Customer Reviews

Vox

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Vox is the novella length discussion between Abby and Jim, two relatively lonely people inspired, late one night, to call a sex phone line to make a connection with someone, anyone. They find each other, and as the novel progresses, through a series of neatly spaced erotic stories, they begin to develop a friendship, marvelling at the strange wonders of technology, the phone, and how it could bring two people together who would never otherwise meet.

The entire story is in dialogue, with only a very few 'he said' and 'she said's to allow us to remember just who is speaking - which due to the quality of the writing and characterisation is rarely necessary. At first, Jim is mostly interested in one thing, but early on he realises that he has found someone who is perhaps worth more of a time investment than a 'normal' call to this particular chatline, and for a very long time, there is only very minor sex talk. They discuss the little oddities of life that everyone discusses in quiet moments, sharing thoughts about mundane items or events in ways that would no doubt sound instantly familiar to anyone, anywhere. A huge positive of this novella is that Baker writes both characters with a sense of awareness, just like any other normal person. There are a lot of things that the two characters just plain get, and a lot that they don't. They can talk about the casual immediacy of events, or the metaphysics of those little lights on stereo sets.

A few questions. Have you ever, when talking to someone, wanted to travel through the phone? Yes. Have you ever spoken to someone, and you know that if, through any circumstance whatsoever, there is a break in the conversation, the magic will be gone and that will be that? Yes. Have you ever taken a sick day off from work and then felt so guilty about it that you just had to spend the rest of the day being 'pious'? Yes. Abby and Jim discuss these little truths about the world, and more, though to be honest, most of the rest tend to the explicit. Those conversations are, I think, handled tastefully, without resorting to vulgarity, which is surprising, considering the nature of the call and of the story. To be sure, quite often explicit conversation will begin, but it is of a 'warm' nature, I suppose, not vulgar and shocking and crude - they even make a point about that fact in adult movies.

Nicholson Baker writes with the heart. I've had conversations like this. You've had conversations like this. Whether or not they tended to the erotic doesn't matter, the point is: we've all spoken to another person that we've been interested in, and they've returned the interest, and we know the way we talk and what we talk about. This novel perfectly captures this, and by the end of it, I felt utterly sad that these two, imperfect, beautiful, interesting and sexual characters were just that...characters. Never have I felt so cheated before, or so thankful that I had been, if only for a moment, able to glimpse into the minds of these two extraordinarily ordinary people, through one simple phone conversation.

This is the perfect little nibble-sized book to read while waiting for your laundry to finish. It's delightfully naughty without being raunchy, so you don't feel the big, sexless hand of mom slapping you upside the back of your head. The whole thing is dialogue between a man and a woman talking on a phone sex line, swapping fantasies about sex and more. Nicholson Baker is the master of pointing out all the goofy things we do and think about, but never want to admit to anyone. He taps right into the kinky part of your brain and, if you'll let him, he'll take you on an amusing ride of taboo human behavior. Pick up all those dirty clothes off your floor, turn the spin cycle on and read away. By the time the dryer buzzes, you'll be buzzing too. What you do after that is your own little story...

Back in 1993, before Internet erotic chatrooms, Jim and Abby meet through an erotic phone chat service and begin a conversation that becomes the text of this novel. Devoting a whole novel to one erotic phone call allows the author to develop his characters better than your average pay-by-the-minute erotic service would normally allow. Cost becomes no object to these two people a continent apart as they explore their fantasies with each other. While the conversation doesn't maintain a high level of stimulation throughout, there are exciting moments. Overall, a good light work with exciting episodes and a climactic ending.

For a book that begins with the perennial favorite "What are you Wearing?", Vox quickly devours the prototype of phone sex caller as disrespectful loser, instead presenting characters with mature, if slightly bland, personalities. Is this a good thing? Well..yes and no. While it is refreshing to read a sexual novel without a torn bodice on the cover, I found much of the dialogue to be just as contrived and unbelievable as any number of generic 'swashbuckling pirate saves the girl' page turners. Add to this disability the suspension of belief required to believe that these individuals would pay 3.99 per minute for three hours only to reveal Jim's preoccupation with Tinkerbell's wide hips and Abby's unchecked love of creamed chipped beef and you have the reason for this three star review.

Still, I admit to being intrigued by the concept of revealing sexuality to a stranger over the phone and must praise Baker for having the audacity to attempt such an undertaking. Unfortunately, the tiring details of this book render it unsexy as the characters take themselves ,(and their fantasies), far too seriously. The book reads like an indie art house hit- one that has been subjected to a lot of hype. And I feel the same muddy daze as when I leave an art house after wading through two hours of heightened plastic emotion. While I'm glad I read the book, (or saw the film),...I still feel a bit cheated that style won out over substance.

