Soft Skull Press sent me two books to review. I just got-
A Woman Alone At Night by Tamara Faith Berger
“Mira, a young woman, gets caught up in her own sexual awakening which is dark and fast and demeaning. She meets an obsessive older guy named John who takes advantage of her willingness and steers her into amateur porn. When Mira meets Adi, a stripper who is older and wilder than her, Mira walks willingly into a harsh world of sex work where the girls don’t like her and the men are rough. It is on Adi’s turf that Mira enters into a strange relationship with Gio, a religious john who tests her at every step. Conflicted, Mira becomes a participant in her own degradation. As Mira’s cousin, Ezrah, tries to rescue her from “sin,” Mira goes deeper and deeper into “whoredom”, a state that she feels very connected to while growing conscious of its real and surreal danger.”
Wow! How about that back cover paragraph? The number of cliches about sex workers is disturbing. I’m trying to keep an open mind until I finish the book. However I’m only on p.17 and the prognosis doesn’t look good.
The Amputee’s Guide to Sex by Jillian Weise
“The Amputee’s Guide to Sex is an authentic exploration of disability and sexuality. Tired of seeing “cripples” appear as asexual characters in all forms of media, Weise took on a subject close to home: her own disability. This does not mean that these poems “happened” to Weise in real life. While based on the experience of an above-the-knee amputee, the poems have a life of their own.”
I’m not well versed in poetry so I’m hoping Sera will help me out with this one. It sounds like an intriguing book. It’s subject matter is one that doesn’t get much press so I’m guessing this will be an informative read.
Posted by Vixen as Reviews at 11:33 PM CDT