Customer Reviews

Trash Sex Magic

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book was an amazing read. It is hard to believe that it is her first book !

It is a sensuous and lyrical tale told about an odd and unusual group of characters who live along a river bank. The characters are never made fun of or exploited for the story, and instead of victims of society they are people who have made unconventional choices. They are given depth and a vibrancy that makes you think they live on still after the book is done. Her writing is such that you seem to be in their world - it is both very human, and very different.

The story is a love affair between the characters and nature, with sex often being their means of communicating and channeling the magic and the love. It is an integral part of the story, but not graphic or leering.

The story is told beautifully and contains a bit of mystery, pathos, horror and hope. Though there is a plot, the true focus is the characters and their love of the land and each other. A truly wonderful accomplishment.

This is without doubt one of the most original books I have read. It is very beautifully written and certainly took me to a place I have never been. It continues to haunt me weeks after I completed it. I can't recommend it highly enough. It manages to synthesize elements of fanatsy, horror, reality and sensuality in a way that leaves you overwhelmed at the beauty of the world. And one thing is for certain-you will never, never look at a tree in the same way again!

I read this in one sitting and I kept wondering if there was a metaphor that I missed somewhere. But no, it is paranormal at it's strangest depth. It was as if the writing was magical, very beautiful and difficult to stop reading. The flow was musical and yet if I had to describe this book to someone in a word, I would have to say STRANGE. There is one character in this book that was so beautiful in human form and magical form and that is where I wondered whether I had missed a metaphor. Alexander Caebeau is a beautiful Bahamian man of such a gentle and giving nature, incredibly beautiful in every physical and spiritual sense, he is someone you think about out of the clear blue, many months after you've read the book, at a time perhaps when you secretly wish there was an Alexander Caebeau in your life. And maybe that is what the book is about. I can never be sure but the prose is so lyrically appealing and Alexander is uncommonly innocent and sublimely beautiful which made the book worth reading, even if it was the strangest book I've ever read.

I really, really wanted to love it. People who I respect the heck out of love it. I remember when I first heard about it and I thought it sounded great and wanted to read it. And I can tell that it's written very well. But I'm just not the reader for this book, and it pains me to say that.

Most of the reviews I read called Trash Sex Magic a love story, and it is that, but it's mostly the story of Raedawn Somershoe who, along with her mother, creates magic through sex. The giant tree that anchored the area and that housed the essence of Raedawn's friend/lover has been cut down by a developer, and now nature's going all haywire, particularly the river. What's needed is someone to take his place, and she finds him in Alexander Cabeau, whose grandmother sent him from the Bahamas.

A synopsis of the plot really does nothing to explain this story. I call it "literary fantasy," which is my way of trying to convey the feel of the book, but maybe a better term would be "poetic fantasy," because it affected me like poetry. Some of what happens in the book is "real," some is metaphor, and some is magic, and it's not always easy to tell which is which. In fact, I'm half convinced that the entire book is metaphor.

But I'm a more literal reader. I love fantasy and magic, but I like it to be grounded. For me, this is like trying to focus on one of those hidden picture paintings--I can do it, I can see the hidden picture, but it's hard work, and it gives me a headache. Just like with poetry, I got tired and frustrated trying to figure out what was real, and waiting for something to happen. And just like with good poetry, I can tell that this is a really well-written book, but I can't feel it myself. It's like looking at a pair of gorgeous shoes, but they're a size 6, and there's no way I can wear them. I know they're great shoes, but I can't have them.

So, 3.5 stars, which is what my personal enjoyment level of the book was: I liked it, but it's not a keeper for me. I used to think I was lacking or intellectually lazy because I don't enjoy poetry, or books like this, but now I think it's just a matter of brain wiring. Don't disillusion me, please.

Raedawn Somershoe, her mother Gelia, and several other people live in a collection of trailers along the Fox River. Theirs is a world of mud, junk piles, and mystery, as spectacular as it is shabby.

In a strange world, stranger things begin to happen when land developers intrude on the riverbank. Rae's love is killed, the river goes wild, and a storm of activity drowns the area in magic and tension.

