Fishnet

Kirsten Innes

This is a disturbing book, mainly because the subject - prostitution - leaves people very uncomfortable, especially men. It is also a revelatory book, written with understanding, compassion and sense. Fiona, through searching for her sister, is led into the world of sex workers, and comes to understand the workings of the industry. It feels right. It challenges perceptions. It makes you think. And the story is gripping.

Extract

In all that time, the fifteen consecutive years we spent breathing the same stale air of the same house, I don't remember once having shown her how to put on makeup or insert a tampon. I was an inadequate big sister, a geeky. gawky, spotty thing, who didn't speak and didn't ever help her out, not that she needed it. Ever. Rona always had the skill of mixing with people, but coming out whole and still herself. If I was ready to tell her the secrets of our flesh she'd have heard them, and heard them some years before I had ever known. I hadn't ever fulfilled a need, so she had grown up not to need me. Until now.

Parallels