Average customer rating:
- Get the earlier edition, if you can find it
- The Exceptional Mrs. Parker lives on!
- You Were Perfectly Fine
- If just for the fabulous cover
- Fantastic!
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The Portable Dorothy Parker (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
Dorothy Parker
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Dorothy Parker: What Fresh Hell Is This?
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Not Much Fun: The Lost Poems of Dorothy Parker
ASIN: 0143039539 |
Book Description
The second revision in sixty years, this sublime collection ranges over the verse, stories, essays, and journalism of one of the twentieth century's most quotable authors.
Customer Reviews:
Get the earlier edition, if you can find it.......2007-08-16
I'm one of those who, like some other reviewers, has worn out at least three copies of the earlier edition and found this one to be the only new one available. It's not as good as the earlier one.
Although some of the new materials are welcome, many of the insightful and very funny reviews from the last third of the book are missing in this version. What happened to the review of Sinclair Lewis's _The Man Who Knew Coolidge_, "Mr. Lewis Lays It on with a Trowel," which gives a portrait of the age as well as an accurate, if savage, picture of the book? Or the hilarious review of Lou Tellegen's _Women Have Been Kind_? ("Mr. Tellegen is one who kisses, among other things, and tells.")
Those aren't reviews of "dusty tomes," as one reviewer put it, but significant articles for those interested in Parker or twentieth-century literature.
In short, some of the strongest material has been deleted. Those who want to see the real genius of Parker's work need to purchase the earlier edition, too.
[Edited to correct an error: The statement attributed to Tellegen above, which I'd included from memory, is actually from "An American Du Barry," a review of Warren G. Harding's mistress Nan Britton's account of her affair with Harding.
From the review: "The book bears the subtitle _Revealing the Love-Secret of President Harding_, which is but a mild statement. For when Miss Britton gets around to revealing, Lord, how she does reveal. She is one who kisses, among other things, and tells. An attempt was made to suppress the book. The author states, in one of her prefaces, that 'six burly policemen' (on the day that that man bites that dog, another front-age item is going to concern a policeman who is not burly) 'and John S. Sumner, agent for the Society for the Suppression of Vice, armed with a 'Warrant of Search and Seizure,' entered the printing plant where the making of the book was in process. They seized and carried off the plates and printed sheets.' 'Lady,' you want to say to the author, 'those weren't policemen; they were critics of literature dressed up.'"
This review isn't in the new edition, either.]
The Exceptional Mrs. Parker lives on!.......2006-11-07
I'm delighted that Mrs. Parker is still in print. I have the old Viking Portable (a gift from a friend some years back), and needed to acquire a copy for a friend who had not read Dorothy Parker's works before. I may need to purchase this edition for myself; I read part of the introduction, which is updated from the earlier edition. The more time goes by, the more appreciation there appears to be for this amazing woman's intelligence and wit. The ragged page edges are somewhat annoying, especially for a book like this that I, at least, like to thumb through, but I've seen this treatment in other books so it appears to be the latest fad in publishing circles. I hope they get over it soon. My favorite poems are Resume, Frustration, and Inventory. The short story The Telephone is a timeless testament to impatience. I have a visit with Mrs. Parker several times a year, just randomly flipping through the book to read stories, poems, and her reviews.
You Were Perfectly Fine.......2006-11-04
This short story was read aloud at a recent dinner party, and it was hilarious. I haven't read many of the other stories, but I highly recommend it for this story alone.
If just for the fabulous cover.......2006-08-19
Why another Portable Dorothy Parker?
If just for the fabulous cover. The artwork captures the smirky dark side of Parker. The rear cover is reminiscent of mid-twentieth century Sunday funny papers, yet filled with sardonic Parker quotations.
Who but Marion Meade, authoress of the standard biography of Mrs. Parker, holds the credibility to introduce a new portable Dottie. Meade captures the unmistakable genius of Parker's noir talent and relates, using Parker's own words, her proudest moment -- it had nothing to do with writing! The mini biography of Dottie's adventures, successes, and infamous life of unquiet desperation pulls you in --you'll want to read Meade's companion tome, What Fresh Hell Is This?
Meade also defines --for a new generation of readers not familiar with the humor of Benchley, the dramas of Kaufman, and the sarcasm of Woolcott-- the celebrated Algonquin Round Table and their influence on popular culture.
[Note this review was written by my wife, Mary, who asked me to post it for her.]
