Aqua Erotica
- edited by Mary Anne Mohanraj
$14.95
ISBN 0609806564
available through
Amazon
Reviewed by Bill Noble
(8/30/00)
Listen up -- this is the best
collection of erotica in the last three years. Never mind that it has a cover
photo that'll make you melt. Never mind that it's completely waterproof.
Never mind that its authors range from major literary figures (Louise
Erdrich) to the kinkiest denizens of San Francisco (Carol Queen and Simon
Sheppard). This is hot.
Waterproof? Yup. Paper, ink, and binding are completely impervious to
water. A friend suggested that stores should promote these books by throwing
them in an aquarium and giving customers fishing poles. So turn on that
bathroom faucet, prop your legs up good and high, and enjoy! You could read
this book in scuba gear.
Whaddaya mean, hot? I mean eighteen different flavors of engrossing,
extremely original turn-ons. "Gliuccioni and the River God," by Heather
Corinna, is noir erotica on a scaffolding of Greek mythology. Daniel
James Cabrillo's "New House" is a painful, deliberate tease culminating in
cardiac-busting sex. Thomas Roche's "Watercolor" might just set a new
standard for lesbian writers. Carol Queen, in "Hot Springs," a personal favorite, does the same for male writers of whatever orientation.
Here's a passage from "Hot Springs:"
She moaned when I entered her, slowly, thrusting deeply in, maintaining the
low song until I began to withdraw, resuming it when I pushed in again. She
wrapped her legs around my waist, arching up to meet me, wanting to be
filled. She reached behind her head to grasp my wrists, leaned up to kiss me,
and the look she gave me was as articulate as any words: Fuck me.
You talking porn here? The book also has gems like Louise Erdrich's "Naked
Woman Playing Chopin" and Mary Anne Mohanraj's "Seven Cups of Water.' You
won't find a single dirty word in either of these stories. Instead you'll
bathe in exquisitely-tuned erotic tension, rich storytelling and compelling
characters. Here's the Hindu woman who narrates "Seven Cups" telling us about
her midnight encounter with a new bride:
My eyes were stinging, but I knew she was right. Each night we'd gone
further, each night we'd taken more risks. If we kept this up, we would be
caught, and if she wouldn't leave with me . . . then it was this or nothing.
I finally nodded agreement. Just tonight.
Barry Yorgrau spins an exotic tale in "Minarets."
I gulp in disbelief. Before me lies a jumbled lost-and-found of culprit male
private anatomies, like a harvest of wrinkled mollusks: some very
pale-haired, some dark-spun and tangled, all of them unmoored from their
natural habitats. The old dame watches me, arms folded under her shawl, as I
swallow and blink and poke about gingerly to find what's mine.
Wait a minute. Your boss edited this book! It's true. Mary Anne is Clean
Sheets' Editor-in-Chief. About a third of the writers are Clean Sheets
authors. And I'm one of the fiction editors; I got to watch the months of
struggle as this book was whipped into shape. You'll have to judge my
objectivity for yourself. Would it help to tell you that I submitted a story
that didn't get included?
"You really think I'd like it?" Draw a warm bath -- for as many people as you
like. Slip into the water and immerse yourself in a few stories. Remember,
you can get waterproof vibrators now, and silicon lubes that work
magnificently -- for hours -- under water. If you disagree with my assessment, my
email address is right below, in my bio. But I bet you'll be too distracted to write.
©2000 by Bill Noble
Reader
Comments
Bill Noble, naturalist, activist, poet, writer and reluctantly aging rake, is stranded dizzily among the hormone-flushed inhabitants of CleanSheets. He
enjoys mixing lascivious poems and too-proper audiences; he's never met a
fantasy he wouldn't take on a hike. Susie Bright has clutched him to her
bosom in Best American Erotica, and he used to eat dinner with Robert
Oppenheimer. His book of poetry won the 1999 National Looking Glass Award. He
accepts titillating words, astute criticism and VISA at noblebill@aol.com.
|
