Twenty-two, a renegade from society and a runaway from a marriage which had left her only with debts to pay, this is her...

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STREETWALKER

Twenty-two, a renegade from society and a runaway from a marriage which had left her only with debts to pay, this is her case history and confessional of a way of life shadowed by the London streets she walks. The first part of it, as coolly undemonstrative as her attitude toward the men she serviced (actually she felt a ""cankerous revulsion""), is- if you are interested- an interesting documentary of commercial sex, the assets it takes and the amounts receivable, the technique of approach- and avoidance, etc. In pursuing it, she felt that she had achieved anonymity- and independence, but after a rough night with a dangerous customer, she realized her loneliness, accepted the help of Pete, and fell in love with him. Committed, financially as well as emotionally, disregarding the warnings of her friends (he had a prison record for brutalizing a girl), she permitted him to exploit her (in 6 months she earned 1400 pounds for him to gamble away) and later was the victim of violence which led to her breakdown and the conclusion of this account..... There is, one can suppose, a certain cautionary value in the bad to worse aspects of an existence such as this, a possible sociological interest, but it would be naive to imagine that it will be read just for these reasons.

Pub Date: March 21, 1960

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1960

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