David Trumbull
Robert Benchley Society
Fantastic!.......2006-07-23
Before I bought this book, I admit that I (like most people) knew of Dorothy Parker only through her pithy one-liners and wisecracks (i.e. "men don't make passes at girls who wear glasses", or commenting that a performance of Katherine Hepburn "runs the gamut of emotions from A to B"). However, this wonderful compendium shows a much more versatile, prolific Dorothy Parker - she truly is much more than the bitter joker most people think.
Although her short stories (including the oft-anthologized 'Big Blonde', as well as lesser-known gems such as 'Too Bad') formed the main part of the original 'Portable Dorothy Parker', this newly revised version includes those stories but also a wide variety of dramatic and literary criticisms (including a very enjoyable, incisive review of a performance of Oscar Wilde's play 'An Ideal Husband'), poetry, and letters. I found the letters to be especially fascinating - even when Parker was writing to her family and closest friends, she was still remarkably witty and erudite.
In addition to the content by Parker herself, I thoroughly enjoyed the introduction by Marion Meade, the author of the Dorothy Parker biography "Dorothy Parker: What Fresh Hell Is This?" Although I have not read the previous edition of 'The Portable Dorothy Parker', I have heard that the introduction was very unpleasant because the writer seemed to not like Ms. Parker. Luckily, that is certainly not the case with Marion Meade's introduction - she obviously greatly respects Ms. Parker's body of work, and the introduction (which is really a 15-page biographical sketch of Parker) gives an positive impression of Ms. Parker overall, without glossing over the more unsavoury aspects of her life (such as her alcohol and sedative addictions).
One inclusion in this version of the 'Portable' which I found especially intriguing as a transcript of an interview Dorothy Parker did with 'The Paris Review' in 1956. It really gives a sense of Ms. Parker's personality, and shows her views on a number of topics (including her own description of the famed 'Algonquin Round Table', of which she was a member).
Lastly, the cover art for this version of the 'Portable' is absolutely fantastic. The cover is fanciful withough being needlessly silly, and the inner flaps and the back cover use whimsically retro line-drawings to illustrate, among other things, the major happenings in Dorothy Parker's life. The illustrator (Seth) has really done a great job making sure the work of Ms. Parker doesn't look too stodgy to the casual eye.
I urge everyone to pick up a copy of this book, and discover the genius of Dorothy Parker for themselves - my words simply cannot do it justice.
Amazon.com
Before there was Fran Leibowitz, there was Dorothy Parker. Before there was practically anyone, there was Dorothy Parker. When it comes to expressing the pleasure and pain of being just a touch too smart to be happy, she's winner and still champion after all these years. Along with Robert Benchley, Alexander Woollcott, and the rest of the Algonquin Round Table, she dominated American pop lit in the '20s and '30s; like Ginger Rogers, she did it all backwards. Parker's held up well--maybe the best of all of them.
This book is essential for any Parker fan, and an excellent way for new readers to make her acquaintance. It reprints her finest short stories and poems, some later articles, and all of her excellent "Constant Reader" book reviews from the Depression-era glory days of the New Yorker. The poetry, always light, has become brittle, sorry to say. But you've only to pick any story to be reminded that no middle-distance writer was better than Parker at her best.
Customer Reviews:
Biting Wit, Clever Literary Style, Acid Tongue, And Pure Genius.......2006-03-16
Dorothy Parker was brilliant! Sure I'd have been afraid of her and that whip-sharp mind of hers that could unleash a rapier wit with seeming ease, but I love her stories, poems, and essays. This "portable" anthology of the great lady's writings is a perfect marriage of the printed word compacted into an accessible format. This is a book to sit back and fall into, as one slips into tales peopled with a cast of (surely Hell-bound) movers and shakers, all infused with the cool, trademarked Parker style. Recommended sans hesitation!
The Bible For Dorothy Parker Fans.......2006-01-12
This is the bible for Dorothy Parker lovers. "The Portable" contains Mrs. Parker's short stories, poems, book reviews and Broadway criticism. The book originally came out in 1944 - and has never gone out of print.
Most of Mrs. Parker's most famous writing is presented here. Her short stories and verse were chosen in 1944 and arranged by Parker herself. When the book came out again in 1973 the editors added some of her theater reviews from Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, along with selected book reviews she penned for The New Yorker and Esquire.
