Rating: 
Summary: Bleeh
Review: Cold, clinical descriptions of sex...
Hooker chic at its worst....
Rating: 
Summary: Witty look into the life of a call girl...
Review: For endurance, look to Tracy Quan. Hers is a voice that we will surely hear more from, as she catapults toward the writer of distinction she is and will be. This is a great novel that takes a realistic look into the life of Manhattan call girls. There is no plot development in this book, just a day to day take in Nancy Chan's life. The best part of this book is that it gives the reader a glimpse into the world of call girls without adding dark language or explicit scenes for shock value. Also, this novel isn't about Asian call girls, as one critic implied, but about the unconventional career choice of the protagonist and her cronies. Quan humanizes this "profession" without using the cliches that society place upon it. Quan's dialogue is crisp, funny and insightful, and I laughed out loud several times, seemingly from out of nowhere. I've heard that this novel is ninety percent autobiographical. In that case, I applaud Ms. Quan for baring the truths about one of the biggest taboo subjects out there.
Rating: 
Summary: A witty, observant picture of elite "sex workers" in NYC
Review: How refreshing it is, after a season of terrorist-caused tragedy, to be reminded of what a frothy, fun, self-absorbed little culture Manhattan can be. It may be frivolous, but that too is part of the New York City we love!
Rating:
Summary: Fun, Voyeuristic
Review: I found "Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl" refreshingly different, funny, and a page-turner. There definitely seems to be a voyeuristic thrill in seeing how these women deal with "the oldest profession," even if it's the upper echelon. Tracy Quan seems to refuse to stigmatize hookers, and her Nancy Chan character steadfastly seems to have no moral qualms about her career choice. This didn't ring totally true for me. Nancy does agonize over whether her boyfriend/fiance will find out, what he will think, etc., but doesn't take on some of the larger issues such as, is it really OK to be a married hooker, especially if your husband doesn't know? Is it OK for a husband or boyfriend to see hookers, then, or would that bother her? What about the times she just doesn't, well, feel like it..does that feel like betraying herself? Or how does it feel to be totally disgusted by a john? That doesn't seem to happen here. But, I don't think this book was meant to be a morality play, so I tried to just enjoy it for what it is..a chance to be a fly on the walls of these women in the pricey world of call girls (hookers/whores, what have you; Quan explores most of the nicknames). Nancy Chan is a well-read, intelligent "girl" who chose to be a hooker (even knew at age 10 what she wanted to do!), and another call girl character is college-educated, so I found it interesting to see some stereotypes challenged. Also it's illuminating to see the whys (hows?) of some of these men who choose to see hookers. I found the nosey, caustic sister-in-law -- "Elspeth" -- character among the most amusing, and the blonde airheady character Allison offers more comic relief...and Quan's writing is talented and witty...I just don't know if it's the whole story. Julia Wilkinson, author, "My Life at AOL" and "Best Bang for Your Book"
Rating: 
Summary: Funny & Voyeuristic, but Whitewashed View of Call Girls?
Review: I found "Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl" refreshingly different, funny, and a page-turner. There definitely seems to be a voyeuristic thrill in seeing how these women deal with "the oldest profession," even if it's the upper echelon. Tracy Quan seems to refuse to stigmatize hookers, and her Nancy Chan character steadfastly seems to have no moral qualms about her career choice. This didn't ring totally true for me. Nancy does agonize over whether her boyfriend/fiance will find out, what he will think, etc., but doesn't take on some of the larger issues such as, is it really OK to be a married hooker, especially if your husband doesn't know? Is it OK for a husband or boyfriend to see hookers, then, or would that bother her? What about the times she just doesn't, well, feel like it..does that feel like betraying herself? Or how does it feel to be totally disgusted by a john? That doesn't seem to happen here. But, I don't think this book was meant to be a morality play, so I tried to just enjoy it for what it is..a chance to be a fly on the walls of these women in the pricey world of call girls (hookers/whores, what have you; Quan explores most of the nicknames). Nancy Chan is a well-read, intelligent "girl" who chose to be a hooker (even knew at age 10 what she wanted to do!), and another call girl character is college-educated, so I found it interesting to see some stereotypes challenged. Also it's illuminating to see the whys (hows?) of some of these men who choose to see hookers. I found the nosey, caustic sister-in-law -- "Elspeth" -- character among the most amusing, and the blonde airheady character Allison offers more comic relief...and Quan's writing is talented and witty...I just don't know if it's the whole story. Julia Wilkinson, author, "My Life at AOL" and "Best Bang for Your Book"
Rating:
Summary: WOW!! What a page turner
Review: I picked this book up while on a layover in Chicago O'Hare with no previous info on it. WOW, what a find. I couldn't stop reading the book. It was so enjoyable and yet so proactive. There were times when I read the book where I started to have my own fantasies. This is a must read for everyone. Tracy Quan writes so clearly that I felt that she was talking to me over a cup of coffee. I can't wait to read her other books and I hear it is going to be made into a movie. Can't wait. Great book for the summer!!
Rating:
Summary: Include me with the rest of TQ's fans
Review: I read the series in Salon feverishly over a couple of days (I'm not sure how I missed it when it was first published), and I loved it. The book takes up where the series left off, and, where the series was pure roller-coaster ride, the novel really gets inside Nancy Chan's head and lets you know how it feels to be torn between two worlds. I think it is amazing that the book can be so insightful and so funny at the same time.
Rating:
Summary: Fun and funny
Review: I really liked this book. Tracy Quan seems to understand that being a call girl in New York can be just as fraught with bourgeois anxiety as being any other kind of career girl in New York City. Quan has a light touch, and an ear for the funny things people are willing to say to themselves to justify their choices and transgressions.
Rating:
Summary: Loved it!
Review: I think the few reviewers who complained about the plot of DIARY OF A MANHATTAN CALL GIRL have missed the point -- this book isn't a mystery or a thriller. Instead, it's the story of what day-by-day and moment-by-moment life of one of Manhattan's "private girls." The "plot" of this book is not the point -- it's an excuse for letting us inside the mind of a woman who's torn between her desire to be respectable and settled and her psychological need to be rewarded and adored by countless men.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Very Compelling
Review: I wanted so much for this book to work. The sex element carries it, not the plot, not the characters. And like so many C- books in the publishing business, writers who cannot seamlessly shift back and forth from the human condition in the modern world to the most trivial aspects of American culture have to rely on lasciviousness to entice readers. Too bad. Too bad. Maybe next time Quan will have developed more appreciation for the subtleties of humans interaction, rather than relying on blatant lewdness.
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