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A Woman with (no) Strings Attached
Lucie had always found skiing far more exciting than sex. Until one day, the sex got better.
For years she had thought orgasm was an unattainable myth, but after a lifetime of boring, conventional sex with her husband, the 58 year old family doctor discovers an entirely new side to her personality.
She joins an internet site for adults looking to meet for sex just for sex’s sake, not connected with love, or meant as a gift for the other person.
Unusually, this was the idea of Lucie’s new American partner Tom, who lives apart from her in New York. Tom has voyeuristic tendencies and he is excited by her detailed reports as she contacts, meets, and sexually explores a variety of men. Tom and Lucie in her guise as her alter ego, Adrienne, delight in uncovering this daring and unconventional new aspect to her character.
Both are having fun, but will Tom always accept Lucie’s erotic liaisons, or is the bubble destined to burst?
A Woman with (No) Strings is an unusual and explicit memoir of one average woman’s journey to not-so-average sexual enlightenment.
For years she had thought orgasm was an unattainable myth, but after a lifetime of boring, conventional sex with her husband, the 58 year old family doctor discovers an entirely new side to her personality.
She joins an internet site for adults looking to meet for sex just for sex’s sake, not connected with love, or meant as a gift for the other person.
Unusually, this was the idea of Lucie’s new American partner Tom, who lives apart from her in New York. Tom has voyeuristic tendencies and he is excited by her detailed reports as she contacts, meets, and sexually explores a variety of men. Tom and Lucie in her guise as her alter ego, Adrienne, delight in uncovering this daring and unconventional new aspect to her character.
Both are having fun, but will Tom always accept Lucie’s erotic liaisons, or is the bubble destined to burst?
A Woman with (No) Strings is an unusual and explicit memoir of one average woman’s journey to not-so-average sexual enlightenment.
332 pages, ebook
First published June 30, 2014
56 people want to read
About the author
Lucie Novak
1 book82 followersI was born in Prague. Prague is a nice place, it used to be a nice place even in the communist times. Not nice enough for me not to emigrate, though.
I had enough of the lies, propaganda and censorship. So I emigrated. I live in England, I recently retired from my job- a full time family doctor, a GP. I liked my job and all those secrets people told me. I love England although I will always be an alien here. “Where is that lovely accent coming from?” people say. I speak five languages, all of them with a strong Czech accent. Well, the accent is me, it probably shows even in my writing. But I do not think I want to change it.
I always liked to read, and I was toying with the idea of writing a book for a long time. But whatever I tried to write in the past was not good enough, so I stopped. I did not write any more until my life changed. I divorced, fell in love again, and changed my life .
My first book is a memoir of a sort. You can guess what is me and what is my character Lucie. The book is a journey.
Now I finished a sequel. Most of the sequel is fiction, but the characters are the same. It is weird, imagining an alternative life for real people.
It is great fun, actually. I hope my readers will find it fun to read.
I had enough of the lies, propaganda and censorship. So I emigrated. I live in England, I recently retired from my job- a full time family doctor, a GP. I liked my job and all those secrets people told me. I love England although I will always be an alien here. “Where is that lovely accent coming from?” people say. I speak five languages, all of them with a strong Czech accent. Well, the accent is me, it probably shows even in my writing. But I do not think I want to change it.
I always liked to read, and I was toying with the idea of writing a book for a long time. But whatever I tried to write in the past was not good enough, so I stopped. I did not write any more until my life changed. I divorced, fell in love again, and changed my life .
My first book is a memoir of a sort. You can guess what is me and what is my character Lucie. The book is a journey.
Now I finished a sequel. Most of the sequel is fiction, but the characters are the same. It is weird, imagining an alternative life for real people.
It is great fun, actually. I hope my readers will find it fun to read.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 2, 2015
I enjoyed this book. It was different. It is certainly erotica, but in a different form to that which I have previously read. It is an autobiography of a woman who suddenly releases a sexual side of herself which she never even knew was locked inside her.
Lucie is a family doctor from Prague. Her husband was a bit of a rotter. Her long-term lover, Tom, is a bit of a voyeur and is complicit, from afar, in her sexual adventures. She sets herself up for no-string-attached sex via an online dating site. Tom helps her to define her provocative profile, and even writes some of her correspondence with her online sex partners.
She has some fantastic times, and describes them very explicitly. She also gets into a bit of trouble from time to time, mainly when she ignores Tom's experienced advice. There seemed to be more sad times in Lucie's life than good times, but I think that is because, in this book, she held back on telling us about those wonderful parts of her life.
