A Modern 9 and 1/2 Weeks? Exploits by Poppet

There’s a scene at the end of Nine and a Half Weeks where Mickey Rourke throws 100 dollars bills on the floor and asks Kim Basinger to crawl on the floor picking them up. It is too much for Kim. Being humiliated for the last time, she leaves as Mickey does something he hasn’t done the entire movie – he tries to be intimate. But as he gives these personal details of his life, it’s too late as she walks out forever.


Exploits is similar to Nine and a Half Weeks. Besides both being sexy, the Stephanie character is constantly humiliated by Gary. As I read it, I kept waiting for the scene where she breaks, like Kim crawling on the floor picking up 100 dollar bills. It happens. And then it happens again. But even after Stephanie breaks up with Gary, he still manages to hurt and humiliate her again and again.

I’m reminded of the time I went out a few times with a sexy woman. She ended up standing me up not once, not twice, but three times before I got the hint. She went on to become a soap opera actress. But why didn’t I get the hint after being stood up once? Good looks go a long way and in Exploits, Gary is so hot that Stephanie is willing to forgive him over and over again. I found myself being lulled into her thoughts as I started to wonder if Gary would change. But Gary never breaks down like Mickey and tells Stephanie his inter-most secrets. No, that comes from others making it hurt all the same.

The real strength of this book is the tone that Poppet sets. We really get into the mind of Stephanie. We feel what she feels. Every line resonates with someone of her age from the slang to her ideas. And the title is perfect as a double entendre.