Have You Seen Me?: A Novel

By Laura Denham

Laura Denham's first novel about a young woman's willful descent from part-time stripper, to self-employed prostitute, to low-rent S and M film star adroitly sidesteps the expectations inherent in sex-industry tell-alls, opting instead for an aesthetic closer to the edgy, skillfully composed narratives of Mary Gaitskill and Jennifer Belle. Juliet McKenna, the novel's protagonist, heads to San Francisco just after college, filled with a mix of restless audacity and vulnerability. Her peculiar disposition proves to be relatively harmless at first: topless dancing at the Cherry Tree. But she quickly succumbs to the lucrative possibilities offered by the more insidious elements of the business. Written in concise, thoughtful prose, Have You Seen Me? details Juliet's exploits with lonely hedonists and sex-crazed reprobates; from Mary, the speed snorting methadone nurse turned born-again environmentalist, to Monty, the bondage-enthusiast son of a Jesuit priest, Juliet sits comfortably amongst inhabitants of an odd world of sleaziness and aspiration. Yet, even as Juliet's corrupted endeavors bankrupt her spirit, the possibility for renewal remains. And while her eventual regeneration at a commune of radical environmentalists (whose terrorist activities are unbeknownst to her) provides for an entertaining twist in her story, Have You Seen Me? remains a deeply affecting novel about the uncertainty and loneliness of the human soul.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786710624
• ISBN13: 9780786710621
• Release Date: July 2002
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.8" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

A great little book

"Can you see me?" - with a title that may or may not be a nod to Laura's '60s cultural roots (Hendrix recorded a song of this title) the book explores San Fransisco's sex industry through a young and impressionable but determined and pragmatic woman. Her voyage through the human soul starts with dancing in a club and descends from there but the main character never looses her curiosity about human nature and she has an almost charitable tolerance for the weaknesses of men. The writing itself is passionate and colourful, with plenty of passages - I particularly liked a decription of cracks on a ceiling - for those who look for such things. For myself I was simply prepared to go wherever the main character was prepared to go and pulling for her despite of - or perhaps because of her occasional blooms of female anger. I couldn't describe this book as a feminist novel but it certainly is ah humanist novel - revelling in the seediness of human nature if not actually condoning it. Ultimately we are right there to a suprising conclusion and I recommend anybody interested in human stories to give it a go.

Psychological Games Filling Emptiness

The fluid yet scarce way Laura Denham uses words does everything to arrest you. What blows my mind is that she doesn't have to use the typical 'writers tricks.' She just tells her story and it's so arresting you can't read it without wanting to scratch your way out of the hell-hole she describes. Let me start out and say this book is not for the underage crowd. Our heroine, Juliet, is a prostitute. The first time she has sex her customer warns her "not to give strange men her phone number" (or something like that) and asks her if it was her first time. Turns out it was her second time ever. Yes, that's right- our character only knows "sex for money" and not "sex for sex," which adds a whole other dimension to terms like corruption. She does not try to pump herself up or use any boasting techniques. The complicated thing about the book is that you feel that Juliet just sort of accidentally got into this trade because she didn't know what else to do. Another thing that stuck out to me is that Juliet has hardly any friends in the book. One friend named Mary who she doesn't even contact that much. The plot consists wholely of Juliet riding around in taxis, stripping, sleeping with strange men, but always returning home where she is alone. She is a strong heroine though and that's what makes the book. I don't think most people could just start doing this sort of thing randomly and never "completely" lose their way. ALthough the "Godlessness" of her situation sort of gave me the chills. During the book you feel that there is this huge void you are slipping into and there's no point in resisting. Its as though it's a coming of age story where she never even had a chance to find her identity. And of course the perks of the job- namely money, and being forced to play risky psychological games to keep afloat. The main question of the story being "Why does Juliet need these psychological games to fill an emptiness?"

Good book, Good writing

I liked Have you Seen me, because I could relate to it. I also liked it because it took place in San Francisco, where I live. I thought the descriptions of a girl graduateing from college and moving on to become a stripper, porn actress, and then prostitute were very accurate. I think the book took a slight turn towards the end though when she tried to get away from everything. It was writeen well and easy to follow. I would recommend it for an afternoon read.

searing, evocative debut explores degradation, redemption

Bristling with frightening imagery and evoking both revulsion and admiration, Laura Denham's exceptional debut novel, "Have You Seen Me?" brings both depth and hard-earned wisdom to the coming-of-age genre. Her protagonist, by the time she has graduated from college, has had to endure not only sexual trauma (brought on after a cruel seduction by her father's best friend) but a childhood shorn of family coherence. Juliet has grown up in Santa Cruz, California, a haven for 1960s' flower children who seem to have no clue as to how to raise a child other than permit them to be "free." Juliet's freedom includes calling her father Tom instead of Dad, suffering through a horrendous bout of hepatitis during high school, and being initiated into sex with a man old enough to be her father. By the time she has graduated from college with a dual major of psychology and dance, Juliet's self-image, never strong, has withered. San Francisco, with its promise of anonymity, provides a near-perfect backdrop for her descent into emotional numbness, physical degradation, and existential isolation. First as a stripper and eventually as a self-employed prostitute, Juliet doesn't so much live as sleepwalk through life. Her self worth erodes so terribly that she identifies with the ruins of the Loma Prieta earthquake: "only things worth rebuilding were repaired. Things that were too shaky to survive were either torn down or simply left alone."To fill the void of a life without any close human contact, Juliet selects degrading masochism. Her job as a stripper brings her into contact with men whom she despises. The men who ogle her lithe, seemingly child-like body, are "self-centered, style-obsessed, rich spoiled children. I came to hate them...and I despised their divisive, computer-fixated culture." The customers would have "one hand on their persistently full, warm beer, and the other on their persistently full, warm crotch." Though Juliet begrudingly comes to assess the club dancers as "honest, clean, intelligent, friendly women," she eventually abandons dance and descends into pornography and prostitution.Lacking any model of social responsibility or interpersonal contact based on mutual respect or trust, Juliet thrashes about in an emotional wilderness. Only catastrophy catapults her into the possibility of human redemption, through life in a secluded commune near her childhood home. It is through the artistic integrity of her creator that Juliet's struggle for genuine self understanding and acceptance gains universal status. Laura Denham's portrait of a young woman tortured by demons -- some imposed by wrongdoers, others self-inflicted -- is extraordinary in its emotional scope and inspiring glimpses into a personality fractured by life.Ms. Denham's talents encompass much more than characterization and powerful narrative. The author's imagery sparkles throughout the novel. One character's eyes are "two polished dimes dotted in the middle with

Catcher in the Rye meets Hustler Magazine!

Very funny and disturbing. Northern Californian Urban Cowgirl chick drifts in to the sketchier margins of the San Francisco underground before one mishap after another has her heading back to the hills to a quasi commune in the Santa Cruz mountains.My only problems with the book are that the narrator, Juliet, seems too smart for the recklessness she exhibits. (And the plot slows a little in the 3rd quarter).That said, I still couldn't put it down. Flawed, but fascinating.