The Best American Erotica, Volume 11: The Devil in Her Eye

Susie Bright is Brilliant. Over the years, her anthologies have consistently engaged readers, compiling the best and brightest story-tellers.

Just a repeat of prior year’s stories, don’t buy if you have the previous years books.. wish they’d come out with new books!

Keeper.

There ought to be at least a few selections in here to please nearly everyone – along with some that only a select few will truly enjoy. I give credit to the the compiler that she included not only some well known authors but a few lesser knowns as well.

Call me a prude but some of the selections went beyond my “comfort zone”. I like pushing the boundaries (who wants the “same old, same old”?) but there were some selections that I just couldn’t relate to, including a story about an encounter with a transvestite. Not to my taste.

But that is really a minor quibble. All in all, there IS plenty of good erotica here, although much of it is NOT traditional. It reflects the gender bending and alternative sexuality of our times, crossing boundaries, etc.

If you’re open to that, this one is worth a look.

[…]

1. Every year, Susie Bright attempts to orchestrate an ensemble of stories that represent every taste, or almost every taste, but that’s an impossible feat, as demonstrated by reviews of pervious collections. Another thing to note is Susie solicits nominations for each year’s collection, so I hope reader/reviewers at Amazon will nominate selections for upcoming editions of BAE.

2. The job of a writer is to entertain readers while holding a mirror to the society he or she lives in-which can make a lot of people uncomfortable. Writers of erotica or writers whose work appears in erotica collections are no exception-or shouldn’t be. Erotica is fluid and multi-dimensional, like all literature, and the writers whose work appear in Best American Erotica 2006 offer the complexity of our human condition, sexuality included. BRAVO!

While every single story in this book is good, I have my favorites: “Mille,” “Under the House,” “Full House,” “Drunkie’s Surprise,” “Ukiyo,” “The Clay Man,” and “The Nasty Kind Always Are.”

The last mentioned, written by Steve Almond, dick-lit maestro that he is, made me gasp at the end. Almond created a story that manages to be social satire while also being downright sexy-and in this case, shocking. I was taken aback.

Sera Gamble’s “The Clay Man” is now one of my favorite short stories in the world. I first heard about The Golem watching X-Files. He came up again in graduate school. I intend to read Gamble’s story again and again to figure out how it works so well. Let me just say the premise is clever, the protagonist is intriguing, the relationship between the two sisters is complex, and the writing is really-really good. The overall implications of the story venture into deep, uncomfortable terrain.

“Ukiyo,” by Donna George Storey, is another well written story that is lush with eroticism and Japanese culture. What I loved best about this story was its ability to take me somewhere I’d never been and experience customs I knew nothing about-all through a writing professor protagonist.

I’m not sure where Susie Bright found Kweli Walker, but I’m grateful she did. Who knew “gumming” a man could make for such a fun and sexy read. The voice in Kweli’s story is bawdy and bold, and I loved the mentoring relationship that takes place between the protagonist and the stripper. Excellent stuff!

“Full House is another terrific read by a terrific writer. David Sedaris is always marvelous.

“Under the House” is another story that takes readers to dark and disturbing terrain. Its subject matter pushes the envelope and blurs the line between right and wrong, taboo/socially acceptable, and I dig ambiguity like this. The writing, again, is terrific. Actually “Under the House” is an excerpt from a novel, The Curse of the Inappropriate Man, by the writer, Lynn Freed, which I plan to get sooner than later.

Last but not least, “Mille” is another novel excerpt from Helen Walsh’s, Brass, and the excerpt reads as beautifully as a prose poem. I finished reading it then went back and read it again right away.

In fact, I’ve no doubt I’ll read several of the stories in Best American Erotica 2006 again, not only for the sheer enjoyment but to learn something as well.
Peace.

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