There is more than one
way to write a dirty book. There's the kind where everything is left
to the imagination, or to the careful decoding of euphemisms. And
there's the opposite – the literary equivalent of “wham bam thank
you mam”, where the writer dumps you straight into the mechanics of
the sex, and finishes up when they finish.
For my money, though,
the best erotic writing combines: a good build-up – an interesting
situation, ideally with some dramatic and sexual tension; some
insight into the inner lives of the participants – I don't just
want to know what bits they put where, or how good it feels, I want
to know what they think and feel about it; and a good, earthy
description of the mechanics.
Eden Rose's new book
ticks all of these boxes. The situations are wild – an
ornithologist seduced by two women from a neighbouring village, a new
age women's resort, an estate agent emerging from a long period
enforced abstinence...each one is well crafted and nicely paced. By
the time the sex arrives – which isn't too long, for the most part
– you are involved in the situation and care about the characters.
It is by no means
romantic fiction. It's about fucking, not love. There is plenty of
kink – group sex, fetishes, and other twists and turns that I won't
spoil for you. A minor disappointment for me, as a fan of Rose's
earlier work, is that there is no S&M at all. Still, informed
sources suggest that she's now working on a femdom novel, so stay
tuned.
This books shows beyond
doubt how well the short story format works for erotic fiction. There
is a natural pace and rhythm to short stories that suits the pace of
sex. I find long dirty novels tend to drag a bit. Either the author
either decides that a book that long needs a properly contrived plot
and narrative arc – in which case that gets in the way of the
depictions of the sex, which is the main reason that you were reading
it in the first place. The abominable '50 Shades' is a casualty of
this tendency as the heroine agonizes about whether she can
ultimately redeem the damaged Christian Grey – who cares?
Or they don't bother
with a plot – in which case it's just one fuck after another, and
you can't but help getting bored.
So I'd back the short
story format for erotica any day. And you won't find better erotic
short stories than these.
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