There is quite a lot in the text to make you laugh.
Lucie's writing style is, and I use the word again, different, but I find it difficult to say how. Perhaps it is the Czech spin on her English. I don't know. But the little quirks make it attractive to read.
Some of the descriptions of sexual acts are very arousing indeed, and fire up the imagination to very high temperatures. Other descriptions are a little clinical, but then, she IS a doctor!
The only niggle that I had was her repetition of "my sexual revolution." It became a cliche. I suppose that, to be fair, that's what this book is about. I did a count of the phrase, and it was only used eighteen times..
In summary, this is a good debut I hope that Lucie will write some more. Maybe she should have a go at expanding just one of her sexual adventures into a full blown novel which is total fantasy. If she does, I hope that she injects more of her wicked sense of humour.
Lucie is a family doctor from Prague. Her husband was a bit of a rotter. Her long-term lover, Tom, is a bit of a voyeur and is complicit, from afar, in her sexual adventures. She sets herself up for no-string-attached sex via an online dating site. Tom helps her to define her provocative profile, and even writes some of her correspondence with her online sex partners.
She has some fantastic times, and describes them very explicitly. She also gets into a bit of trouble from time to time, mainly when she ignores Tom's experienced advice. There seemed to be more sad times in Lucie's life than good times, but I think that is because, in this book, she held back on telling us about those wonderful parts of her life.
There is quite a lot in the text to make you laugh.
Lucie's writing style is, and I use the word again, different, but I find it difficult to say how. Perhaps it is the Czech spin on her English. I don't know. But the little quirks make it attractive to read.
Some of the descriptions of sexual acts are very arousing indeed, and fire up the imagination to very high temperatures. Other descriptions are a little clinical, but then, she IS a doctor!
The only niggle that I had was her repetition of "my sexual revolution." It became a cliche. I suppose that, to be fair, that's what this book is about. I did a count of the phrase, and it was only used eighteen times..
In summary, this is a good debut I hope that Lucie will write some more. Maybe she should have a go at expanding just one of her sexual adventures into a full blown novel which is total fantasy. If she does, I hope that she injects more of her wicked sense of humour.
September 1, 2014
I am giving this book a 4 for importance and courage. This story is an important one for women over 50- you know the stereotype, after menopause, no interest in sex anymore, that type of thing. Well I can tell you as a 56 year old woman that is not true. But I know many who think it is, and sadly, they have resigned to it. These women, and all women over 50 should read this. Men can also find this book worth reading. It tells the story of "Adrienne", a divorced woman who decides with the help of her special friend, her partner, to explore her sexuality and experiment with men she meets and screens online. It is a deliberate process; emailing back and forth, meeting for coffee or dinner first, to see if there is an attraction.
The email exchanges between Adrienne and her prospective sexual encounters were detailed, thoughtful and funny- I enjoyed reading them, but the writing started to really flow effortlessly when Lucie (who is Adrienne to her men) tells us about Tom, her partner, whom she loves. Those parts I liked best. I did feel that Adrienne put herself in danger, and I had a slight problem with that. But her confidence and openness throughout this story is there, as is her vulnerability.
Lucie is funny as she tells us in detail about her encounters, her bad driving, and just about her life and opinions of things. It took a great deal of courage to write a book like this, as it is explicit,, which I liked! This is an honest memoir of a woman who was determined to change, with the help of Tom, a very very special person. This is much more than a book about liberating sex though, it is also a love story that left me teary at the end. When you read this, put all judgment aside and just read it for what it is- a liberating memoir of a woman we can all learn from, after all, this author is a doctor!
The email exchanges between Adrienne and her prospective sexual encounters were detailed, thoughtful and funny- I enjoyed reading them, but the writing started to really flow effortlessly when Lucie (who is Adrienne to her men) tells us about Tom, her partner, whom she loves. Those parts I liked best. I did feel that Adrienne put herself in danger, and I had a slight problem with that. But her confidence and openness throughout this story is there, as is her vulnerability.
Lucie is funny as she tells us in detail about her encounters, her bad driving, and just about her life and opinions of things. It took a great deal of courage to write a book like this, as it is explicit,, which I liked! This is an honest memoir of a woman who was determined to change, with the help of Tom, a very very special person. This is much more than a book about liberating sex though, it is also a love story that left me teary at the end. When you read this, put all judgment aside and just read it for what it is- a liberating memoir of a woman we can all learn from, after all, this author is a doctor!
