Bondage [Hardcover]

Patti Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 11, 1994

After meeting Anthony, a hotshot Hollywood director, Sara, usually the sexual aggressor in her encounters with men, finds the roles changing as Anthony takes complete control over her. By the author of Home Front. 125,000 first printing. Tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A smorgasbord of irresponsible, unprotected sexual relations, this attention-grabbing novel by the Reagans' rebellious daughter ( The Way I See It ) seeks to show that bondage doesn't always mean S & M. Davis also suggests that strong women are, deep down, either diesel dykes or little girls waiting to meet a dominant man. Costume designer Sara is just such a straight-but-butch type, a 35-year-old woman from Santa Monica who is ordinarily wise to guys on the make. But she's struck dumb by movie director Anthony, and they tumble into the sack repeatedly (she trusts him on the basis of a plastic card that declares him HIV negative). Although Anthony's penchants for tying her up and for the occasional unannounced menage a trois disturb Sara, she cannot shake her obsession with him. Meanwhile, Sara's friend Belinda has fallen for a cult leader who later rapes her, setting up a facile contrast between rough play and actual violence. For readers who relish the explicit scenes, there's additional prurient interest in Sara's lesbian attraction to Belinda, perhaps created to show that caring is the key to a successful relationship. Still, this temptation doesn't amount to much, and heterosexual lust is the major focus here. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternates; author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The author's fifth novel details the adventures of movie costumer Sara in her search for Mr. Right, which leads only to a European film director of note who's into kinky sex. Davis stumbles onto a plot late in the game here: Sara's best friend, movie hairdresser Belinda, is raped by her New Age guru, with repercussions from his Manson family-type followers. Sara is a lively enough character, but all the men are (sexual) bozos from the word go. (That may well be the author's point.) Davis lifts herself out of the swamp of Danielle Steel cliches with some decent writing: the novel ends on a nicely deserved point of feminist rage, and the fully X-rated sex is interestingly handled from a genuine female point of view--somewhat rare in this genre. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternates; previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 10/15/93.
- David Bartholomew, NYPL
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Second Edition edition (February 11, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671869531
• ISBN-13: 978-0671869533
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,132,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bondage Begins in the Heart, December 21, 2000

By 

vixen Bowes (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bondage (Paperback)

"Bondage" , by Patti Davis , was marketed in the Mainstream, and perhaps the initial reviews were colored by the stature of her parents and sensationalized by the erotic content, but this story touches more closely on the dynamics of D/s, or Power Exchange, than many of the more blatantly explicit and arguably controversial books on the subject that i have read. It is well-written, and she uses descriptions of mundane surroundings and activities to reflect the feelings and emotions of the characters in an indirect way . Never tedious, Ms. Davis possesses an economy of words that is both effective and succinct. And while the sex and BDSM activity is not extremely graphic, she utilizes the technique above to emphasize the more evocative elements, often sound, smell, taste...providing a very lucid impression indeed. Finally, she remains continually in touch with her principal characters, supplying specific details and information about the protagonists to create three-dimensional beings, upon whom we focus our attention, while allowing the antagonists to have enough vaguaries that they remain representative of "types" rather that fully-fleshed individuals.

While mild bondage and sexual mind-games play a large part in the story, it is really a tale about control and surrender of the heart.

~MWvixen~

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully written; I was tied up from beginning to end!, April 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Bondage (Paperback)

I read "Bondage" because I had already read several other things by Patti Davis, and her writing style appeals to me a great deal. Like Truman Capote, Patti Davis is clear and concise; not flowery, but able to sum up human feelings and motives with original, profound phrases that caused me to pause to let the reality sink in without losing continuity.

The subject matter was new to me; a new genre. But I was entertained and educated by her insights into the more private realms of human sexuality; realms that many humans hide even from themselves. And though she took me to fictional places that were sometimes alarming, she exposed nothing for mere shock value.

Unless already a fan of fiction that deals with what some might call "fetish sexuality", this book might well be written off as using "sex and violence" as a quick hook to the media-led masses. To avoid that jumped conclusion, it would be a good idea, if you think you might be offended, to start with other Pattis Davis books. Having done so, and having gotten comfortable with her way of presenting the human condition, use that trust to allow yourself to read "Bondage". The lifestyle within may never be to your liking, but you will learn something about people, and that is always a valuable experience. And what you learn is being told by the same multi-faceted writer that wrote "Angels Don't Die : My Father's Gift of Faith", a warm and probing look at faith.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Page turner, June 25, 2006

By 

LF "Keep your feedback to yourself, these are... (USA) - See all my reviews

Most books give the reader someone to root for. The hero of this book, Sara, is a snob who wouldn't date an ordinary guy. She'd just ridicule him in her own mind and keep walking. She's not unusual in that respect.

Her boyfriend Anthony doesn't relate to women. He stays aloof and gives them commands. He does all the right things to seduce them, with the right amount of arrogance and conceit.

It goes without saying that neither of these two immature people is capable of a relationship. Anthony is only capable of a series of seductions, and Sara is only capable of a series of confusing and abortive mangled attempts at relationship.

To keep things interesting for himself after the initial conquest, Anthony must break new ground. He's into bondage, which usually consists of tying the toy up, blindfolding it, putting it in various positions, and coming in one place or another. He's not sadistic, so he won't do anything damaging beyond a little hickie. He's very good at sex.

Sara doesn't mind the fact that Anthony has no feelings for her. That is actually a big plus for her. She'd lose respect for him if he cared about her.

Sara eventually becomes infuriated with him when he stops limiting them to private sex and threesomes, and brings a few more people into their sex life, in his continual attempts to keep it fresh and interesting for himself. Sara irrationally decides that Anthony has betrayed her trust, and she wants to knife him. Irrational, violent, conceited snob, as dumb as a post.

Meanwhile, Sara's best friend Belinda makes Sara seem stable and intelligent by comparison. Belinda also ridicules normal guys and is a conceited snobby ditz, but she is stupider and more deranged than Sara. She's also easier to be with. Sara thinks of male-female relationships as power struggles to be fought. Belinda sees them as opportunities to be treated like garbage, which is what she seeks.

Belinda's father called her a bad girl when she was a teenager because she let a boy do it to her. So for the rest of her life, the punitive ghost of her father keeps calling her a bad girl, which makes her want to be punished.

Belinda is mesmerized by a Charles Manson type, a creep who has power over the sick and stupid. Philippe is a religious cult leader, as insane as the loonies who support him by carving crosses into their foreheads. Philippe likes to tell his adoring flock of dumb females to shut up. He likes to punish and burn and attack them. Being a good judge of character, he recognizes Belinda as a victim waiting to suffer.

That's the cast of main characters in this fast-moving novel. It keeps you reading.

I had the impression that President Reagan's daughter was taking shots at her father's political support base, the conservative religious right. Her arch villain is a popular religious leader quoting the Bible and doing despicable things, and Belinda's father is a more moderate Christian, dictatorial, damaging, unforgiving. I have no problem with taking the holier than thous down a few pegs.