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Sordid Truths: Selling My Innocence for a Taste of Stardom
Sordid Truths chronicles the author’s ascent from being just another broke college boy who dabbled with the idea that he could sell his young body for hard cash, to becoming the internationally renowned adult film superstar. After finishing just one year of his degree, Aiden Shaw was twenty-one and easily lured away from study by the heady mix of sex and money in London. Within a short time on the scene, he was something of a celebrity in his field, having been introduced to wealthy, weird, and wonderful eccentrics and famous—and famously closeted—eurotrash personalities and the celebrated elite. However, working as a prostitute turned minor league once gay adult film legend Chi Chi La Rue took Polaroids of the naked and aroused Shaw and launched his career. The rest is history, as is documented in more than fifty films that won him numerous honors. The author of the best-selling memoir My Undoing and two novels, Aiden Shaw divides his time between New York and London, England.
233 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2009
4 people are currently reading
176 people want to read
About the author
Aiden Shaw
12 books18 followersA British author, musician, model and former gay porn star.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
March 10, 2015
This man infuriates me and interests me. The dichotomy may seem confusing but Mr Shaw does write a biography that is of interest. His tales of sex, drugs, parties and porn are curious to me as he did what seems like a fuck-load of them and I've always been interested in the seedier side of life without wanting to take part.
But this man, this Mr. Shaw, is so quick to judge others and not himself that it's infuriating to read some passages and not want to throw the book. As with his first biography, Shaw does little to reflect on his conscious to try and understand why he does whatever it is he does. It either lingers for one sentence before moving on or clumps a few positive affirmations at the end to give the reader any kind of insight to who he really is.
Therefore, most of it is just surface, superficial day by day dribble. I got tired listening to him fuck someone or go to another party, or take some more drugs. I wanted to know why he was doing it, what made him feel like this was the life of experience for him. Unfortunately...I got nothing. And I was left questioning what was the point of reading it? What was actually all about?
But this man, this Mr. Shaw, is so quick to judge others and not himself that it's infuriating to read some passages and not want to throw the book. As with his first biography, Shaw does little to reflect on his conscious to try and understand why he does whatever it is he does. It either lingers for one sentence before moving on or clumps a few positive affirmations at the end to give the reader any kind of insight to who he really is.
Therefore, most of it is just surface, superficial day by day dribble. I got tired listening to him fuck someone or go to another party, or take some more drugs. I wanted to know why he was doing it, what made him feel like this was the life of experience for him. Unfortunately...I got nothing. And I was left questioning what was the point of reading it? What was actually all about?
November 17, 2009
Found this in a "take a book/leave a book" shelf at my favorite coffee store. Grabbed it more out of curiosity than thinking it would be a good book. However, I have to say it was very interesting.
A brutal, yet tender look in the gay population of London during the 80s, and on the subject of gay prostitution and how prevalent it can be.
People who are offended by the idea of gay sex should definitely avoid the book, as sexual acts are described in detail over and over again. However for those who want a look inside a gay man's mind, and are willing to accept love in all of its forms will be intrigued and possibly pleasantly surprised by this extremely honest book.
A brutal, yet tender look in the gay population of London during the 80s, and on the subject of gay prostitution and how prevalent it can be.
People who are offended by the idea of gay sex should definitely avoid the book, as sexual acts are described in detail over and over again. However for those who want a look inside a gay man's mind, and are willing to accept love in all of its forms will be intrigued and possibly pleasantly surprised by this extremely honest book.
January 23, 2010
this book was fascinating.
i always wondered what it was like to lead the life of a superhot porn star with a big dick that did nothing but prostitute himself and do drugs.
and weirdly enough, the book is spectacularly written by the porn star himself.
i think that the book gives insight to the lonely, empty life of someone who has it all. a world that i always wanted to know about. at times i tried to identify, but it was impossible. it was neat to empathize with such fluff . . . although i'm not sure that i could ever truly GET it.
i always wondered what it was like to lead the life of a superhot porn star with a big dick that did nothing but prostitute himself and do drugs.
and weirdly enough, the book is spectacularly written by the porn star himself.
i think that the book gives insight to the lonely, empty life of someone who has it all. a world that i always wanted to know about. at times i tried to identify, but it was impossible. it was neat to empathize with such fluff . . . although i'm not sure that i could ever truly GET it.
May 2, 2010
This is the third or fourth biography/autobiography I've read about gay porn stars, and it's my least favorite, mainly because of the writing style, which is overly personal for my taste, especially considering it didn't really reveal much of substance about the author. I've not read the first of Mr. Shaw's autobiographies, nor any of his fiction, although I have seen a few of his performances on video that I liked well enough. : )
October 22, 2013
I thought this was going more into detail of the rise of Aiden Shaw. The book really focuses on a little portion of his "massage boy" days and the people he hung out with. Most of the book I felt was a lot of fluff and meaningless chatter and even the sex wasn't that descriptive. I still will read the other book I own from him (My Undoing and Brutal).
April 1, 2018
Sexy and provocative. I read half of this on a three-hour plane flight. It took a year to finish the other half. I fell in love with Aiden's voice and perspective, but the narrative was a tad repetitive to handle in long sittings. Thankfully I'm into sex, drugs, and books, so I had a great time.