August 30, 2014
A Woman with (no) Strings Attached is a startling tale of bicultural and bicephalous love. In its stark portrayal of the new libertinism of the twenty-first century, this novel sets a standard for excellence that may not be equalled for some time .
The heroine Lucie grows up in the Kunderesque wasteland of the dying years of the People's Republic of Czechoslovakia. Feeling pressure from family and friends to become sexually active she has two love affairs with men trapped in menial employment because the rules of the communist regime do not allow individuals with their bourgeois class backgrounds to receive university educations or to occupy positions of responsibility in society. These two trapped men accept to enter into love affairs that will go nowhere, because their own lives can go nowhere.
Eventually, Lucie finishes medical school. She begins to date Honza who is headed towards a career in academia and hence a suitable match for someone with her status in society. The erratic quality of Honza's erections and lack of imagination in bed do not disturb her because she attaches little importance to sex.
Lucie is periodically troubled my memories of an erotically charged pair of siblings that she met at a resort on a German beach when she was fifteen. She was quickly attracted to the brother and sister but then recoiled in horror when they appear to invite her to participate in sex as a trio.
Eventually, Honza and Lucie marry. Next they make a common mistake frequently committed by young Czechoslovakian couples in the years between 1968 and 1989; they decide to flee to the west. They then spend several nightmarish years waiting for the visa applications to process. Lucie describes her humiliation at being obliged to bribe one official with presents in order to accelerate the visa applications. The author might have pointed out that during that same period medical doctors in Czechoslovakia routinely bled their patients white with their firm but unstated expectations of presents but apparently feeling that this would be a digression the author refrained from doing so. The essential point was that the young couple had to endure great suffering and many embarrassments in order to embark on a course of action that would ultimately destroy their marriage and happiness.
Lucie and Honza finally manage to arrive in England where they face the daunting task of re-establishing themselves in their professions. Lucie who is an unstoppable force succeeds through great effort. Honza is not so lucky. He becomes a house husband before moving back to Czechoslovakia when the chance to become a university professor is offered to him. Luce and Honza live apart for several years. The inevitable happens. Lucie catches Honza being unfaithful and concludes that the marriage has lived out its usefulness. Honza acknowledges the truth of the matter and the marriage is dissolved.
Upon reflecting on her husband's infidelity, Lucie concludes that she has been letting the grass grow under her feet. She decides to resume her sex life. The opportunity comes when an old friend, Tom, now living in the New York decides to visit the U.K. The two click and quickly go to bed together. Lucie is surprised to discover that sex offers far greater pleasure than she had ever dreamed it could. She resolves to indulge in more sex without commitment
Tom explains to Lucie that to enjoy sex for sex's sake requires mental and technical training. Lucie and Tom form a predatory pact to pursue this goal. Lucie will join a meeting site under the pseudonym of Adrienne for adults looking for casual sex. Tom will assist Lucie by writing the emails to her prospects. This ensures that the communication will effectively target male sensibilities. Moreover because Tom is a voyeur he will enjoy himself by participating in this manner. To further augment Tom's pleasure, Lucie will provide detailed reports of the encounters. In his way Lucie is able to participate in a sexual threesome thus ending many years of remorse for having passed up the opportunity as a fifteen year old virgin in Germany.
At this point the novel acquires the epistolary form and mood of Choderlos de la Clos's great eighteenth century novel Les Liasisons Dangereuses. In this arrangement Tom plays the role of the Marquis de Valmont while Lucie is the surrogate for the Marquise de Merteuil.
In a stunning act of virtuosity, the author presents correspondence with between 19 contacts from the site and the bicephalous Adrienne (the Web Site Alter Ego of Tom and Lucie) . Everyone corresponds with distinct voices and styles so the reader scarcely ever needs to be reminded who is writing.
The reader is then led through a delightful sequence of sexual encounters described in highly prurient and richly comical terms. The innocent Anglo-Saxon clods never realize that that they are mere playthings in the hands of a nefarious bicephalous predator.
Ultimately the game collapses. The two heads of Adrienne both believe themselves to be in charge. When Tom starts to get upset with Lucie's initiative the pact crumbles. Lucie wants to retain Tom as lover but is not prepared to relinquish control over Adrienne. The relationship between Tom and Lucie as lovers ends. At the novel's conclusion concludes, the undaunted Lucie is planning her next move firmly resolved not to look back.
