Wednesday, June 15, 2011

REVIEW: Confessions of a Transvestite Prostitute by Chris Burrows

Although I've chatted with Chris many times, and feel as if we've gotten to know each other well, I still had no idea what to expect of Confessions of a Transvestite Prostitute. After all, Chris is just the narrator here . . . the go-between, if you will, responsible for bringing us Samantha's amazing story.

As stories go, there is definitely a lot of fantasy and fetish here, so much so that a casual reader could be forgiven for wondering how much of it is real. However, the more you read, the more you realise why that is - Samantha, unlike many of us, seized upon her fantasies early on, not only accepting them, but embracing them. Her story reads like a fantasy because it is one - it's a fantasy she has brought to life, and that is something truly remarkable.
The early chapters, dealing with Sam's first adventures with crossdressing, are absolutely perfect. Perhaps it's because Samantha is telling her (his) own story, but that past comes across as something natural and beautiful. You can't help but smile with shared pleasure at Sam discovers the girl within, and chuckle softly (almost wistfully) as the simple pleasure of dressing triggers his first adolescent orgasm. The story of his first sexual experience with another boy is definitely a nervous read, wondering if he'll come through it okay, but all of the awkwardness and embarrassment eventually gives way to pure delight. A few years later, the story of his most spectacular public outing, guided by a group of college girls who decide to enter him in a transsexual beauty contest, is a definite highlight!
 
Samantha's story is humorous, exciting, adventurous, and absolutely erotic. She comes across as such a sweet, sexy young woman that you really feel as if her friends and clients are the lucky ones. Whether she is entertaining a crossdresser and his wife, a fetishistic sissy, hot men, other transsexual prostitutes, or a charming lesbian couple, the stories are always as much about those she loves as they are about what she loves. There's definitely a strong sense of selflessness beneath her anything-goes, sexual exhibitionist exterior, and it serves her well in ultimately establishing her own business.
 
What is perhaps most remarkable about Samantha's story is what it reveals to the reader about the customs, prejudices, and attitudes of Asian society. If the fact of her living out her fantasies seems too good to be true, it's likely because you are (like myself) a North America reader looking in on her world from the outside. There is such a cultural and religious stigma associated with transcending gender in the West that the simple concept of public acceptance is hard to grasp. The company I work for has several offices overseas, and to never ceases to amaze (and delight me) to hear just how common and unremarkable transgendered souls can be, even in the workplace.
 
In the end, Samantha's story is a great one, and Chris does an amazing job of not only bringing it to us, but of packaging it so well. I absolutely loved it, and should I ever get the chance to do some travelling, I'd love to pop in and pay Samantha a visit, even if it's just to chat over coffee. In the meantime, I can't wait to give another of Chris' books a read!

3 comments:

  1. Yes, I agree, Samantha's story is a great one. I reviewed the book in April for Bibrary Bookslut and found it as compelling and mesmerizing as Sally Sapphire did. The girl certainly has a captivating story to relate. I suggest all readers hit the appropriate buttons on their computers and get Confessions of a Transvestite Prostitute by Chris Burrows. You won't be disappointed, that's for sure.

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  2. Forgive my ignorance here, but is this fiction or a true told to by book? or memoir?

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  3. Fair question, Mardel - it is a true story, as told to Chris, by Samantha herself.

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