The Best American Erotica 2000 (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her chatty introductory essay to the seventh volume in this series, editor and sexual Renaissance woman Bright theorizes that "an outstanding erotic story is one that makes you forget that you know the formula backward and forward." Indeed, the formula exists in these stories, but is often twisted or flipped in unusual contexts and surprising scenarios. Classic themes such as the ravishment of the trembling virgin, alien/human couplings and variations on the erotics of power (the boss and her new, eager assistant) are represented here, some dangerously close to cliche. Bright points out that there is a "beautiful-people backlash" in millennial erotic literature, meaning that readers of contemporary literary smut are becoming more comfortable with the eroticization of nonstandard beauty. Nevertheless, she includes an excerpt from Bret Easton Ellis's model-fest novel Glamorama alongside more substantial and evocative tales like "ReBecca" by Vicki Hendricks, which explores the logistical and psychological problems when one Siamese twin finds love and the other doesn't. William Harrison's "Two Cars in a Cornfield" poignantly captures the adolescent hunger for experience and experimentation, describing one summer in the lives of eight teenage friends who embark on an idyllic, polysexual group relationship. "The Queen of Exit 17" by Ernie Conrick portrays the dark (literally) desires of a married man who cruises highway rest stops for other men. Some of the 30 stories are not as well-developed, and offer only a glimpse of a sexy situation with little characterization. But even so, Bright, the reigning expert of American erotica, presents an extraordinarily wide range of sexual perspectives and salacious styles. Agents, Joanie Shoemaker, Jo-Lynne Worley. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Suzanne Kammlott The Boston Phoenix The Fantastic? The Orgasmic? Whatever you're looking to satisfy, there's a story here for you. Susie Bright's impeccable credentials in the field of sexual social studies and literature make The Best American Erotica a learned and lusty read. -- Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone; Revised edition (February 17, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068484396X
• ISBN-13: 978-0684843964
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,091,005 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five star entertainment, February 15, 2000

By	Michael (New York) - See all my reviews

Bought this at the airport bookstore and couldn't stop reading -- shortest flight to London I've ever had. This book is sexy, serious, unusual, and funny all at the same time. There are some writers in here I'm not familiar with who have great style and voice, including Michelle Tea, Eva Morris and Susannah Indigo. Five stars.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Books like these give erotica a bad name ...., April 23, 2001

By	Rudolf Spoerer "dowadiddi" (Weston, FL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When I read the title 'The Best... 'of I usually become apprehensive, but, I decided to take the plunge and kick out the bucks to buy this book. What a disappointment!!

On reading the 30 short stories (can't believe I got through them all) many of them entail stories that must have been taken from 'The Best Gay Erotica' since it deals with boys doing what they do when they are alone. Matter of fact, sadly enough, the ONLY stories that were to any extent even slightly erotic were the 'boys will be boys' stories ...

In the first story 'Innocence in Extremis' we get 3 pages of a 28 year old virgin describing her frustrations with any relationship except her fingers.

The second story 'Space Girls are Easy' a young man is kidnapped by good looking green women with antenna that use manuals like 'The Whole Earth Catalogue' which also came with abduct-o-matic, and bind-a-bean tape and fasteners to hold down the earthlings they want to have sex with.

'The Maltese Dildo' is a story about a private detective finding a dildo that had a jewelled handle... it's a boy boy story that was aaahhhhemmmm penetratiing to say the least ..

'Triple X' is a story of a young girl in the South going to X rated theaters because it's the only place she could find AC. 'A hand rests on a swollen breast, thighs open like a bible' is about as erotic as this stupid story gets....LOL

'Sophies Smoke' is a hoot. This is a story about Sophie and a young man in a humidor closet doing things with cigars that would make Clinton proud.

'Calcutta' story of two boys in a steam room, nuf said OK ...

'S&M'A two page story of a girl wanting to be taken by the back door and be spanked. The story can't have more than 125 words for goodness sakes, I'm sure it was first written on a cocktail napkin!.

'Somewhere I have Never Travelled' is a story of a young girl in Japan being trained in the martial arts. She has the hots for her master and the only erotic sex that takes place her is that one drop of sewat hits her from his face, and after she breaks her leg in sparring, he kisses the instep of her good foot. Can't say it makes me tingle....

OK thats only the first 8 stories and not a hetero sexual erotic story in the bunch .. from here it goes down hill till, oh ya gotta love this one, we get to 'Rebecca' which is a story about Siamese twins joined at the head and one of them wants to, you know diddle the boyfriend Remus. I won't even get into their discussion at the hairdressers while they decide how to cut and trim their hair ....

OK so if any of these stories turn you on and you find joined siamese twin, cigar munching, alien sex, with heavy emphasis on homesexual couplings as erotic, and exciting, then this book is for you .... otherwise save your money ....

Finally, as if that ain't enuf, there isn't a mainstream published American erotic writer in the bunch of them ... UGGHHHHH

36 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, hot, great reading, February 2, 2000

By A Customer

What a fun, sexy, interesting book! Stories I've never heard before, ideas that will last, real stories with real sex -- it is beyond me how a book like "Harry Potter" can make the NYT bestseller list and a grown-up, fascinating book like this does not.

Bob Vickery's "Calcutta" about an encounter with a homeless, legless man is intense and unforgetable; Susannah Indigo's "Thief of Cocks" is a sexy riot; and Jess Wells' real-estate tale left me open to all _sorts_ of possibilities.