The only downside to this edition is the rotten introduction by the crusty Brendan Gill, who was a longtime staff member of The New Yorker and is not too kind to Mrs. Parker. I suggest skipping his intro entirely. For most Parker fans, this is the first collection they buy, and it is a good start. If you are going to own just one Parker book, this is it.
a classic favorite.......2004-12-20
This has been one of my "always by my side" books for several years now. The short stories are ironic and witty, the poetry is amazing. Of everything, I would probably say the best part of this collection is the poetry. Ms. Parker has a brilliant sense of humor and she reveals an essence of feminism one can relish for years to come.
Sardonic Wit, Whimsy and Heart.......2004-12-07
Lips that taste of tears, they say,
Are the best for kissing. ~Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker died the year I was born and yet she seems like a modern writer you'd like to meet and talk to for hours. While she lived a troubled life she is a fascinating study. While in France she became friends with Earnest Hemingway and soon thereafter published her first book of poetry, "Enough Rope." She writes about her friendship with Earnest in the Uncollected Articles section.
Of all her writing, her poems strike me as her true self. She reveals so much in her poetry and many times her feelings reach new levels of desperation. She doesn't seem to find as many beautiful moments as Anais Nin, but then again she manages to continue the struggle of life without taking her life in a river like Virginia Woolf.
The true irony of her life is that she dies of natural causes after spending a life embraced in a dream of death. When she wishes people were dead, it might be because she sees death as some beautiful way to escape reality.
The memorable short stories make extended points about human nature and page 48 is an especially good example of a page dripping heavily with sardonic wit. Where did all this angst come from? She is a woman living in a time where she cannot always speak her mind and she is deeply frustrated in many of her "internal dialogue" confessions.
When given the choice between creating and curing, she seems to create from a place of deep emotional pain. She seems to fall into similar patterns and actually seems to revel the idea of: "I wore my heart like a wet, red stain on the breast of a velvet gown."
Dorothy Parker's poems seem to be more of her desire to break free from the brutal revelation of life. She has a typical love-hate relationship with men and is an astute observer of cultural trends. I have a feeling she wrote many of her poems while she was in a manic state of some sort because she reveals so many of her feelings and comments so deeply on her life experience. The first few lines of "Wisdom," show her frustration.
This I say, and this I know:
Love has seen the last of me.
Love's a trodden lane to woe,
Love's a path to misery.
She seems to be having a bipolar diatribe during the story of the Telephone Call. Her mean streak can be a bit shocking at times, but she does love rain and has other sensitive qualities which seem to balance this more sarcastic and vindictive side of her personality.
Dorothy Parker wrote reviews under the title "The Constant Reader." There are quite a few reviews from The New Yorker. She reviews The Journal of Katherine Mansfield and We Have Always Lived in a Castle by Shirley Jackson. I enjoyed her conversational style and the way she thinks through her writing while she writes. It is as if you are observing the entire thought process. You can read her thoughts about Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband from Vanity Fair.
One of my friends reads me Hemingway and I read him Dorothy Parker poems. It is a friendship made in heaven. He also knows all about Dorothy Parker and the Algonquin Round Table and has lists of books for me to read. This book is my first Dorothy Parker experience and I found many poems that I loved and quotes that are definitely collectable. This is an enjoyable introduction to Dorothy Parker that may end up with many highlighted pages.
You may also enjoy reading: Touched with Fire by Kay Redfield Jamison
~TheRebeccaReview.com
Author of Moonbeam Moths
Very Biting & Very Funny.......2004-08-18
I most like her very short stories & this is a great collection. They are almost scenes more than stories. In many of her writings, definitely in my favorites ("But the One on the Right"- about sitting next to a dud at a dinner party, "The Sexes"- about a date getting off on the wrong foot, "Here We Are"- about nervous newlyweds), Parker takes people's silent assumptions, adds dialogue riddled with miscommunication, then has her characters completely overanalyze the situation. What's left is very biting, very funny and gives loads of evidence to the saying that `assuming makes an ass out of you and me'.
Average customer rating:
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Selected Readings from The Portable Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker
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The Portable Dorothy Parker (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
ASIN: 0786161876 |
Product Description
When it comes to expressing the pleasure and pain of being just a touch too smart to be happy, Dorothy Parker is still the champion, after all these years. Along with Robert Benchley, Alexander Woollcott, and the rest of the Algonquin Round Table, she dominated American popular literature in the 1920s and 1930s.