A Woman with (no) Strings Attached is a novel of great humour and extraordinary bleakness. If you have the stomach for somewhat graphic descriptions of sexual encounters you should enjoy this tale of the joys of commitment free sex in the 21st Century.
The heroine Lucie grows up in the Kunderesque wasteland of the dying years of the People's Republic of Czechoslovakia. Feeling pressure from family and friends to become sexually active she has two love affairs with men trapped in menial employment because the rules of the communist regime do not allow individuals with their bourgeois class backgrounds to receive university educations or to occupy positions of responsibility in society. These two trapped men accept to enter into love affairs that will go nowhere, because their own lives can go nowhere.
Eventually, Lucie finishes medical school. She begins to date Honza who is headed towards a career in academia and hence a suitable match for someone with her status in society. The erratic quality of Honza's erections and lack of imagination in bed do not disturb her because she attaches little importance to sex.
Lucie is periodically troubled my memories of an erotically charged pair of siblings that she met at a resort on a German beach when she was fifteen. She was quickly attracted to the brother and sister but then recoiled in horror when they appear to invite her to participate in sex as a trio.
Eventually, Honza and Lucie marry. Next they make a common mistake frequently committed by young Czechoslovakian couples in the years between 1968 and 1989; they decide to flee to the west. They then spend several nightmarish years waiting for the visa applications to process. Lucie describes her humiliation at being obliged to bribe one official with presents in order to accelerate the visa applications. The author might have pointed out that during that same period medical doctors in Czechoslovakia routinely bled their patients white with their firm but unstated expectations of presents but apparently feeling that this would be a digression the author refrained from doing so. The essential point was that the young couple had to endure great suffering and many embarrassments in order to embark on a course of action that would ultimately destroy their marriage and happiness.
Lucie and Honza finally manage to arrive in England where they face the daunting task of re-establishing themselves in their professions. Lucie who is an unstoppable force succeeds through great effort. Honza is not so lucky. He becomes a house husband before moving back to Czechoslovakia when the chance to become a university professor is offered to him. Luce and Honza live apart for several years. The inevitable happens. Lucie catches Honza being unfaithful and concludes that the marriage has lived out its usefulness. Honza acknowledges the truth of the matter and the marriage is dissolved.
Upon reflecting on her husband's infidelity, Lucie concludes that she has been letting the grass grow under her feet. She decides to resume her sex life. The opportunity comes when an old friend, Tom, now living in the New York decides to visit the U.K. The two click and quickly go to bed together. Lucie is surprised to discover that sex offers far greater pleasure than she had ever dreamed it could. She resolves to indulge in more sex without commitment
Tom explains to Lucie that to enjoy sex for sex's sake requires mental and technical training. Lucie and Tom form a predatory pact to pursue this goal. Lucie will join a meeting site under the pseudonym of Adrienne for adults looking for casual sex. Tom will assist Lucie by writing the emails to her prospects. This ensures that the communication will effectively target male sensibilities. Moreover because Tom is a voyeur he will enjoy himself by participating in this manner. To further augment Tom's pleasure, Lucie will provide detailed reports of the encounters. In his way Lucie is able to participate in a sexual threesome thus ending many years of remorse for having passed up the opportunity as a fifteen year old virgin in Germany.
At this point the novel acquires the epistolary form and mood of Choderlos de la Clos's great eighteenth century novel Les Liasisons Dangereuses. In this arrangement Tom plays the role of the Marquis de Valmont while Lucie is the surrogate for the Marquise de Merteuil.
In a stunning act of virtuosity, the author presents correspondence with between 19 contacts from the site and the bicephalous Adrienne (the Web Site Alter Ego of Tom and Lucie) . Everyone corresponds with distinct voices and styles so the reader scarcely ever needs to be reminded who is writing.
The reader is then led through a delightful sequence of sexual encounters described in highly prurient and richly comical terms. The innocent Anglo-Saxon clods never realize that that they are mere playthings in the hands of a nefarious bicephalous predator.
Ultimately the game collapses. The two heads of Adrienne both believe themselves to be in charge. When Tom starts to get upset with Lucie's initiative the pact crumbles. Lucie wants to retain Tom as lover but is not prepared to relinquish control over Adrienne. The relationship between Tom and Lucie as lovers ends. At the novel's conclusion concludes, the undaunted Lucie is planning her next move firmly resolved not to look back.
