Diary of a Politically Observant Girl

Over on The Guardian’s Comment is Free, bestselling novelist and occasional January contributor Tracy Quan (Diary of A Manhattan Call Girl) shares her observations on the issues that came up when MSNBC’s David Shuster “had the cheek to suggest on air that Chelsea Clinton was being ‘pimped out’”:

... he was probably trying to sound au courant. “Pimp” is so overused and de-sexed (by everyone from Virgin Atlantic to Entertainment Weekly) that people may forget what it once meant. Hillary Clinton, apparently, has not. Her outrage was predictable, given that prostitutes and pimps are viewed (even by blue state liberals) as stereotypes -- not as people, but as pariahs.

But Hillary’s reaction strikes me as precious. When will Chelsea be old enough to deal with the ironies and insults associated with her mother’s career?

As usual, Quan manages to touch on issues of politics and human rights with great élan, making us look forward even more to the publication of her new novel, Diary of a Jetsetting Call Girl, coming from HarperCollins UK in June.

Quan’s Guardian posting is here.

Review: It’s In the Bag by Winifred Gallagher

Today, in January’s art & culture section, Tracy Quan examines It’s In the Bag by Winifred Gallagher:

Does carrying one of these grown-up security blankets make you a slave to fashion, or a more independent, mobile person? Gallagher engages sociologists, historians and, of course, bag designers, and comes up with some remarkable answers. Fashion historian Valerie Steele thinks women with multiple bags are practicing a form of serial monogamy, while a shoe collection is more like “a harem.” Steele sums it up as “affairs versus marriage.” In other words, shoe collectors are sexual tomboys, while handbag lovers embody feminine virtue. If your harem, like mine, consists of handbags, you might, as I did, take exception to these roles.

Quan’s review is here.

Review: Killing Johnny Fry by Walter Mosley

Today, in January Magazine’s fiction section, Tracy Quan looks at Killing Johnny Fry, Walter Mosley’s most controversial novel yet. Says Quan:

When a national treasure like Walter Mosley decides to publish a dirty novel, snippy reactions are inevitable. Does a journey of sexual discovery have to be quite this filthy? But if Killing Johnny Fry were a novel one could read over lunch, it wouldn't be authentic porn. Fans of Mosley’s Easy Rawlins series might be put off by the surreal absurdity, but perhaps the author is reaching out to new readers. Or, like Bill Clinton, a fan of Mosley's early work, perhaps he's doing something audacious because he can.

The review is here.