Wetlands - Charlotte Roche

'Wetlands', by German presenter Charlotte Roche, is a courageous and heavily speckled with humour delve into the extremes of the human body and sexuality. Often described as a novel that centres on the taboo, hardly any subject is censored as we follow the story of 18 year old Helen Memel as she recovers from a surprisingly disastrous shaving accident. While it is true that many critics slate 'Wetlands' for what they see as an immature exploration of the less glossy aspects of the human body, and shallow use of crudity, I feel there is a deeper message than pure shock value. The narrator of the story is Helen, who at a young age is afflicted with a serious ...  Read the complete review

Eighteen year old Helen Memel ends up in hospital after her attempt to shave between the cheeks of her buttocks goes wrong and she ends up in the proctology unit having her infected anus operated on. During the course of her hospitalisation Helen has time to reflect on her life, her family and more especially her body. She dreams that her hospitalisation will bring her divorced parents back together again and contrives to bring them face to face over her sick bed. Will Helen's plans work or will she go back to the same old life afterwards? "Wetlands" is written by German TV presenter Charlotte Roche and the book is an Amazon worldwide bestseller and ...  Read the complete review

I chose this book as someone with an interest in erotic fiction and a healthy imagination. Various reviews I had read in respectable publications had me thinking this would be really worthwhile and a big deal. I guess that any publicity is good publicity, as reading through my fellow reviewers' opinions on this page shows my opinion is one shared with many other disappointed and disgusted readers. The book is childish, reminding me of when we'd gather in the corners of the playground and try to shock eachother in fits of giggles over "naughty words" and "rude things." Its sole purpose is to shock, with incredibly graphic descriptions of ...  Read the complete review

Wetlands is the funniest book I've read for a long time. Don't read it if you're the tiniest bit shockable but if you want to be shaken out of this sanitised, cushion plumping world you'll love it. This book has been doing the rounds with my girlfriends (one even read Wetlands whilst taking her students on a trip to an art gallery but felt inclined to put a fake dust jacket on it) and we all found it totally hilariously revolting. Every time you think Charlotte has peeked in terms of stomach turning gore she succeeds in giving more. Personally I couldn't put this book down and I felt strangely attached to the young proganist and hygiene anarchist, Helen. ...  Read the complete review