A Review - Sold

A Review of Sold by Patricia McCormick

By Leena Normington

To kickstart this blog off, I thought I would give you a quick review of a book I read last term, that is still yet to leave me;

I thought I had read this book.

Not literally, but you know - in another form, another author, another setting.

I thought I had 'been there'. I no manner of speaking was I right.

Sold tells the story of a young girl who is sold by her stepfather into a seemingly glamorous stranger who promises her work as a maid across the boarder. A promise he does not keep. A bout of incidents later, she ends up in 'Happiness House'; an Indian brothel.

It tells the tale of the dysfunctional friendships she makes within its walls, the anguish but also the coping mechanisms she devises to survive her unthinkable circumstance. Unlike many memoir-style novels about under-privileged lifestyles in foreign countries, this was in no way a patronising read. It struck a balance, now such a rare one, between truth and poetry; it pulled none of the punches about the suffering of the girl, Lakshmi, but was also respectful enough not to sensationalise any of the events portrayed in the book. While many of the scenes are devistating and the subject matter heart breaking, at no point did I feel as though the author was trying to make me cry. This was truth, blunt, but not intentionally provocative.

The language was what impressed me most about this book; it was perfect - a rich use of the English language but with the rhythm of a more Arabic tongue. Colourful enough to be interesting but simple enough to be a teenager's. It is not just an Amnesty International leaflet gone crazy - it achieved true literary beauty. While everything felt fictional, it also felt wonderfully authentic to read. I read only in one, very urgent and enjoyable, sitting - and I would do it again, every time.