Rating: 
Summary: Short, brutish & nasty but thought provoking
Review: Emma Donoghue describes a life of almost unremitting gloom. Mary discovers, close to the end, that her ersatz family brings her close to happiness but her moth-like attraction to "higher things" like fine clothing and sophisticated city life render her unable to make sound decisions. We get some lessons from the book -- men are unable to control their urges (is this true???); the attraction to glitter is strongest with those who are the most desperate; for those at the bottom of society, materialism is supreme. I enjoy Donoghue's unobtrusive and mostly unsentimental style. She has Mary observe that crows steal the bright gold ring, not knowing that it will provide them no sustenance (a metaphor for the entire book). There are some scenes where males are presented as tender/human but mostly they just use women like rags to be discarded. I'm not sure what conclusions to draw from the book - the hopelessness of poverty, the tight bond of women versus the competition of men, or the darkness of materialism/obsession. It is not an uplifting book, but it is a good one. Just make sure you take your Wellbutrin or Prozac before reading!
Rating: 
Summary: I thoroughly enjoyed this book....
Review: I thought this was a great book. It was a bit dark, but life is dark! It's well written. I recommend you give it a try -- there is some adult content but its to be expected--its about a Prositute! Soo...try it...its a great page turner!
Rating: 
Summary: Awful! endless pages of male bashing and graphic sex!
Review: This book is filled with the most graphic sex, repulsive characters and with a plot that goes no where. If you want to read the authors descripting of 6 -7 sex acts in a row, than this is the book for you. The author only wrote lesbian books before, and her depicting every man in this story as the lowest living creature on the earth is repeated in every page. Finally she brings in a male character who adores his wife. Considers himself the most fortunate person in the world to be married to her for 30 years. His wife is the kind woman who takes the main character into her home. You love this man he is a shining star of the book. He has taken every obstacle life put in his path and triumph, including losing a leg in the war. Never in 30 odd years has he ever even thought of another woman, much less cheated on his wife. What does the author do to this character - one night he is going for a drink and sees the girl they have taken in and given a job in the alley behind the pub. Concerned that something is wrong that she would be out, alone this late. He goes up to her. She within seconds pulls up her skirts and immediately, this wonderful man has sex with her. So the author proved one more time (in her mind) - all men are scum. Premise of the story - a teenage girl gives up her virginity to a filthy street bum for a ribbon. Does the heroine of the story grow, find happiness or learn anything. NO! She kills a friend of her mother's who takes her in, gives her a job, and treats her like her own daughter just for a dress. What about the end. This is the most amazing and ridiculous part of the story. She is not concerned about being hung. She is only concerned with what she will wear at the hanging. PLEASE, give me a break.
Rating:
Summary: Depressing and no value
Review: This is short and sweet.... not be fooled by these reviews. I find it odd that one review, similar to what I feel was removed adn the positive ones still exist. Is that pressure on Amazon from the publisher who is promoting this book so much. The book has not ONE redemming character, has no real plot and the end, unlike was was said in one of these reviews.... was nothing. You know from page one she was going to die. No remorse, no lesson learned. It was simply depressing.
Rating:
Summary: Sometimes You Will Cringe
Review: Emma Donoghue's excelent and well researched novel, "Slammerkin", will cause the reader to cringe and squirm with discomfort in many ways and in many places...and that's what makes it so rivetting and real! The protagonist, Mary, makes every wrong choice and Donoghue's writing leads the reader to understand why and how these choices are made..and why they are the only ones available to a lower-class female in the mid 1700s.
Rating:
Summary: Give it a try!
Review: This book started off a little slow, but it was worth it. It had one of the best "written" endings of anything that I have ever read! I am not sure why it moved me so, but it did.
Rating:
Summary: dark
Review: Donoghue's Hood is one of my all-time favorite books. I'm a sucker for love stories, and that was one of the most painful, real, love stories I've ever read. Slammerkin was completely different. I don't usually like historical fiction, but the reviews I'd read about this appealed to the feminist in me. Based on a true story about a servant who was hanged (and/or burned) for killing her master's wife, Slammerkin goes farther by taking the liberty of filling in the possible history of the girl's life. When we meet Mary Saunders, she is a young girl whose family is just getting by in 18th century London. Her downfall comes when she becomes pregnant after being raped in an alley by a man who sells a red ribbon she has been coveting for so long. Her parents kick her out of their house when they discover she is pregnant and that night she is gang-raped. It is gruesome and depressing, but you should know that before you begin this book. Luckily, Mary is taken in by a local prostitute who finally convinces her that the only way to she'll make money to survive her cruel life is for Mary to become a prostitute as well. The book is dark and nothing really good ever happens to poor Mary, but it's fascinating to see the transformation of an innocent young girl to a tough, street smart teenager who is ambitious and independent and much wiser than her years. Mary never truly loves anyone in this story, but you can see her trying to, at least.
Rating:
Summary: Gritty, grotty and good
Review: I'm not a fan of bodice-ripping historical fiction (which this is not), so I would have been put off by the cover if I hadn't read previous reviews. I found this fascinating reading. The author is able to convey the grit and grottiness of this period while cleverly telling an essentially small story. Our heroine is not particularly likeable, but she comes exquisitely alive. One gripe: I do wish all reviewers would not give so much away. The reader isn't meant know Mary's fate from page one, and I was sorry to know it beforehand. All in all a good, absorbing read.
Rating: 
Summary: Good grasp of the time period, but frankly kind of boring
Review: The book is well researched, but lacks a sustaining plot.
Rating:
Summary: A Memorable Read
Review: What this book so graphically illustrates are the perpetual issues of injustice, greed, double standards, moral and immoral glut. I would not recommend Emma Donoghue's story to those readers who typically enjoy Regency romances. This is too gritty, too painful, and bleak. The story is rich in its depiction of the ghastly subsistance of the working poor. It is, though, one of the most memorable books I've read in some time.
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