I applaud her bravery, but there's nothing new about this book
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'In My Skin' is the memoir of Kate Holden, an Australian who became a heroin addict and prostitute. There is no tale of woe about her childhood, she comes from a seemingly pleasant home and was well educated but was simply curious about drug use. The memoir explores the effect that her drug taking had on her family and also her descent into addiction, street-walking and eventually her work at a brothel.
Although I think she is brave to have talked so candidly, there isn't a lot that is new about this. There are plenty of memoirs written by prostitutes that are better written and less morally ambiguous. I was slightly uneasy that Holden still felt the need to talk about how 'cool' prostitution and drugs appear. For example, she talks about 'researching' prostitution at the bookshop where she works;
'Perhaps it could be a route to independence, to empowerment. It would be a new kind of adventure. There was a kind of glamour to it, too.'
Although she shows us the 'unglamorous' side of the work, she seems to come back round to this idea that it is glamorous by the end of the book.
The literary pretensions of the book are also very irritating. Why the constant need to remind us that she is well read and cause her Mum to cry when she plays Chopin on the piano? I guess this was an attempt to stop the reader from grasping to stereotypes, but it did become a bit tedious.
It's Ok, but don't expect any revelations.
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Not for me
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I usually like reading memoirs and true stories but this book wasn't for me.
it took ages to get to the Heroin and prostitution and once it did; it dragged.
I was just thankful when the book finished.
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Brilliant
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This was such a good read. It made sense and I felt for her. The way she writes gives such clear descriptions that you feel like your actually watching her. The descriptions about her addiction to heroin were brilliant. I loved it!
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An honest eyeopener
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I chose this book after reading a review in a magazine, i was drawn to the originality of the story. I became emersed in the life of Kate, it's so easy to identify with her, you can really see how this could happen to 'a nice girl' and exactly how this does happen. Kate shows us how it really is, and what really happens out there. The strength her family showed and the kindness of her friends, i really wish Kate every success.
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Compelling
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This is not typically my type of book at all, but for some reason I picked it off the shelf in my local supermarket - it's the type of book that finds you when you're not really looking for it.
Kate's story centres around her descent into addiction and the social and real life repercussions. Her entire world is altered by her dependence on heroin, something I have never been close to having any empathy with - until now.
Kate Holden is a beautiful, intellectual writer, whose prose is effortless to read.
She doesn't come from a deprived background, no-one forced her to drugs, it just happens. By a series of seemingly arbitary steps.
The most amazing aspect to her story is her honesty, her courage to accept that these were her choices. She doesn't blame family, friends, or even the boyfriend that reluctantly introduced her to her first 'taste'.
I only started this book yesterday, and I'm already addicted and anticipating my next 'hit' tonight. :)
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