I hate to say this -- and I've certainly not seen the television series -- but as I was reading the Belle du Jour blog a few years ago, I got the very distinct feeling that I was reading something mostly dreamed up by a professional writer. It was far too polished, too glossy to have been the product of a common working girl. That's not to say that someone who has an education or even a great deal of talent can't find themselves in that line of work (hey, we do compare whoring to writing for money after all!), but the prose had a false -- almost literary -- ring to it. While I could certainly be wrong, I've been a professional writer for nearly 20 years, and I feel I'm a pretty good judge of that.

So, when this review says that the series felt too unreal in places, that pretty much lines up with my impression of the blog itself. Belle is a very talented writer. I really enjoyed her turn of phrase and felt her writing style was amazing. But whether she's truly a jaded professional girl is still a question for many.