A Woman with (no) Strings Attached is a novel of great humour and extraordinary bleakness. If you have the stomach for somewhat graphic descriptions of sexual encounters you should enjoy this tale of the joys of commitment free sex in the 21st Century.
July 4, 2014
Very interesting book and often very entertaining!
The main theme of the book is sex, and there are a lot of very detailed sexual descriptions. That's fairly interesting to me, but I was more interested in the other stuff—love, family relationships, friendships, medical career, character insights, etc.
A large percentage of the book is told through email and chat exchanges, sometimes between Lucie and men she meets on a website for married people to explore other avenues. And many of the email exchanges are between Lucie and her friend/lover Tom. These messages are told through italics. There were a few instances where I was confused about where the emails ended and the narration began. There seemed to be a few mistakes with not ending the italics.
There were also times I felt it might have been better to tell the story as direct narration and not through letters to Tom.
Lucie seems to stereotype at times (men and British folks) which is ironic because she talks about Jews being stereotyped. That was kind of funny.
Her friend Tom is American and she seems to see Americans through rose-colored glasses. She talks about how in America, people wouldn't take such note of her Czech accent. There's the idea that it doesn't matter about your accent or skin color; if you're living in America for a reasonable amount of time, you are accepted as being American. I wish that were true, but unfortunately it is not! Now it may be true with some people and some communities. But just as there are closed-minded people in the UK, the same can be said of the good old USA.
In America, there have been times where people who do not have a certain look get the question. "Where are you from?" No...I mean where are you REALLY from?"
Lucie gives great insight into her character through narration and often through compliments she gets through others... via the italicized email/chat exchanges. You also learn a lot about her character through how she describes other people. For example, she sees men who play war reenactment games as being childish. I don't agree with this. I like when adults are still willing to use their imagination and play. So that wasn't my favorite part of the book.
But there are times when Lucie was negative about people and I so enthusiastically could relate to her dislike. I wanted to cheer her on...maybe just for describing such annoying personalities. There was one guy who was incredibly cocky...very up himself. Then there was another who was quick to make assumptions about Lucie...assume he had the ability to understand her.
I wasn't sure I liked Tom in the book. But my opinion went towards the positive when he came down hard on Lucie about not taking driving safety seriously enough.
The writing of the book was well done...easy to read. I wouldn't have minded losing some of the sex stuff. But then some people might say they wished there was more. So it's probably the right length.
My favorite quote from the book: But the reason some of my casual lovers reminded me of Ameer was the way that they seemed to have many sexual skills, but did not apply them to the right situations. There is no point knowing how to make a perfect steak if your guest is a vegetarian."
The main theme of the book is sex, and there are a lot of very detailed sexual descriptions. That's fairly interesting to me, but I was more interested in the other stuff—love, family relationships, friendships, medical career, character insights, etc.
A large percentage of the book is told through email and chat exchanges, sometimes between Lucie and men she meets on a website for married people to explore other avenues. And many of the email exchanges are between Lucie and her friend/lover Tom. These messages are told through italics. There were a few instances where I was confused about where the emails ended and the narration began. There seemed to be a few mistakes with not ending the italics.
There were also times I felt it might have been better to tell the story as direct narration and not through letters to Tom.
Lucie seems to stereotype at times (men and British folks) which is ironic because she talks about Jews being stereotyped. That was kind of funny.
Her friend Tom is American and she seems to see Americans through rose-colored glasses. She talks about how in America, people wouldn't take such note of her Czech accent. There's the idea that it doesn't matter about your accent or skin color; if you're living in America for a reasonable amount of time, you are accepted as being American. I wish that were true, but unfortunately it is not! Now it may be true with some people and some communities. But just as there are closed-minded people in the UK, the same can be said of the good old USA.
In America, there have been times where people who do not have a certain look get the question. "Where are you from?" No...I mean where are you REALLY from?"
Lucie gives great insight into her character through narration and often through compliments she gets through others... via the italicized email/chat exchanges. You also learn a lot about her character through how she describes other people. For example, she sees men who play war reenactment games as being childish. I don't agree with this. I like when adults are still willing to use their imagination and play. So that wasn't my favorite part of the book.
But there are times when Lucie was negative about people and I so enthusiastically could relate to her dislike. I wanted to cheer her on...maybe just for describing such annoying personalities. There was one guy who was incredibly cocky...very up himself. Then there was another who was quick to make assumptions about Lucie...assume he had the ability to understand her.