These unabridged selections of more than thirty short stories and poems is essential for any Parker fan and an excellent way for new readers to make the acquaintance of one of the twentieth century's most quotable authors, whose memorable lines include: "She runs the gamut of emotions from A to B," "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force," and "Men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses."
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Dorothy Parker, (The Viking portable library)
Dorothy Parker
Manufacturer: The Viking Press
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Dorothy Parker: What Fresh Hell Is This?
ASIN: B0007HSWLK |
Book Description
Full of literary star power and with absolutely nothing out of bounds, these steamy short stories pack a wallop for every sexual taste.
Susie Bright is the fearless boundary crosser of contemporary erotica, and The Best American Erotica 2005 features stories of unprecedented literary pedigree and a stunning breadth of imagination.
Pulitzer Prize-winner Jane Smiley details a beautiful erotic interlude in an otherwise sordid real estate deal; Mary Gaitskill celebrates the unexpected ardor of one middle-aged couple; Steve Almond reminisces about the best one-man/three-girl Ecstasy party ever; Nelson George recounts the erotic escapades that befall a young man who accompanies a celebrity athlete when he picks up a gaggle of girls; and Carol Queen explores the joys of making love with summer fruit. Readers will also thrill to the year's most stellar stories from every imaginable erotic genre.
The class of The Best American Erotica 2005 is changing the rules about writing about sex. It's no longer pulp fiction: it's must-read literature showcasing the best writing around, all packed into the year's sexiest anthology.
Download Description
" Full of literary star power and with absolutely nothing out of bounds, these steamy short stories pack a wallop for every sexual taste. Susie Bright is the fearless boundary crosser of contemporary erotica, and The Best American Erotica 2005 features stories of unprecedented literary pedigree and a stunning breadth of imagination. Pulitzer Prize-winner Jane Smiley details a beautiful erotic interlude in an otherwise sordid real estate deal; Mary Gaitskill celebrates the unexpected ardor of one middle-aged couple; Steve Almond reminisces about the best one-man/three-girl Ecstasy party ever; Nelson George recounts the erotic escapades that befall a young man who accompanies a celebrity athlete when he picks up a gaggle of girls; and Carol Queen explores the joys of making love with summer fruit. Readers will also thrill to the year's most stellar stories from every imaginable erotic genre. The class of The Best American Erotica 2005 is changing the rules about writing about sex. It's no longer pulp fiction: it's must-read literature showcasing the best writing around, all packed into the year's sexiest anthology. "
Customer Reviews:
A little something for just about anyone........2006-02-25
Let's start by saying tastes in erotica vary. This collection has a little something for everyone. The stories are more consistently sensual than erotic per say. While some of the story lines did nothing for me there are a number of gems here that make the collection well worth the read.
Generally unsatisfying..........2005-11-27
Of course I recognize that a sense of the erotic is a very individual taste. However, when an anthology self asserts that it is the "best" American erotica then delivers like this, I find myself longing to shop in Europe.
I'll acknowledge these short vignettes are masterfully written...murals of metaphor and simile. But one expects that erotica would appeal to more than one's appreciation of literature. One expects that erotica would stir regions a bit farther below one's cerebral cortex.
I find little of that here. Many of the stories are poignant clips of human interaction with precious little erotica to be found. Generally good short stories with a bit more nudity and profanity than one might encounter at the public library.
These stories often succeed in stirring emotion if not the libido. I find I am repulsed by the celebration of just how base human nature can be portrayed. It's as if Ms Bright's idea of the erotic is directly linked to the degree of perversity, pain, and meanness illustrated. For example, there is one story that illustrates the destruction of a man and his family at the hands of a narcissistic drug addict. Please explain how this sad story is considered erotica?
At first, I believed my disappointment was rooted in my "maleness"...that perhaps these stories were written to appeal to women. My wife has also read them. She thinks it's more like watching the freak show at the circus...plenty to gawk at, but nothing you'd want to touch.
I've seen this general trend in erotica in other anthologies as well. If this is the direction it is headed, then perhaps we just need to start renaming the series "The Best Short Stories with Naked Bodies and Profanity"
Boring.......2005-10-19
I found this book to be very boring. Not what I would call erotica at all. I will not waste my money on another of the series
Not as good as 2000.......2005-09-21
I received the 2000 edition from a friend and I thought it was a bit over the top. Then I decided to buy this one and I was very disappointed. It was boring.
Awesomely erotic.......2005-07-24
I've read the stories and loved them all, but my favorite one is,
"It's never too late in New York," by, Nelson George.
