Customer Reviews

The Waiting Room

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I find myself in a mental flurry because there is so much to say about The Waiting Room I am unsure where to begin. I want to approach this review as less of a personal experience and more of a review but it is very difficult Let's see how I do.

Remittance Girl (RG) uses language in a way I can only describe as sticky. The words remake a crumbling, crude backdrop into a poetic extension of the characters Sophie and Alex. The settings stick to you, exposing this grimy world with poetic simplicity. I have never been to Cambodia but I feel like I would know Battambang Central Station, the dingy room, and the dusty streets at first glance. The setting is a mirror of opposition. The uglier the backdrop, the more honest Sophie and Alex's interactions. It is definitely a third character in this wrenching tale.

So what happens?

Sophie, a woman who practices surface-normality with discomfiting ease, meets Alex, a German tourist, in a broken-down train station. What begins as a daring masturbatory encounter in an empty room morphs into an introspective study of walls. Walls that people put up and walls that others are inspired to climb.

Sophie is the builder who continuously stacks brick after brick. Alex is the architect who can see her structure's weakness.

The narrative flows between Sophie and Alex's experiences and Alex's recollection of those experiences to his mentor Marcus. We soon see Alex is not an accidental tourist of sorts who stumbles over Sophie. Chance happened, Fate stepped in, and Alex seized the moment.

Alex saw Sophie--the secrets, the numbness, the WHY as to what she is.

Alex wants to free Sophie. He uses his body and hers in ways that on the surface can be seen as kinky play but in reality is the language of true communication. Alex doesn't allow Sophie to hide from him. He sees her anger for what it is. He sees her pleasure the same. Alex is always searching for the truth, for another brick to slide out.

Eventually, he offers her three days of giving herself over to him. Sophie, despite her misgivings, accepts. Thus the tale of self-love begins.

The D/S between Alex and Sophie is a beautiful dance to watch. The dance isn't about hiding our flaws or searching for perfection. It's about honesty and how truth is an ever-fluid thing. Alex believes he knows exactly where and how far to take her. He missteps. Sophie, trusts him even when she may not trust herself, and finds her faith tested. When she falls she hits the ground hard. If you enjoy reading about D/S then you'll find yourself seduced.

Which brings me to the erotica. It is hot. Hot y'all!

RG proves herself to be the master of all things wonderfully dirty. She takes these sexual acts, ones we've either all read or experienced a million times, and makes it fresh. I felt trepidation as Sophie lay over his knee for the first time. When Alex finally slid into Sophie, I felt the long-ago thrill of welcoming a new lover again. Their last scene together...oh, my!

End thoughts? Alex wiggled into my mind. I came into The Waiting Room expecting a hot D/S story. I left it stripped. The story stirred up questions in me, ones that had been there for years. Just like Alex didn't allow Sophie to turn away from her truths, I wasn't allowed to turn away from mine. I strongly, strongly suggest anyone who is looking for erotica with depth to read The Waiting Room.

From the first scene, this intensely hot novella shows us Sophie's not-quite-place in the world, and her search for identity and some kind of internal peace. It is not an easy journey. The path she takes - that she choses to take - after Alex's offer is twisty, dark, and deeply erotic. Trust, submission, sensuality, and their place within one's self all come in to play in this story, and Alex's own history and desires run through and give the reader an additional perspective.

A truly excellent read, and a story that is far more than simple erotica.

Some authors are such high quality that I don't need to know what the book is about before I read it. I have just started to enjoy stories by Remittance Girl and I have added her writing to the list - I will be reading everything she puts out if only to learn something about myself. Remittance Girl takes me by surprise with her endings...I don't know why but I'm always taking the story in another direction and then find that I have been outdone by an outstanding writer. This author understands something about human psychology - about domination and submission - that I am still fighting to grasp. If you enjoy spanking, sodomy, the psychological aspect of domination/submission, or you're just looking for a book with great sex you will enjoy The Waiting Room. If you enjoyed The Waiting Room you can also try Gaijin which was also an incredible read. Check out my other reviews as well - there are some really awesome authors out there right now on Kindle.

I love this author's work and that is why I am giving this novella 5 stars. Other reviewers have given the synopsis of this book. So I will say that if you are looking for evocative, intense, hauntingly,descriptive writing....then this author is for you. Reading the scenes of the Cambodian railway station - you feel as if you are there, can feel the humidity, the heat. This book would be one of the best I have read in this genre. The writing is beautiful.

The Waiting Room begins with a very unusual introduction. Alex and Sophie's first meeting in an outdoor waiting room of a train station in Cambodia is very unexpected. They are both expatriates who are on their way back to Hanoi where they both work. It seems the next train is not due for several hours and nightfall has quickly descended upon them. Sophie decides to sleep on one of the benches but is soon woken by the sound of a lone stranger's zipper being opened. What follows is a public scene of self-gratification that the two partake in that at first glance seems seedy and demeaning but a deeper look into it shows Alex's very clever way to introduce himself as well as his intentions to Sophie.

This was a deeply emotional book about a man who saw a broken woman from a distance and built up a fascination and need to try and fix her. Alex saw in Sophie what he had experienced himself. He sensed in her a feeling of self-loathing and worthlessness that kept her from interacting on a deeper level with other people. He felt that if she did not do something soon she would lose herself to her angst and not be able to come back from it. When train service is halted due to flooding, Alex asks Sophie to stay with him for three days and let him help her to get over her depression and self-loathing. She agrees and what happens next is an emotional look into the interworking of the psychological journey that Alex takes her through. Sophie has a long history of disassociating during sexual acts. Alex uses pain, bondage and speech to keep her mind tethered to her body during their encounters.

"Voice and pain - it was interesting to feel it happen. No not interesting...It was exquisite; like opening a rusty old door and finding such treasures behind it. Oh, Marcus, she did like pain, very much." He grinned sheepishly at the man across the table. "Nice for me too, you know?"
~ Alex to Marcus

After a couple of sessions of this therapy, Sophie finds that she can no longer recede inside herself and must face her feelings. This scares her and her flight response is triggered several times during the novel. At first Alex sees his need to help Sophie as a social project but he soon starts to have very strong feelings for her and doesn't think he can let her go after their three days end.

"Horrified, Sophie suddenly realized what Alex had done to her; this was his legacy. The switch was gone. The rabbit hole she'd once slid down so easily was closed to her. She was condemned to consciousness.
And it felt. Good. Amazingly good." ~ Sophie

After reading The Waiting Room I was really disappointed with how it ended. I was so invested in the relationship between Alex and Sophie that I couldn't believe it didn't end the way I wanted it to. It took a second read through for me to realize that the story had to end the way it did in order for Sophie to really find that inner strength that she would need to keep herself grounded. I loved the patient and understanding way that Alex dealt with Sophie and his German accented speech made me smile. The way he treated Sophie was heartwarming but her inner struggles with herself were sometimes heart breaking. This novel was very well written and the flow was perfect. I enjoyed how we got to see Alex's point of view and back story through conversations with his mentor, Marcus that were weaved throughout the story. The Waiting Room was a compelling book and I would recommend this to readers that are looking for a deep and emotional story that will leave a lasting impression on them.

If the subject matter interests you, go ahead and download this story. Absolutely. Like I said about the author's Gaijin, this far surpasses what seems to be passing in this genre. (If I'm wrong, btw, and just missing the quality work somehow, notwithstanding my searching this site and the internet in general, please enlighten me!) Here you'll find sophistication, sensuality, complexity. Yes, the more I think about it, the more I want to recommend it. Definitely.