I wasn't sure I liked Tom in the book. But my opinion went towards the positive when he came down hard on Lucie about not taking driving safety seriously enough.
The writing of the book was well done...easy to read. I wouldn't have minded losing some of the sex stuff. But then some people might say they wished there was more. So it's probably the right length.
My favorite quote from the book: But the reason some of my casual lovers reminded me of Ameer was the way that they seemed to have many sexual skills, but did not apply them to the right situations. There is no point knowing how to make a perfect steak if your guest is a vegetarian."
August 11, 2016
This was a tedious, interminable read. Took me months to force myself back to finish it.
It is one woman's self-absorbed exploration of her own sexual history, from ignorant virgin to sex-addict and bondage practitioner, with multiple partners acquired and discarded along the way.
The book has no literary value. It is really a journal, with endless, endless agonizing over the 'wasted' years, when, she now realizes, she could have been humping so many other men. It's only potential value is as a primer on how to *not* write erotic literature.
It is one woman's self-absorbed exploration of her own sexual history, from ignorant virgin to sex-addict and bondage practitioner, with multiple partners acquired and discarded along the way.
The book has no literary value. It is really a journal, with endless, endless agonizing over the 'wasted' years, when, she now realizes, she could have been humping so many other men. It's only potential value is as a primer on how to *not* write erotic literature.
September 12, 2014
i could sum this book up with the words of boccaccio , "“While farmers generally allow one rooster for ten hens, ten men are scarcely sufficient to service one woman.” " ;) jk
a divorced czech woman in her 50's gets quite depressed after her divorce and she meets an american man who shows her the ropes of dating online and helps her to explore her own body . there's indispensable information for women of the online dating world in this book . and most importantly tips that will keep one off the missing persons list.
the main character confronts her own limitations and learns to deal with partners who come from a myriad of different lifestyles. fighting a battle on two fronts.she runs into many who are full of shit,controlling ones,timid ones, the whole gamut. she does a fantastic job of keeping the book focused and in chronological order. she starts of by choosing an alias for an online dating website that was the complete opposite of the old lucie. her american partner helps her write messages to these men just to get her feet wet (no euphemism lol). the book goes from online messages in italics to the actual meeting, then she talks about the men, critiques herself and notes her growth .never losing focus. i cannot believe this is the authors first book. at first reading this book seemed like work for me. i wasnt particularly interested in a well-to-do woman's sex life but i was pleasantly surprised. a very focused, intelligent, honest book, i think this book is important not only for women but also for men. maybe youre like one of those jerks she meets on a date and you can reflect on yourself. im sure most men will see some of themselves in one or more of lucie's partners. shes far from perfect herself, but thats what i got from this book. dont be one of the lame dudes she runs into. now on the woman side i think this book would be very useful for women who are in the situation lucie started in, overweight(not necessarily),depressed, unfullfilled sex life. perhaps this book will give you the incentive to live a fuller life.
a divorced czech woman in her 50's gets quite depressed after her divorce and she meets an american man who shows her the ropes of dating online and helps her to explore her own body . there's indispensable information for women of the online dating world in this book . and most importantly tips that will keep one off the missing persons list.
the main character confronts her own limitations and learns to deal with partners who come from a myriad of different lifestyles. fighting a battle on two fronts.she runs into many who are full of shit,controlling ones,timid ones, the whole gamut. she does a fantastic job of keeping the book focused and in chronological order. she starts of by choosing an alias for an online dating website that was the complete opposite of the old lucie. her american partner helps her write messages to these men just to get her feet wet (no euphemism lol). the book goes from online messages in italics to the actual meeting, then she talks about the men, critiques herself and notes her growth .never losing focus. i cannot believe this is the authors first book. at first reading this book seemed like work for me. i wasnt particularly interested in a well-to-do woman's sex life but i was pleasantly surprised. a very focused, intelligent, honest book, i think this book is important not only for women but also for men. maybe youre like one of those jerks she meets on a date and you can reflect on yourself. im sure most men will see some of themselves in one or more of lucie's partners. shes far from perfect herself, but thats what i got from this book. dont be one of the lame dudes she runs into. now on the woman side i think this book would be very useful for women who are in the situation lucie started in, overweight(not necessarily),depressed, unfullfilled sex life. perhaps this book will give you the incentive to live a fuller life.
