“Written by Frankie Miren, member of the English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) and long-time lobbyist for full decriminalization of the sex trade, The Service is about prostitution. There are moments of surprising candour when its ghastly reality is stripped bare.

Freya, one of the three protagonists, is in Amsterdam on a double booking with Brian, when Jade, her booking partner loses it in a restaurant:

“Jade is on her feet. She grabs the back of the chair to steady herself. ‘You pay us to overcome our physical, bodily disgust for you,’ she says. She’s loud and the people at the nearest tables are gaping at them. Freya is gripping her knife and fork. She wants to put them down, but can’t seem to move her hands. Her heartbeat is in her throat and temples. She should say something, calm Jade down, diffuse the situation, but her limbs are no longer under her control.

‘You’re delusional,’ Jade yells. Her face is gleaming, surrounded by flares of red-hot energy. ‘You entitled piece of shit.’” [Page 160]

The disgusting Brian freezes and comes out in pink blotches. Jade storms out of the restaurant wobbling on her red stilettos and shouting, “Every orgasm was fake.”

Freya is left trying to keep the peace. She wants to be paid. When she finally gets home, she ruminates on whether they actually do have a responsibility to explain the reality to punters like Brian – to tell them that she’s often on the point of tears when she has sex with them. She doesn’t think Brian is evil, but she’s sure he wouldn’t want to fuck her if he knew what she was really thinking and feeling. She quickly resorts to a pill, probably Xanax, Valium, or Pregabalin, which she orders on the Internet – and further internal struggle is abandoned.”

Read more: https://nordicmodelnow.org/2021/07/16/the-lies-she-finds-come-easily-a-review-of-the-service-by-frankie-miren/