Eat Me (Paperback)

~ (Author) "She ran her fingers over the fresh figs..." (more)
Key Phrases: ergonomic stool, green pigtails, Xiao Wang, Dick Pulse, Nielsen Park (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Bound to be controversial, this debut novel from a young Australian writer features four women friends discussing their sex lives and fantasies in frank detail. In doing so, they raise such issues as the difference between pornography and erotica, the role of gender politics in society, and what constitutes feminism. Along the way, Jaivin also manages to puncture many literary and critical pretensions. Her writing is often funny and satiric, and by layering stories she keeps the reader guessing about what is "real" and what is fantasy. Still, while some readers might enjoy the humor, off-beat characters, and discussions of social trends, others will be shocked and offended by the explicit language and descriptions of what might be perceived as bizarre sexual acts. A possibility for adventurous general readers and some women's studies collections, but purchase with caution.
-?Barbara E. Kemp, SUNY at Albany Libs.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

Combine a saucy, Waiting to Exhale sort of girl-gossip tone with Vox's lusty sexuality and you get this witty, sophisticated (if unfortunately titled) tale of four Australian women friends' amatory peccadillos. Julia, a photographer, adores younger men--even if they do exhibit a frustrating refusal to commit. Helen, a ``whole-grain loaf'' of a lit professor, can whip up a salacious fantasy about any man despite her feminist politics and anxiety about her weight. Chantal, the anoretic fashion editor of a style magazine, prefers the safety of gay men to the arrogant hetero poseurs she's met in the past. And Philippa, a self-defined lesbian and voyeur, claims she keeps herself sexually satisfied by committing her erotic fantasies to paper. Meeting at Sydney's Caf‚ Da Vida, these four high-powered women, all in their early 30s, relish exchanging reports of exceptional one-night stands, libidinous fantasies, shocking past encounters, and erotic schemes for the future. As Chantal recalls her student/mentor S&M relationship with a now- renowned poet and fends off drooling fellow espresso drinkers at the caf‚, Julia tells of seducing a dreadlocked 21-year-old, then flying off to China, where she's ravished in a park by a local contortionist and snake-charmer. Helen captivates her friends with an impossibly lush and funny fantasy of a seaside encounter with Rambo, then stuns them with the re-creation of a tryst with a truck driver. What these three women don't realize as they chat over their cappuccino is that quiet Philippa is taking mental notes, and that their secrets will soon appear in ``fictionalized'' form in a novel entitled Eat Me. Philippa is soon forgiven, though, as her friends note that she's as generous in print with her own past as with theirs. Already a bestseller in its native Australia (the author was raised in Connecticut but works as a freelance journalist in Sydney), this tossed salad of erotic scenarios charms as few examples of its genre ever have. ($50,000 ad/promo; author tour) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Broadway; Other Printing edition (April 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767901592
• ISBN-13: 978-0767901598
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #763,063 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A taste of forbidden fruit!, February 2, 2003

By	CoffeeGurl (MA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

Eat Me isn't your typical women's erotica -- it is a novel full of intelligent dialogue and sharp wit. The novel's about four friends from Sydney -- Phillipa, Helen, Julia and Chantal -- who get together to dish out juicy details of their latest romantic exploits. The stories are rather explicit and sensuous. However, will they continue to open up about their fantasies and exquisite tales when Phillipa tells them that she's writing an erotic novel?

Eat Me is like the forbidden fruit -- impossible to resist. This is one of the most original novels I have read in a long time. The vignettes within the novel are provocative and steamy. Jaivin is a wonderful writer of said genre and I look forward to reading more of her work...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sex and food...together again, February 29, 2000

By	"kathrynlively" (VA) - See all my reviews

As far as commercial erotica goes, journalist and scholar Linda Jaivin's debut novel Eat Me is a unique excursion into the world of sensual tastes. It's 9 1/2 Weeks in a supermarket, an uninhibited look into the joys of calorie-laden, chocolate-coated ecstasy direct from the Land Down Under.

Unlike the array of gothic, violent erotic fiction that seems to be crowded shelves these days, Eat Me is upbeat, at time hilarious (a letter-switching incident comes to mind) and baffling (you'll never watch David Letterman the same way again, I guarantee it). Jaivin writes a playful, sexy novel hotter than jalepeno and as smooth as French Silk pie. Jaivin takes the eroticism of food to a new level with Eat Me and is certain to leave many mouths watering.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Eat Me says Read This!, January 2, 2002

By	C. A Scovel "Christina Scovel" (Los Alamos, NM) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a very entertaining story about a young female writer. She is writing erotica for woman and basing most of it on her friends. This story takes you through the lives of a number of thirty something lady with very active imaginations as well as sex lives. A laugh a minute - and don't let the first chapter freak you out. I was wondering what in the hell I had bought when I read it.