Going Down: Lip Service from Great Writers

by Chronicle Books (Editor), Anaïs Nin (Contributor), Norman Mailer (Contributor)

Heading south? Is it the pleasure? The power? The giving? The taking? Finally you can plumb the depths of oral maneuvers in good company. This conveniently portable, stimulating volume fits easily in glove box, brief case, or evening clutch and is the perfect companion to or substitute for those private, climactic moments. Fiction, essay, poetry; here is an adventuresome literary collection to take you to provocative new heights. Sexy to shocking, dark musings to hilarious tales, Going Down is guaranteed to satisfy. Today, it's practically required reading in both the public and private sectors. Scores of notorious sexperts, including John Updike, Ana•s Nin, and Oscar Wilde, have given readers their views on oral encounters, as have Frank Zappa, Erica Jong, Harold Brodkey, Cynthia Heimel, and a host of other fresh and frank contemporary voices. Now we get the best writing, the hot low-down, all in one place. And why not? It's the topic on everyone's lips.

Genres: Erotica

160 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1998

Reviews

[Manik Sukoco · Rating 4 out of 5]

To some the mere thought of it elicits gasps of horror. To others, gasps of pleasure. It's all a matter of perspective of course, and whether you're giving or receiving.
Going Down is a book for people who love oral sex and for those who hate oral sex. Why? Because what you are getting is literate and thoughtful views on the subject, not something you would see published in Penthouse Forum starting "You'll never believe what happened to me the other day..." and ending: signed, Sheepless in Seattle. (Wanking in Waco?)
A compilation of excerpts from some of literature's finest, Going Down treats its subject with humor and respect, never resorting to back room jokes or adolescent snickering. It tells romantic, tender and often humorous tales of the selfless sport. All aspects of sex should be treated this well. To talk about something that people do every day - recounting it openly, honestly and not in the whispers and silly euphemisms a lot of us employ. Oftentimes it takes someone with a gift for language to really open up and tell us what sex is all about. Not the skin mags or the porn movies -- where sex is simply a commodity - but writers including Anais Nin, Norman Mailer, John Updike, Erica Jong, Gay Talese and Oscar Wilde to really turn the erotic crank of our imagination.
There are some very funny passages as well: Philip Roth's Portnoy getting an eyeful of his own spunk, Anka Radakovich's essay On Being a Cunning Linguist, and Frank Zappa's tale of The Plaster-Casters of Chicago - a duo of women who cast likenesses of rock star's erect penises - is short but highly educational. Who knew that somewhere out there is a statuette of Jimi Hendrix' "weenus"?
A great book for those who already know the joys of oral sex and perhaps an even better one for those who don't. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you may even wet yourself.

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains the stories with explicit oral sex scenes by many famous authors like: Anais Nin, Oscar Wilde, Philip Roth, Norman Mailer, Erica Jong, John Updike, Gay Talese, Frank Zappa, Frank Harris, among others who I don't know. It has two chapters on how to do fellatio and cunnilingus properly. For me, even after 20 years of marriage, the female sex organ is one big mystery and this book is a good help on how to "eat" it right. Hah!

From Anka Radakovich's Lip Service: On Being a Cunning Linguist - isn't this a nice title?

"Avoid putting direct pressure on the little man in the canoe until it seems very aroused. Signs of escalating excitement include moaning, grunting, and threatening to commit suicide if you stop. Then head right to the love button. Signs that she's having an orgasm range from heavy breathing to fingernails digging into your back to convulsions. If you see her eyes rolling back in her head or hear shouts of "Hallelujah!" you can be sure you did some thing right."

So, you just don't go there and touch the little man like crazy hahaha!

Seriously, this is one hot little book. All about oral sex. It says somewhere in the book that most men would love their dicks get sucked but not have their partners' buttocks on their faces. Men are actually trained to conquer so they love to stick their wangs rather than being submissive. I did not know this statistics prior to this book. I all thought that men love licking! Hahaha

[Michael]

Table of Contents for the curious:

Introduction by ??
The Woman on the Dunes by Anais Nin (3)
Portnoy's Complaint (excerpt) by Philip Roth (3)
Lip Service: On Being a Cunning Linguist by Anka Radakovich (3)
Cynthia by Susan St. Aubin
Limericks by ??
Harlot's Ghost by Norman Mailer
Perdido by Jill Robinson
Purple Banana by Jeremy Reed
Girls Together Outrageously by Frank Zappa and Peter Occhiogrosso
My Life and Loves by Frank Harris
Jadis by Ken Chowder
Fanny: Being the True History of the Adventures of Fanny Hackabout-Jones by Erica Jong
Thy Neighbor's Wife by Gay Talese
Teleny by Oscar Wilde and Others
Correspondence by Laura Chester
Powdered Eggs by Charles Simmons
The Heart of the Fire by Cerridwen Fallingstar
Couples by John Updike
Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man by Dan Anderson and Maggie Berman
Innocence by Harold Brodkey
Author Biographies
Acknowledgments

[Sleepingwithink · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was alright.. I was hoping it would be more like Nicholson Baker or Henry Miller style .. It was just meh . Nothing to take home and rave about it.

"Refrain from inserting teeth, fist, or feet. Avoid putting direct pressure on the little canoe until it seems very aroused. Signs of escalating excitement include moaning, grunting, and threatening to commit suicide."

"The only way I ever felt close to Sally Porringer was when her mouth was on my cock and my face plastered into the canyon between her legs."

"Stop! Kiss me! Stop and kiss me. I can't stand it any more. I'm rigid with passion and want to bite or pinch you."

" Your lick should be more like what you would use on your favorite flavor of ice cream cone."

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

They're not lying about the "great writing." Talese, Roth, Sontag, and others make this a pretty awesome read. A couple of the excerpts suck, so to speak, but most are pretty fantastic.

[Matthias Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great pieces by great writers.