Wetlands

There are no taboos in Charlotte Roche’s book Wetlands. Everything’s allowed and the more disgusting it is the better. At least according to the main character Helen. I’m halfway through the book now and I find it fascinating, repulsive and absolutly brilliant.

Helen is in hospital after an anal surgery and while she’s recovering she leads us through her weird mind and memories. There are chapter long descriptions of her body and bodily fluids. She likes tasting and smelling everything that comes out of her body. She’s a regular at a brothel. She’s into avocado pits. She’s only 18.

At times Wetlands can be erotic but the detailed way that Helen describes everything makes it more disgusting and also funny.
I find the book liberating. A nice change from all the “dirty” minds of male characters. I bet a lot of people haven’t managed to finish this book. Sometimes in the middle of some of her toilet routine descriptions I look away in disgust. But I still continue reading. Wetlands is one of a kind and an absolutly hilarious read.

Read this article with Charlotte Roche in the Guardian.

This is a great quote from that article: “Men think they can be disgusting and sexual and stuff, and now I’ve shown them that women can do the same. When I walk into a pub now, and I see men saying, ‘Look, that’s Charlotte Roche’, it’s as if I’ve stolen something from them. I like that feeling.”

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