Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Historical Fiction
Review: I couldn't stop reading this outstanding novel. I was drawn in right from the start. If you liked Tipping the Velvet, The Red Tent, and/or Memiors of a Geisha then this is sure to entertain you.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing and disturbing
Review: Emma Donoghue is truly amazing, I just have to get that out of the way. Her writing is terrific and this novel is a piece of well-researched, well thought-out historical fiction. In this story we follow Mary Saunders who begins the story as an innocent girl of 14. She goes to school and lives in a poor family where she is barely loved by her own mother and her father is dead. She wears plain clothing and craves a single piece of frivolity: a bright red ribbon, like the one she saw in a harlot's hair. She tries to trade a kiss in exchange for the ribbon and is raped. When it is discovered that she is pregnant, she is beaten and thrown out of her house, and would have died if she had not been rescued by a whore named Doll, the same whore who wore the red ribbon. The story that ensues is one of a girl becoming a street-hardened woman, earning her living by selling her body, and trying to reform but failing because what she earns doing honest sewing is not nearly as much as she earned as a harlot. She shames the family that she lives with and the ending is unexpected as Mary gives in to insanity and commits a horrible act of murder. This epic is long and drawn out at times, but ultimately worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning
Review: Emma Donoghue's writing is beautiful and the plot is truly unique. You find yourself reading the entire book in one sitting by saying "just one more page..." Other novels of this style are put to shame by the sophisticated and true-to-life way the subject matter is dealt with and the characters are roughly based on real people. A magnificent read.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: I saw many redeeming qualities in Mary, the protaginist. She was the victim of her time, her station in life and her circumstances. She was exceedingly young (only 16 by the end of the book) and initially took up prostitution to get something she wanted very badly, a ribbon. Poverty precluded brightness in her life and what 14 year old has not wished for something beyond her grasp and sometimes gotten it in the wrong way? I think it is important to remember that in the 18th century, prostitution was considered less of a crime than thievery. In many ways, this is a morality play as the reader will see in the end. The writing is splendid. If I have a negative criticism, it would be that the author relies VERY heavily on metaphors (all of which are apt) particularly in the first quarter of the book. I thought that the number of them could be halved and the book improved, thusly.
Rating: 
Summary: No redeeming qualities
Review: well...I take that back, the only redeeming quality is that it is interesting enough to keep the reader reading until the end. I don't usually write reviews, but I felt compelled to review this book simply because I buy books based on their reviews, and I would hate for someone to think this book is actually GOOD based on the other reviews. I like to learn something when I read a book, and come away from reading a book feeling good about SOMETHING! I also want to feel some sort of empathy for the protagonist. This character was her own antagonist, and there was nothing "pro" about her. This book started with the main character being in a bad situation that got worse. From there she should've learned from her mistakes, and progressed to a better life. She almost did...and then she went straight downhill, way downhill. I finished this book with a bad taste in my mouth. The main character was awful! The supporting characters were boring and also AWFUL. The plot started well, and then plummeted into a nasty dark pit. This book was a big waste of my time, and now I have these memories of a dark and disturbing book I wish I had not read.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Historical Read
Review: Knowing briefly of the true story which this novel was based, I picked this book up out of curiousity rather than for looking for a good read. What I found was, a good read.
Ms. Donoghue used both historical fact and fiction to create a story of tragic characters and scenarios. Although filled with many details of the time period and situations, this is a quick read that I recommend for those who do not always need a uplifting ending.
Rating:
Summary: Compelling piece of historical fiction
Review: Mary Saunders was a servant in the 1700s who had garnered historical knowledge for having murdered her mistress. In Slammerkin, Emma Donoghue takes this piece of history to a whole other level. Slammerkin chronicles Mary's life as a prostitute. Hoping to have a life of wealth and grandeur, Mary believes that selling her body will give her the aforementioned status. However, her exploits lead to great tragedy... Emma Donoghue's Slammerkin is a compelling and memorable piece of historical fiction. Novels that center prostitution during obscure times have always intrigued me. And this novel is certainly intriguing. The language is quite dark and sparse and the characterization is precise. Also, the descriptions of London's underground world are exquisite -- for the author doesn't romanticize the city. The author is consistent and insightful. However, I wasn't impressed with some aspects of Donoghue's writing. For instance, various sexual scenes are there for shock value more than anything else. I feel that the story could have done well without them. Other than that, Slammerkin is a fine piece of literature that is highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable, slow-paced historical novel.
Review: "Slammerkin" is the story of a young girl in eighteenth-century England whose poverty, impatience, and immaturity lead her to prostitution. She finds her life as a whore alternately fulfilling and shaming, bringing unprecedented freedom yet ultimately inescapable. The plot of this historical novel is slow and meandering; much happens that is important to the novel's resolution, and much happens that is not. The read, however, is uniformly pleasant and engaging, and the novel's roominess makes it all the more engrossing. The novel's most apparent flaw is its prologue, which consists of a scene from much later in the book. Knowing that this scene will eventually occur compromises the story's readability, and the prologue seems to have no purpose other than to make the latter part of the story seem inevitable - a burden that should be borne by the story itself, not by a spoiler. A greater deficiency - and perhaps the reason why the prologue was required - is the disjointedness late in the story. Most of the book flows smoothly, and the main character's decisions - while often of questionable wisdom - are justifiable in the context of her personality. Near the close of the book, however, her actions begin to seem illogical and confused, even in her own context. This is likely the result of the author's attempt to base her novel on real historical figures; a bit more exploration of the possible arcs of those people's lives, as well as a less frenetic pace (contrary to the rest of the book, the ending seems rushed, frantic, overwhelmed by itself) might relieve the discomfort. "Slammerkin" is an enjoyable read despite its shortcomings. To a more charitable reading, even its flaws inspire it. The scramble to acheive the preordained ending may be interpreted not as a failure on the author's part but as a meditation on the inevitability of destiny and its imperviousness to our attempts to escape.
Rating:
Summary: A main character you love to hate
Review: I bought this book on a whim because it was very cheaply priced in a local bookstore and I love historical fiction. I am so glad that I picked it up! I won't go into a narration about the storyline (you can read other reviews for that), but I will say that this was a well-written and beautifully expressed piece of fiction. Ms. Donoghue's style is easy and fast to read, yet elicits the full flavor of the period. I felt all extremes of emotions when reading about the fate of the main character, Mary- love, hate, anger, fear, bravery, sadness, humiliation- it goes on. I am eagerly looking for more of Emma Donoghue's books to get my hands on.
One piece of advice- definitely not a book for those who are offended by blatant sexual references or don't have a stomach for England's criminal justice system in the 18th century.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging but a bit forced and inconsistent
Review: I ordered Slammerkin at the same time I ordered Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. Someone who had read both recommended Slammerkin as the better title. While the story was engaging, I thought the structure was inconsistent and the themes a bit forced . Though the book's narrator is the omniscient third person, you read only Mary Saunder's thoughts through two-thirds of the book. Once Mary gets out of London, though, you start getting insight into a select few other characters' thoughts. It seemed that Donoghue needed to get these thoughts into story to develop the theme, but didn't know how else to do it, and so she took the easy way out and just threw in other characters' thoughts where it served her purpose (without developing the character fully). I'd recommend Slammerkin as a beach/vacation book that you leave behind when you're done. (I am reading Year of Wonders now and am enjoying it more than Slammerkin.)
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