I don't want to explain too much, it's such a short story; I might tell it all in one paragraph. But I will say, I was excited to see slang writing, quoted for the characters.
This was an urban story, African-American based.
This story and all the others were engaging. In the story, I liked the character, Walter's personality. He had a sexy way about him. Walter mentioned to his friend Dwayne, about a girl whose nickname was Medina, a stripper he met in a club. Dwayne reminded Walter both he and him went to the movies with Medina together, in the past; he also reminded Walter of her real name. Dispite Dwayne's jealously towards Walter, in dating Medina, Walter remained cool about it all.
Throughout the whole book, these hot, erotic stories were really worth reading.
I recommend it.
Amazon.com
While the editor of this fine annual collection, Marcy Sheiner, argues in her introduction that these stories dwell on "the darker side of sex"--revenge, anger, grief--there is a redemptive quality to passion that often outweighs whatever unworthy motives may have inspired the deed. Although there is plenty of frivolous, one-handed reading in this year's edition, many of the pieces included have the hallmarks of literary fiction; they are not merely about a sexual event, but offer a revelation of character through that event. Lisa Glatt's "Waste," Anne Tourney's "Rope Burn," and Susannah Indigo's "The Language of Snakes" would shine in any short story anthology. Yet even the simplest and most graphic stories here can surprise the reader with their casual illuminations. In Tabitha Flyte's "After Loss," for example, a young woman and her brother-in-law stumble into sex after returning from her father's funeral. When she first feels his comforting arms around her, she reflects on how differently men and women embrace: "When I am hugged by a woman I feel that the arms around me say, 'Yes, you can do it, you can.' When I am held by a man I feel that I am being told, 'No, you don't have to do it, you don't.'" A remarkable volume, evidence of the considerable talent being directed toward erotica in recent years. --Regina Marler
Book Description
The Best Women’s Erotica series is known for its sexual honesty and intensity, presenting stories that tell the truth about women’s sexuality in all its variety and emotional depth. Now in its sixth year, with a whole new look, Best Women’s Erotica 2005 satisfies even the most sexually voracious reader.
Ann Regentin’s “Just Passing Through” tells what happens when a woman decides to disguise herself as a gay man and cruise the local gay bar. In Andrea Miller’s “Picking Up,” a jealous woman listens in on her girlfriend’s phone sex job and decides to bring the scene to life. And Alison Tyler’s “Evian” is a classic bad-girl tale: a not-so-innocent young woman with a crush on her boss discovers just the right way to heat up their flirtation — while only a kitchen window separates them from his wife.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful.......2005-04-05
First, I would like to point out that this anthology seems to be geared toward heterosexual women, although there are a couple lesbian/bisexual stories. If you prefer stories with a lesbian or bisexual bent, then I suggest passing on this and picking up an anthology geared specifically toward lesbian/bi sex. It should also be said that if you are a fan of the erotic anthologies edited by Susie Bright, you may not like this anthology as this book stays away from the shocking just for the sake of being shocking material so often present in Ms. Bright's anthologies.
I've read innumerable erotic anthologies, and this is by far my favorite. Not only are the stories intelligent, but they stay away from the old, boring, technical descriptions of the in/out. If you like an erotic story that is very sexually detailed (like a sports play by play), then you may not like this. Instead, and refreshingly, most of the authors ventured into the deeper aspects of sex.
In the opening story, Nine Seven Zero, the narrator tells us how her boyfriend, as he is leaving her, helped her break free of her destructive sexual binds. In "The C*** Book, we learn the story of John's "Uncle Jacques", who took pictures of women's genitals over the course of 80 years and collected them in a book. Intrigued, the narrator lets John take her picture, and for the first time is able to see herself as a man would see her. In "Just Passing Through" a woman disguises herself as a man and goes to a gay nightclub to find out what sex is like between two men.
I thought the best story was "What the Box Fan Saw", a story of incredibly passionate sex stemming from a fight. This anthology pays as much attention to how things are said as to what is being said. If you enjoy erotica that is intelligent, well written, and aims to get you genuinely aroused instead of merely shocking you, then you'll like this anthology.
Just great.......2005-01-13
Excellent writing and terrific story-telling. It's clear from this volume that women really trump men in sensual, to-the-core descriptions of the sexual experience.
