Da Capo Press sent me The Modern Kama Sutra in a Box by Kamini and Kirk Thomas. On the whole I enjoyed it but there were some drawbacks. From the description:
“The Modern Kama Sutra in a Box contains an illustrated book, 30 exquisite full-color cards, and a handy card case.
Transform your lovemaking into erotic ecstasy with The Modern Kama Sutra-a unique interpretation of the most ancient, renowned, and explicit guide to sexual pleasure ever written.
With stunning photographs and detailed instructions, each card describes an exciting position, from “Splitting the Bamboo” to “The Dominant Goddess.” The accompanying book explores ways to bring new sensuality and eroticism to your lovemaking. This is a book and card deck you’ll want to keep by your bedside table and refer to again and again.
It’s the ultimate package for modern lovers.”
The cards all have the name of the position, a color photograph of the couple in said position and sometimes a short quote from the Kama Sutra on the front. Details of the position appear on the back, often with another photo. Each position has a quick Difficulty (rated 1 lotus flower for easy and 4 lotus flowers for hard) and Type (deep/fast/intense/slow/gentle) rating.
The authors do a good job with the card set. The descriptions are brief and to the point. This brevity makes them a convenient sex flash card. Flip through quick, find one that looks good, read the “sex recipe” and then go try it out. Informative and useful-I like it!
The accompanying book starts off with an introduction and short history of the Kama Sutra. Then it shifts focus and explores different aspects of lovemaking in short one or two page pieces. Black and white photos appear throughout the book.
The book isn’t a quick reference tool like the cards but is still worth a read. While nothing in it exactly blew my mind I still found it interesting. Sure I know that the hands are important “making them highly sensitive and very important tools in the arts of sex and seduction.” But do I think about that on a daily basis? Reading descriptions like “With the lightest touch our hands and fingers can convey a whole world of meaning, and often far better than words, there is no simpler expression of intimacy than interlocking fingers with your lover.” make me think of this book more as a meditation tool. By directing the readers attention to these concepts it encourages reexamination and appreciation which in turn deepens intimacy.
The cons? I don’t like the box or book color. It isn’t just pink-it’s PINK!!! I find the PINK!!! color too girly girl for my tastes. A dark red would have been much better.
I wasn’t overjoyed by the couples. Maybe other readers will find the models totally hot. But the guys were too clean cut for me. I like men with lots of hair and the models didn’t have much. It’s not that they were unattractive; they just didn’t turn me on. I feel the same way about the women pictured. They’re also not unattractive but I didn’t find them sexy. On one hand I wish they would have showed lots of different couples to diversify the pictures. Different ages, different ethnicities, different cultures, a clean cut couple on one page and a dreadlocked tattooed couple on the next-that sort of thing. On the other hand using the same models helped me understand the poses better. Since that’s the whole point of the pictures maybe consistent couples makes more sense.
Is this better than just reading the real Kama Sutra? Yes and no. This modern version is much more convenient in the ‘try a new position’ department. But there’s such a charm in the real Kama Sutra-maybe it’s the illustrations or the language. I get such a thrill reading the original because it shows our ancestors could be just as kinky as we are. While I don’t think the Thomas’ version could be a replacement I do think it would make a good companion to the original.
Posted by Vixen as Reviews at 11:41 PM CST