MotherReader

There comes a point in children’s lives when they know the Tooth Fairy doesn’t exist, but they don’t really want to know it. They could just ask their parents outright (“Is the Tooth Fairy real?”), but instead they’ll beat around the bush (“Why do you think she wants my ugly molars?”).

I know that sex scandals happen in Washington, D.C. I read the paper (or I see the headlines as I flip through to read Doonesbury). I hear the stories.

But I never heard the story told quite like this.

I read The Washingtonienne.

I swear, it wasn’t intentional. I used the book at work to keep a closet door from locking. Then I saw the title, and thought maybe I should read it to be in the know.

I didn’t realize that I didn’t want to be in the know.

It is billed as fiction, but you know it’s mostly real, which makes for a strange reading experience. It could be just a regular trashy novel, but it kinda happened. Sex for money, sex for jobs, even sex for drinks. I was a little shocked, and I don’t shock easily.

I went to the Internet to find out more about the story, which I didn’t pay much attention to when it came out. What I found was a link to an archive of the original blog, which only covers a couple of weeks. That I did not know. Now Jessica Cutler has a new blog based on her book and notoriety. Hope that works out for her.

The paperback comes out in June, and according to Amazon, most people who buy this book next go on to buy Bitter is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office. I just wanted to throw that out there because the title made me laugh. I may give that book a try also, as long as I don’t have to pay for it.

Maybe the Tooth Fairy will leave it under my pillow.