From Publishers Weekly
An intriguing artifact, this book is a collection of some very frank lectures by Vassi, an erotic writer, who, as Mailer comments in his preface, "was his own experiment." Vassi gave the lectures in 1975, at the height of the sexual revolution, and he died in 1989, at age 51, of AIDS. His eclectic quest for eroticism is somewhat poignant, and his fervor rarely lapses into silliness. Vassi coined the term "Metasex" to describe all sex beyond procreation, and he considered "the erotic mood" the source of beauty and art. He describes his own sexual experiences as an eight-year-old, as a 19-year-old serviceman in Japan, in New York City bathhouses in the 1970s (as interesting, he says, "as the Grand Canyon"), and in his three marriages. Vassi suggests that fidelity depends on the terms of the contract in marriage, maintains that eroticism needn't have anything to do with love and observes that "all my close friends and relationships have nice asses, come to think of it."
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In 1975, sexual adventurer cum journalist Vassi gave a series of lectures on the theme of Metasex , a term he coined to describe the realm of human sexuality beyond the purpose of procreation. The transcripts of those talks are published in this volume. Subscribing to the belief that "the only abnormality is damage," Vassi explored the farthest limits of human sexuality while maintaining both a voyeuristic detachment and a bold sense of literary exhibitionism. Convinced of the universal healing power of sex, Vassi suggested putting more love into sex by "having sex with everyone you love." Written with much self-deprecatory humor and honesty and with a preface by Norman Mailer, A Driving Passion is at most a period piece, a fond recollection of one who gloried in the sensual freedoms of the Sexual Revolution. It should be shelved next to the diaries of the Marquis de Sade and Lucretia Borgia. Not a necessary purchase, although special collections may want to consider.
- Jeffery Ingram, Newport P.L., Ore.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Jeffery Ingram, Newport P.L., Ore.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