I found Vox to be a very well written book that is more about the vulnerabilities and emptiness of the characters than about sex. I think some of the criticisms in the reviews are off-base in that this book is not meant to be titilating. I found Vox to be about two people reaching out for something missing in their lives. I do agree, however, that the author could have done more to get that point across and to give the reader a real point to the story. Also, I'd like to thank the reader who suggested FRIED CALAMARI (I really enjoyed it).

Nicholas Baker gives a new twist to eroticism.. Vox draws one quickly into the minds of it's characters, and allows us a peek at their desires, their insecurities and their humor. This is a well written book that made me laugh out loud at times, without losing it's erotic feel.

It's embarrassing to admit how much fun this book is. On top of the erotic content, Baker is just hilariously funny and on target. Sure, it's a book about phone sex, but there is no way to summarize Baker's literary tour de force. He's a terrific writer (he writes serious critical essays too) and this is one of his most audacious books. A very quick read.

A well written, interesting, unique book that keeps the reader's attention although it does slip at times. Readers interested in a smart all dialogue book between a man and a woman that hits on all cylinders should read FRIED CALAMARI by D.M. Roman.

Basically an experimental novel told entirely in dialogue, between a man and a woman speaking exclusively on the phone through a sex chat line service. A borrowed narrative concept from Philip Roth's "Deception," the book succeeds at what it's trying to accomplish (which is essentially to titillate the reader and give them the impression that they're on the other end of the party line, just listening in and imagining what is going on in the privacy of these two people's homes, one on the East Coast, the other on the West Coast). There are no physical descriptions of the characters or their surroundings, so all of that is supplied strictly from the dialogue, which isn't necessarily "the truth" as each or both of them could possibly be "unreliable narrators" -- even though the author doesn't tip his hand in either direction on that. I barrelled through it in a couple of hours, not leaving the book with anything new or learned, but still enjoying the sojourn into these people's evening conversation.

If you've already read this and liked it, I'd suggest picking up Roth's "Deception," which is similar in form and tone, but richer in character and circumstance.

This is a naughty little book with a scalding reputation. Many know that Monica Lewinsky gave a copy of the salacious "Vox" to then President Bill Clinton. A very quick read reveals the implications behind such an offering. It's about as direct and unambiguous as a gift gets. In the nuclear political fallout, author Nicholson Baker catapulted into the mainstream. The hubbub around "Vox" arguably solidified his literary career.

Put as bluntly as possible, this book deals with the anonymous and faceless pleasures that many find in phone sex. Though new and ridiculously interactive technology has since surfaced that makes a mere conversation seem tame in comparison, "Vox" nonetheless maintains some of its shock value some sixteen years later. One reason is that the written word perfectly captures the purely syntactical eroticism of a dirty telephone conversation. No faces. No direct physical interaction between parties. All words and imagination to stimulation. Nothing else.

The conversation that ensues within remains nameless to the end. Plus, the paradoxical human condition tends to allow more intimacy in anonymous situations. People can shamelessly reveal themselves to those they will likely never meet. In "Vox," a west coast man and an east coast woman do just that. Their explicit and intimate conversation belies the stark impersonal nature of their medium of choice: "2VOX," a phone bank advertised in adult magazines. They filter out the overstimulated rabble and enter a "private" phone line. They never address the concern that someone may be listening in. In any case, the reader, in full voyeur mode, does listen in to every word and guttural noise. Some might feel guilty after finishing this book, complete with its literary and, um, "other" forms of climax.

"Vox" remains a fun, if somewhat superficial, read. Baker's penchant for capturing conversation shines at full prominence here. The stories and fantasies shared range from the hilarious to the outright pornographic. The woman fantasizes about being stuck in a hole in the wall surrounded by strapping painters. Of course they paint. The man tells his tale about convincing Emily, a woman with seductively long arms, to his apartment to watch a dubbed European "blue movie." They ask each other what they're doing, how they're dressed, about their deepest secrets, and most significant conquests. The woman once used olive oil and a shower head in creative ways. She shares this ditty with the man, who brings the entire conversation to a satisfying conclusion by utilizing his "Mmmm-Detector." The question arises whether they will talk again, and the book ends with Baker's signature "unresolved resolution."

Evaluating this book remains problematic. Of course it's a titillating page-turner. It's dang fun. But does it rise above literary smut? At the very least, it represents highly creative, intriguing, well-written and engaging smut. At best, it explores the vastness of human sexuality interfacing with anonymous technology. Though the characters seem to reveal their deepest secrets, they remain strangely unknown in the conduits of telecommunications. That they nonetheless manage to have a meaningful and satisfying encounter despite distance and intangibility, remains one of the book's most poignant tensions. Some may be put off by the explicitness of certain passages. Many would doubtless give "Vox" an "X" rating. But many will find the exploration a liberating and enticing read, regardless of how one rates its literary qualities. Baker further explored these themes in a later book, the even dirtier "Fermata." Though a little tamer, "Vox," given the political controversy that surrounded it and subsequent attention it received, will stand as Baker's breakout novel.