October 24, 2024
The good news is this is a better book than Shaw's first memoir "My Undoing," but it retains his relentless bragging about sexual conquests and drug addictions while ridiculously waxing philosophic about life. The Brit thinks himself to be a profound writer and a keen psychological observer of life, when in truth he's just an undereducated slutty male prostitute that chooses the easy (and illegal) way of making money and getting high.
Portions of the book are laughably absurd as Shaw tries to sound profound with the "truths" he learns from banging dozens of men, giving fake massages, and "performing" in rooms where he gets paid to be a sexual tease. He has zero sense of right and wrong, even twisting his righteousness to say that illegal sexual activities should be taught to schoolchildren.
He doesn't see having sex with strangers as being immoral, but when he runs into older gentlemen who just want to admire his body without physical contact the author admits that "Getting paid for doing nothing felt somewhat immoral." Okay--so paid sex with multiple strangers a day is good, getting paid for not having sex is "immoral?" Obviously this guy is out of his mind, but years of daily drug abuse can do that to delusional writers.
He thinks society is prudish and doing a disservice by not introducing children to sex, adding, "I'd even go so far as to suggest that being a prostitute should be included in all school curricula...I know that wouldn't be popular with some parents but other parents might approve, as they'd benefit from enjoying their neighbors' sons and daughters." Huh? Did he really write that? Yes, he does endorse underage sex between neighbors and children, admitting that as an adult he bedded boys that could have been 14 or younger.
He traces this rebellious need to set the captive frees back to his childhood Catholic religious training. Okay, we get it, Aiden Shaw hates religion but wants to be godlike in how he makes others feel good and get admiration from his body worshippers. But the man is so shallow and thoughtless, never seeming to care about the damage he is doing to others in having unprotected sex or dousing himself in drugs. He can't be taken seriously.
Truths? Not many. Sordid? Sadly on every page.
Portions of the book are laughably absurd as Shaw tries to sound profound with the "truths" he learns from banging dozens of men, giving fake massages, and "performing" in rooms where he gets paid to be a sexual tease. He has zero sense of right and wrong, even twisting his righteousness to say that illegal sexual activities should be taught to schoolchildren.
He doesn't see having sex with strangers as being immoral, but when he runs into older gentlemen who just want to admire his body without physical contact the author admits that "Getting paid for doing nothing felt somewhat immoral." Okay--so paid sex with multiple strangers a day is good, getting paid for not having sex is "immoral?" Obviously this guy is out of his mind, but years of daily drug abuse can do that to delusional writers.
He thinks society is prudish and doing a disservice by not introducing children to sex, adding, "I'd even go so far as to suggest that being a prostitute should be included in all school curricula...I know that wouldn't be popular with some parents but other parents might approve, as they'd benefit from enjoying their neighbors' sons and daughters." Huh? Did he really write that? Yes, he does endorse underage sex between neighbors and children, admitting that as an adult he bedded boys that could have been 14 or younger.
He traces this rebellious need to set the captive frees back to his childhood Catholic religious training. Okay, we get it, Aiden Shaw hates religion but wants to be godlike in how he makes others feel good and get admiration from his body worshippers. But the man is so shallow and thoughtless, never seeming to care about the damage he is doing to others in having unprotected sex or dousing himself in drugs. He can't be taken seriously.
Truths? Not many. Sordid? Sadly on every page.
March 2, 2022
I honestly don’t know that I’ve ever disliked a book so much. I forced myself to finish it in hopes it would improve. It didn’t. The title has little to nothing to do with what is actually in the book. I could go on and on about how scattered, awkward, and at times downright pointless this book is…but I’ll just say it is great that Mr. Shaw repeats how unashamed he is because I would be mortified to release such meandering, unflattering mess of a book.
October 24, 2022
My favorite quote from this book, "I never want a job where I'd be ashamed of my life". This book put so much into perspective for me and honestly I'm very happy to have read it. How he talks about masculinity is interesting as well.
June 3, 2016
Aiden Shaw takes you through not only the formative years of his adult life but the steps and stages he went through as he was becoming a porn star. In this unabashed take on the lives of a sex worker in London, you come to realize that while there is quite a bit of "Sordid" behavior going on, there is still a human being underneath it all.
January 25, 2010
As I expected (and was in the mood for), this is a really tawdry, interesting memoir. Graphic sex, interesting people and surprisingly well written.
August 5, 2011
This was a really interesting book. Shaw makes no apologies for the life he's lived and doesn't blame anything on anyone else. He takes responsibility for his life.
March 13, 2012
Seriously. You will not be able to put this down. It is incomparable to anything else I have ever read. The worlds flow on the page like a river running downhill.
November 18, 2013
An interesting if not self indulgent read
March 15, 2015
An interesting read, but I'm not sure you'd really want to know the author in real life.
September 7, 2016
Gay sex, drugs. Rinse, repeat. I love Aiden but I find the title misleading--when exactly did he sell his innocence?..seems like there was very little innocence all along.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews