What readers think of The Crimson Petal and The White, plus links to write your own review.

I have been up all night because I couldn't put this book down! And now that I have finished I am left wanting more, more, MORE ...!!!

Truly a fantastic book. It absolutely sucked me in. A little shaky in the beginning, but hang in there; these people will become a part of your family. I am so sad to finish the book. GIVE US A SEQUEL MR. FABER!!

it took me 1 week and a half to read it..I'm a speed reader
I just didnt like it, it was way too voulgar, i found myself saying "gross" too many times to call this a good book
thats it

IT WAS WONDERFUL! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! THE ONLY REASON WHY I DID NOT SCORE IT A 5 WAS BECAUSE IT LEFT YOU ON EDGE! I'M HOPING SOON FOR A SEQUEL!

Nice novel. It pictures the era very well. One is also concerned for what happens to the characters. But it is far too long and according to me the end is not conclusive enough. So many words written for such a small tale

If you have any love whatsoever for the sprawling epic masterpieces of Dickens, Thackeray, Eliot, and Hardy, you really must put any book you're currently reading down and read "The Crimson Petal." The notion--by some of my fellow reviewers--that the book is too long is precisely the reason I found it captivating...Indeed, most contemporary books are so in love with their own postmodernity that they often run out of narrative momentum within the first 200 pages. Not so here; the book immerses its reader within a voyeuristic and explicit London whose characters literally reek of sex, stench, and desperation. I longed for the novel to continue, and I think others will as well. This is a one of a kind book--I highly recommend reading it before it has been gutted for the inevitable Hollywood sendup.

I agree with JC. I was enamored up until pg. 550 or so and then the story began to bog down for me. It was much too long, IMHO, by about 250 pages. I found myself skimming dialogue for the last 300 or so pages; hate to do that but there are all these other wonderful books calling my name....lol. Okay, it's fiction but this was an uneducated prostitute after all, improving her lover's business acumen...come on! And then he just gives her the old heave ho when he thinks she's pregnant. I enjoyed it for the most part.

A very absorbing book. Faber's rendition of Victorian England rang true. He draws the reader in, by offering a picture of the bawdy world of prostitution, but is dealing with a far broader range of relationships. Is Agnes, the pure wife, not bought, just as surely as Sugar? But ultimately, doesn't this reduction of male/female relationships to a trade damage the men as well as the women? Who would want to be William Rackham at the end? But Emmeline and Henry are a counterpoint, even if their world is distorted by idealism. I found the repressed Henry's last vision of love intriguing.