Out of Character

By Vanessa Craft

Journalist Emma Gordon has always taken the safe road. Her career is steady but unremarkable, and her personal life is haunted by her mother's abandonment. Struggling to live up to the expectations of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1554700493
• ISBN13: 9781554700493
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Key Porter Books
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 0.53 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Metamorphis story with a kick

Out of Character's strength lies in its difference to other transformation stories - where the geeky girl will metamorphosis into a diva with the man/job/life of her dreams in the end. Instead debut writer Vanessa Craft has developed a lead female character whose life isn't fixed by straightening her hair and losing her glasses. When the story opens, Emma Gordon's trying to establish her fledging journalist career at weekly magazine Oxygen, she loves reading Jane Austen, is too shy to start up a conversation with a cute guy who works at the local bookstore, and she's dominated by her highly entertaining banker father Jack - the most resonant character of the book. But that all changes when Emma volunteers for an assignment working undercover at one of London's top gentlemen's clubs. On her way to self-discovery, she becomes entranced and addicted to her new femme fatale persona that's unraveling on stage at the club. Cue titillating details of life inside a high-end gentleman's club that make for page-turning reading: the bitchy dancers, their pole tricks, the money, and the men who visit them: exposed as weak, child-like, power-hungry souls. Emma's new life doesn't lead her to the usual checklist of bow-tied happy endings, but a curious plot twist and a dark revelation that shakes the foundations of this sharply-written novel.

Page-Turner Alert!!

Really enjoyed this book. From the first page I was immediately drawn into the lives of the vivid characters that the author impressively molds throughout. The character development and writing are fantastic. So many times throughout the book I couldn't wait to see what was going to happen. The club scenes are so fascinating and vibrant, the realness of which is a great credit to the author. But its really the relationship between Emma and her father, Jack, that kept me entralled throughout .. many of which are so real it left me cringing for them both. Two questions for the author: Where's the follow-up? and When is the movie coming out?! Loved it ... pick it up.

london glamour

A fun, quick-witted read set in London, UK - the home of a world few of us know nothing about: gentlemen's clubs. Celebrities and high powered men frequent these places, and when the bookish Emma heads in on an undercover assignment, she has no idea what she's getting herself into. Craft doesn't shy away from big themes, but she doesn't heavy hand any judgements or conclusions either. A fascinating exploration of the head games between women and men, especially when money is involved, and also an interesting look at family life and the pivotal father/daughter relationship between Emma and Jack. A great summer book.

Sex, glamour and power, oh my!

"Out of Character" is an impressive debut endeavor for Vanessa Craft. While she explores complex themes like abandonment and power she draws you in with sex and glamour. This is the perfect novel for anyone who has ever dreamed of living a life they aren't quite brave enough to try on for size. Craft tells a riveting and complex tale laden with what can only be labeled as truth. The truth about how we see ourselves, how others see us and how complex those relationships can be. Once you start you won't be able to put it down.