Best Women's Erotica?.......2004-06-17
"The Best Women's Erotica," edited by Marcy Sheiner is composed of 18 erotic short stories written by women supposedly for women. It starts out with a sultry story called "Interrogation," by Susan St. Aubin, but heads down hill fast from there.
I have read short stories in English 110 at the local community college that were more erotic than some the of stories in this book such as "Service Entrance," by Kristina Wright or "Jacks Pride," by Emma Holly. It appears to be geared mainly towards heterosexual middle aged women and MEN. I was rather shocked at all of the stories geared towards the stimulation of the characters male counter parts. While there was some cunnilings in the stories, the constant emphasis was on the women pleasing their men. The stories simply were not detailed enough about the art of orally stimulating a woman, as a matter of fact in a couple of them one gets the feeling the writers are almost embarrassed to be writing about it. I found a bit annoying to say the least. As fantasies by women, for women should focus more on women. Not women going down on men in 80% of the stories. Also it had little to NO ethnicity to it. Shame on you ladies in the melting pot of America!
If your a feminine lesbian or a bisexual female looking for a hot story on a cold winters night then I would suggest moving on. As far as the lesbian community goes it had a couple poorly written "Butch" (Yes in the stories the characters refer to themselves as butches, it's not just my observation.) stories worthy of toilet humor at best. After I finished reading it I thumbed back through noting the difference between the detailed writing style on the heterosexual stories verses the couple of butch stories. That totally blew my mind since according to most surveys sex between the average man and woman last between 20 - 30 minutes according to several different surveys (...)
Update this description, please.......2003-10-25
This 2003 edition has been out for quite some time and the description provided by Amazon refers to a previous edition in the collection. I hoped they were just a little behind but with the 2004 edition on the horizon, I hope that Amazon soon changes the book description to reflect the contents of BWE2003 instead of 2001 or whichever ed. this refers to.
Intelligent erotica.......2003-04-20
I'm generally not an erotica fan but borrowed the book from my wife. Some of the stories were stereotypical erotica, but a lot of them surprised me. There are a lot of stories of great literary quality. I really enjoyed the book.
Book Description
Best Lesbian Erotica, winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Erotica in 2003 and 2004, celebrates its tenth anniversary with 21 new stories of hot lesbian sex: sensual, inventive, and breathtaking. In Elaine Miller’s “Fee Fie Foe Femme,” a girly-girl reaps a sweet punishment for refusing to mess up her raspberry pink lipstick. In Madeleine Oh’s “Our Women Know What to Do,” a woman hoping to please her Turkish boyfriend ends up being pleased by Turkish women instead. And in Peggy Munson’s “Fairgrounds,” a handsome dyke daddy sells her sweetie to the carnies for a night.
Customer Reviews:
Title Ruins It For Me.......2005-02-16
No doubt I'll be lambasted for lack of political correctness, but I'd probably like this anthology better if the word "lesbian" wasn't in the title!
I didn't find a single story that reflected sex the way I've enjoyed it with women throughout my life and I've tried a lot a wide-ranging things - and liked most of it, too. I think that in order to be deemed "cutting edge" this series has gotten so far away from the way *most* lesbians experience their lesbianism that it bears no real reflection of anything but bizarre and isolated sexual kink. If one - or both! - of the people in the scene do not identify as lesbian, how is the sex "lesbian"? I have to assume that the inclusion of such stories under the label "best lesbian" means the editors think these are lesbian sex acts.
I beg to differ. For example, ask any sex worker who identifies lesbian - sex with a male customer isn't lesbian sex. I also know many butches who don't recoil in shock and horror if a femme reaches down their pants wanting to touch female flesh.
And this is the "best" such talented writers have to offer as insight into lesbian sex in the year 2005? What's with the men, and the straight women, the lack of clear consent, and the endless, endless, endless genderbending and calling it "best lesbian" sex acts? There are stories with "lesbians" yearning to be and acting so much like men that the sex is het! That's simply not what I want in an anthology of "best lesbian" sex.
I thought last year's anthology was as far as they could go labeling the contents "lesbian" but this year went way over the line that works for me. I'll be looking elsewhere from now on for reflections of what I (and I know I'm not alone) call "best lesbian sex."
nominated for the best of erotica again!!!.......2005-01-25
Fall in love again... will you?
I just love this years collection. Just the right mix to fit any mood.
If you are closed minded then don't buy it.
I especially loved Pointed as well as Rachel Kramer Bussel's piece about breaking up with an ex (sounds odd for an erotic anthology but read it and you will COMPLETELY get me here). Oh, I wish I could say more but my browser keeps crashing!
