women of America that prostitution is a viable path to true love and a rich prince) is set to do it. I'm also afraid that they will try to "tie up" the ending and that would be horrible, as well. So I implore Michael Faber: you have a masterpiece here, don't sell it out like Pat Conroy did to Barbara Streisand who then RUINED his masterpiece "The Prince of Tides"...it can happen...please don't let it happen to you.
Rating:
Summary: About that ending....
Review: About that ending (not to give too much away to those who haven't read the book): Lostwithiel is in Cornwall and there was (and is) actually a Catholic convent in Cornwall at Lanherne. So one can speculate accordingly.
And the other character's destination seemed to be King's Cross Station, from which trains leave/left for the north of England and Scotland.
And...that's all we know! So be it.
Rating:
Summary: Great Novel
Review: I agree with many of those who gave rave reviews--a 21st C. Dickensian novel; huge but a quick read (it'll keep you up all night); a bit slow to start; and a lot of sex but not pornographic. As well as the story and the historical detail, what gave it added spice was its sly, but not intrusive, self-referentialism and gental humor. (And for those who post to tell us Michel Faber is male--enough already.)
Rating:
Summary: The Crimson Petal and the White
Review: Frequently, the conclusion of a novel is disappointing. Michel Faber, the author of "The Crimson Petal and the White", leaves us like one of his lecherous characters wanting more. Where are Sugar and Sophie? We know where pompous William Rackham is surrounded by papers filled with tales he deserves to read. The men in this novel do not come off well from Rackham to the coachman Cheesman. It is the women for the most part who come across as either victims of men's folly or pursuers of justice and self-respect. This novel has it all from the sights and smells of London and environs in the 1870's, the characterizations of the individuals from the scullery maid to the mistress of the Rackham home, social and sexual components and most of all for the story line weaving all these characters together. Encore please!
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely compelling!
Review: I just finished this 832 page book and I only wish there were 832 more pages. Don't be misled by one of the reviews that appears here, by a reader who appears not to have understood the ending. This is a completely satisfying, absolutely compelling work of art that I am recommending to everyone I know who loves wonderful literature. Every page contains evidence that this is an author with complete command of the English language at his disposal and he uses it to make London in 1875 come completely alive. It is like watching a movie and reading a book at the same time. I read the first couple pages out loud to my wife, and didn't stop until page 150. Then I went out and got another copy for her. We both fell in love with Sugar, and Michael Faber. I looked forward with anticipation to every opportunity I had to read this literary masterpiece. The genius of Michael Faber abounds throughout this spellbinding novel. I'm only sorry that it had to end.
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