The Further Adventures of a London Call Girl

The Further Adventures of a London Call Girl by Belle de Jour

Summary
''She lists like Hornby. She talks dirty like Amis. She has the misanthropy of Larkin and examines the finer points of sexual technique as she is adjusting the torque on a beloved but temperamental old E-type...It's hard to believe that this clever and candid new voice has no more to say. Whoever the author is, she should give up the day job. Only then will we find out what the real Belle de Jour is made of.' Independent This follow-up to the hugely successful 'Intimate Adventures' will be just as bold, funny and brilliant. Peppered with agony-aunt letters and advice, and stories from her 'working' life, it's also the story of a young woman making her way in the world - told in Belle's inimitable voice.

Expectations
I approached this book with some excitement, expecting a gritty, gripping tale. Having never read the first one, I hoped I would understand what was going on.

Writing Style
Average, really. Written as a diary. Nothing outstanding, but no flaws either.

Plot
It was quite gripping at first, as expected. The descriptions of Belle's clients and many men in her life, and what she gets up to, are not described in enough detail to make you wince, but enough to make you interested. However, Belle decides to stop being a call girl, and after that the plot becomes quite boring, centering around her relationship with 'the Boy', which is obviously poor. One will become irritated at her because she tolerates his lying, and it is monotonous and irritating, the sort of stuff you dread to listen to when one of your girlfriends refuses to leave a bad relationship.

Characters
If you're looking for well-developed characters, you won't find them here; in fact, most characters do not even come with names. Understandable given the subject matter, I suppose, but even Belle seems inconsistent, going from worldy-wise call girl to doormat-esque girlfriend.

Overall
A quick read, with nothing deep to get your head around. Not brilliant, but not exactly dire either. I think most would agree that it had the potential to be so much better and that's why it is so disappointing.

2 Stars