It was just nominated for a lambda literary award for the third year in a row...
Disappointed.......2004-12-30
I can only recommend this book to people who are very into butch/femme roles or genderf**king in general.
I appreciate that the editor is trying to appeal to a wide audience, but in doing so, she loses her mainstream readers.
I'm not conservative about sex, but I also have no desire to read a story about a woman who prostitutes her girlfriend out to a male biker or a butch who has borderline nonconsensual sex with a hooker. If that's your thing, then you'll love this book.
An Unapologetic Odyssey into the Splendor of Lesbian Sex.......2004-12-28
From the first story to the last, this collection grabs you by your gonads and won't let go. If you are repressed or inhibited and in search of something to make you set yourself loose, this book is an express train to libido-ville. If you are a prude and happily wed to your vanilla fondlings on crisp linens, this book is for you too-it will repulse you and ignite you at the same time or at a minimum give you something to be substantially angry about. If you are already uninhibited and proud of the way your desire rules you, this book will reaffirm that you are on the right track. Within these pages, classic lesbian stereotypes get celebrated, blown apart and put back together again in a brand new way. Butches flaunt their penis envy, bask in their ability to woo the girly girls or subdue the bois and, take ownership of their desire to submit when they choose to. Femmes rise with formidable power above the superficiality of their lipstick and stilettos to leave us breathless and aching. 26 stories. 26 unique, unfaltering voices. 26 opportunities to discover a new kink. 26 ways to recover what you may have lost. 26 chances to validate that part of yourself you keep denying. I have read every edition of this series. This is, bar none, the best. READ IT!
Book Description
Brains, muscle, tenderness, kink. Like the perfect lover, the tenth anniversary edition of Best Gay Erotica has it all. From the blushing explorations of Jonathan Asche’s “Doll Boy” to the dark journey of Alpha Martial’s “My Place” to the sexual confession of a homophobic “straight” boy in Alex Rowlson’s “Pink Triangle-Shaped Pubes,” these 21 stories explore a heart-pounding range of male-male desire.
Customer Reviews:
Bigg Fan.......2005-10-09
The best, indeed. Gay erotica has reached the next level with this 10th anniversary edition. 2005 offers the best stories in the genre I've ever read. Handsomely packaged and pure pleasure, I had to reread the last story, "The Bigg Mitkowski" by Davem Verne, a favorite author. Won't someone agree that the bigg narrator belongs on the bigg screen? What an ending!
Simply Fabulous.......2005-03-25
I must say this book passed my expectations. It goes from one hot satisfying story to the next. The only two I didn't care for were the S&M & Bondage type stories. Everthing else was tasty. Very much recommended to all the lonely males out there.
Customer Reviews:
Just OK.......2006-03-17
This book wasn't what I was expecting. I was looking for something a little more everyday, run-of-the-mill sexy. Instead, I felt like I was reading material for a college Modern Lit class. I felt like I needed to do a character analysis at the end of every story, rather than feeling sexy.
Deeply disappointing........2006-01-17
I have been reading erotica for almost 20 years. Some of it is always going to be better than others. But this collection was particularly poor in quality of writing, originality of ideas and general feel.
I read the first six, and really have no desire to continue.
The stories are negative (for the most part), whiny and really lack erotic merit -- ie, I never got turned on. I mostly spent time reading about vindicitive people or others who were un-balanced in their sexual orientation and burdened with hang-ups.
Missing were unique, clever and moving sensual descriptions of physical and emotional erotic pleasure.
Is this really the best American erotica there is to offer?
I'm so sick of this apparent trend of cynicism and crankiness in contemporary writing.
Books:
- The Professor's House (Vintage Classics)
- The Singapore Grip (New York Review Books Classics)
- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (Modern Library)
- The Towers of Trebizond (New York Review Books Classics)
- Therese Raquin (Penguin Classics)
- Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog (Tor Classics)
- Tropic of Capricorn (Miller, Henry)
- Uncle Tom's Cabin: Or, Life Among the Lowly (The Penguin American Library)
- A Narrative of a Revolutionary Soldier
- Ailey Spirit: The Journey of an American Dance Company
Books Index
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- Help Yourself To Positive Mental Health
- Outlaw Representation: Censorship and Homosexuality in Twentieth-Century American Art
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- Flowers of the Himalaya: A Supplement