This novel is not for the faint of heart. Bold in premise, it does not shy away from subjects considered taboo by many people. For those brave enough to take the journey, for anyone who ever lived in a run-down trailer, those who were ever intimate with a few wild acres in the middle of humanity's business, or those who ever had an uncomfortable moment, this is a triumphant read.

For those who are easily offended, this is not for you. For those afraid to explore outside their zone of comfort, this is not for you. For those who don't want a story that will cling to their soul long after the book is shelved, this is not for you.

"Trash Sex Magic" gets five stars for bold creativity, skilled layering of characters' stories, and for the literary quality of the writing. Although a few scenes in the novel are mildly confusing for the average reader, Stevenson's work shows a brilliant insight into human nature.

"A real book is not one that's read, but one that reads us." -W. H. Auden (1907-1973)

-C.W.

Hard to believe no one's reviewed this book! My 15-year-old daughter and I both found it powerful and original. This is one of those first novels that you can hardly believe IS a first novel. Head and shoulders above those hundreds of Tolkien derivatives cluttering up the Fantasy shelves. Read it, and hope this writer isn't done!

"Trash Sex Magic" is a beautiful book, which is quite a surprise considering that the two main characters are a mother-daughter pair of white trash sluts who live in a trailer near Illinois' Fox River. (That may seem a bit harsh, but trust me, it's true.) Gelia Somershue and her 24-year-old daughter, Raedawn, are the local women of ill repute. Both women manage to seduce a large number of the local men (who are also nothing to write home about), as well as anyone else who happens to pass through the area. Believe it or not, though, in spite of their slutty behavior, both of these women are absolutely endearing, as are the other colorful characters who reside in this rural area along the riverbank.

Unfortunately, the small riverside community stands in the way of a new housing development. A greedy developer is hell-bent on acquiring the property, and he stirs up a lot of problems for the residents...and finds himself in a lot of trouble as well. Additionally, there's the matter of Alexander, a large, dreadlocked man from the Bahamas who is employed at the construction site. After some construction equipment is mysteriously tampered with, Alexander's nasty boss forces him to sleep at the site in the evenings to keep an eye on things. Strange things begin happening to Alexander, and he also finds himself falling under one of Raedawn's bewitching spells.

This is a very interesting and creative novel. It's about nature vs. urbanization, and it's also about...well...trailer trash women who have magical sexual powers! I really enjoyed this book because it's so different from everything else I've ever read. "Trash Sex Magic" is funny, inspiring, sexy, and downright strange at times. If you're looking for an unconventional novel, this is definitely the book for you.

This is a book to make you remember why you love books. Stevenson writes as if she's never read one, her insights and imagery are startlingly fresh, making you shake your head and see -- and feel -- the world a bit more clearly. She writes with a tremendous love for being alive: evil characters are as beloved as kind ones, the smell of diesel fuel is as much a part of the landscape as the smell of fresh rain. Highest recommendations.

I have a girlfriend who brings self help books over to my house and says, "This book is so great, as I read it I kept thinking, yes, that's what I've been doing for years! and the author said it so beautifully." Well, I gave her this book and she hated it. When I asked her why, she just kept saying, "Well, it was weird . . . it was weird."

I don't know what she meant by that. Was it the dirt-poor trailer dwellers engaging in what New Agers would call energy healing? Or the 14-year-old girl who has an affair with her mom's ex-boyfriend, and no one really thinks twice about it? Maybe the shape-shifting, or the 2 children of uncertain parentage who live in a hole in the ground, pilfering food and clothing from their neighbors? Questionable dealings with insurance companies? The slant against real estate development?

I'm guessing it wasn't the sex, though this book has, as far as I can recall, more sex than any other book of fiction I've ever read. (A porn novel presumably would have more sex, but I don't remember ever reading a porn novel.) This book gives a new meaning to the word "tree-hugger," by the way.

I finally figured it out. My girlfriend reads books to confirm things she already knows. I read books to introduce myself to new, different ideas. I LOVED this book.

So I guess I should thank Jennifer Stevenson for giving me an insight into my friend. Plus she tells a fabulous story, and she says it so beautifully.

Wonderful story that quickly manages to bring in interesting characters, a truly alive environment for the story, and the magic between them all that keeps things going. I recommend this book highly and hope to see more from its author.