Kamikaze Lust (Paperback)

by Lauren Sanders (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Great courage must account for such complete disregard of political correctness,and great sensitivity for such sadness." -- Amanda Filipacchi, author of Vapor and Nude Men

"Kamikaze Lust puts a snappy spin on a traditional theme--young woman in search of herself--and stands it on its head. In a crackling, rapid-fire voice studded with deadpan one-liners and evocative descriptions, Rachel Silver takes us to such far-flung places as a pompous charity benefit, the set of an "art porn" movie, her best friend's body, Las Vegas casinos, and the psyche of her own porn-star alter ego, Silver Ray, all knit together by the unspoken question: who am I, anyway? And as Rachel tells it, asking the question is more fun than knowing for sure could ever be." -- Kate Christensen, author of In the Drink

"Lauren Sanders' novel Kamikaze Lust makes a connection between unrealized lives, sexual repression, and the fear of death. In her hands, what is usually clichd or gratuitous is hot." -- Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls

Product Description
Kamikaze Lust by first-time novelist Lauren Sanders takes the reader on an electrifying ride through the spectacle of life and death in millennial America. Smart, hardboiled, and humorous, the novel taps our current obsession with sex and death, sex and popular culture, sex and the written word, sex and pornography, sex and green M&Ms, and, of course, the perennial sex and love.

When journalist Rachel Silver loses her job, she reluctantly accepts a position ghostwriting the autobiography of Alexis Calyx, a former porn star turned erotic film producer. From that moment, the book steers a madcap, kamikaze-like course, and what begins as a straightforward writing assignment ends up pulling Rachel into unexplored territory in the world of fantasy. When Rachel invents a porn star identity for herself (Silver Ray) and unleashes her into the world, she is ambushed by her own inexplicable desires. Before Silver Ray, Rachel could barely imagine herself having sex; now she wishes her life could be more like One in the Hand, Two in the Bush, Alexis' current X-rated project.

Flirtations with Alexis and her ex-husband, the legendary porn star Robbie Rod, add fuel to Silver Ray's fire. But more shocking to Rachel are the romantic, girl-girl fantasies she's begun to weave around her best friend Shade, a woman she's known for six years. All of this amorous fancy is set against the harsh reality of Rachel's favorite aunt dying of cancer and searching for the perfect suicide cocktail. It is Aunt Lorraine with her deep sense of humanity who ultimately helps Rachel reconcile history and identity, love and loss, sensuality and thigh-high stilettos.

Rachel's story, though unique to her, grapples with the universal need to know oneself, even at the risk of comfort and security. Appropriately, it is in the sometimes violent, often hysterically funny, but never clichd sex scenes that Kamikaze Lust shines, exploding traditional notions of intimacy and alienation in a fresh, complex, and completely original way. Honest and poetic, Kamikaze Lust introduces the voice of a brilliant new writer whose gift for language is as vivid and unique as her imagination.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 287 pages
• Publisher: Akashic Books; 1 edition (April 24, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888451084
• ISBN-13: 978-1888451085
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,528,869 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as I hoped..., September 29, 2000

By A Customer

It seems as though it's either one extreme or the other with this book, and I am one of those who didn't like it at all. If Sanders kept to one major plot instead of trying to develop three, it wouldn't be so bad. I think the author was trying to write a hip, cutting edge novel which got muddled down by trying to go in too many directions. I was bored by the time I was a quarter way through the novel and struggled to finish.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars You won't Lust after this book, July 17, 2000

By A Customer

I should have been suspicious since this book has hardly been reviewed in the press. After reading it, it's clear why it has been virtually ignored. In short, it is pure dreck. There is lots of sex but that does not make for a good book. The author fails to develop any of the characters, choosing to try to titillate readers rather than engage us emotionally.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sexy, disturbing, funny what a read., April 2, 2000

By	John Rogers (New York City) - See all my reviews

Lauren Sanders' first novel is terrific. Sanders writes very,very well and she weaves a story that is sexy, disturbing and, atpoints, laugh out loud funny. Once I got to the middle of the book I kept finding excuses to put the rest of my life on hold so I could stay in my chair and keep reading. This is a serious book about serious things that does not preach but, rather, gets its point across while entertaining the reader to no end. Now THAT is refreshing. I, for one, can't wait to read her next book. Sanders is a writer to cheer about. A good book.