December 29, 2014
Since this book is about awakening to oneself, it is (in a very unusual way) a work about coming to greater self-awareness of one's body and feelings. Because Lucie is an intellectual and a scientist, the book offers insights and observations, of Lucie herself and of the men she comes to know. Though the book is not a work of research, which is good since that would be cold and rather absurd, the keen eye of a scientist comes into play and that is one of the 'characters' that makes this book so interesting. Lucie sees some of these men more clearly, in important, character-revealing and sexual respects, than they see themselves. She thinks things through, while many of them do not. She gives the lie to stupid, sexist assertions about men being thinkers while women are more emotional and fuzzy. Bollocks! Lucie observes and thinks rings around many of the men, but she is also kind and thoughtful enough to let them save face when they encounter things about themselves that they cannot accept or deal with. In that way, she is quite unusual. She only meets her match in a few of the men she has relations with, and one can certainly see why she favors them: they are as smart as her and communicate as fearlessly, and that makes them unusually sexy, too. While this book is erotic, there is much, much more to 'A Woman with (no) Strings Attached' than erotica. This book may not be for 'Romantics' (another approach to sex entirely) but the candor and lack of drama were, to me, a breath of fresh air.
June 2, 2014
Unique, original and captivating :) Thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It was unlike anything I've read before and I'm really glad I picked this up on my kindle. This genre is usually not something I find myself interested in, but the main characters voice had me wanting to know more and more. The descriptive and personal nature of the book had me feeling like I was right along side the MC in this journey. With some of the men/situations that were described, hell I wish I would have been ;) Overall really enjoyed this and would recommend to anyone who is over the age of 18 :)
September 29, 2014
Lucie Novak's book is apparently autobiographical. I found it mostly interesting as the memoir of an intellectual, a medical doctor, who grew up in communist Czechoslovakia and later defected to England. The later 2/3 of the book is about her "sexual awakening", in her fifties—and that seems to be the impetus for writing it in the first place. A lot of her experience is related through explanatory material interspersed with direct quotes from e-mail exchanges. (The quotations, some lengthy, are probably the least successful parts of the book and increase in the second half, but also they're what turn it into "not just a personal memoir" but more of an analytical work, as I'll discuss further below.)
The prose is well done in a talkative, straightforward style that convinces the reader it's all basically true, with only some name changes to hide identities—as if she were telling a new friend all about herself and her field work. The book contains some explicit, quite open, descriptions of sexual experiences, but they're not "erotic" per se, they're mildly clinical in feel: we get some lead-in, the anecdote interspersed with observation and explanation, and finally some analysis. The parts about sex, in other words, are not so much poetically descriptive, romantic, or arousing as they are ethnographic, in some sense. Consequently, I found the book mainly of anthropological interest—it's actually a piece of participant-observer field work.
A good deal of the book, especially the latter half, felt much like a popular ethnography—the sort of thing anthropologists write for mainstream publication, based on voluminous, detailed field notes, and on the impenetrable PhD dissertation which, of course, only another anthropologist would read. And when I say this, I'm not disparaging Novak's work at all; I like ethnography and memoirs.
Parts of the book vaguely reminded me of Anaïs Nin's prose with a kind of not-quite-native spice in some turns of phrase, charmingly; and parts reminded me of several popular anthropological accounts that I was going to start listing here, but I'll spare you that drudgery for the moment.
As regards my rating. I "like" the book, but was expecting something slightly different, so I'm wavering around three stars worth of like, rather than four, only because some of the e-mail exchanges and quotations seemed too long, and I honestly just wanted her to get on with analysis of the experience.
For now, that's what I have to say... We'll see if anything changes when I'm finished. :-)
P.S. OK, I finished a week or so ago, and wanted to add that my opinion didn't change in the last 15%. It's still a nice book that I liked, and I'd recommend it as a memoir worth reading. I'll probably read whatever book the author writes next.
July 8, 2014
The author of this book has outdone herself. When I picked up this book to read, I never knew that along with the author or let us say with the author's help, I too would undergo a sexual revolution in the way I perceive sex. Being from a country like India where sex is treated 'as a gift' from a woman to a boyfriend or husband, as the author has rightly pointed out in her book, I was ready to see another take on sex. Lucie Novak has been bold enough to bring out her sexual revolution in this book which is according to me, a book which every woman must read, to realize that one can enjoy sex and be an active giver and receiver of sexual pleasure, rather than a passive contributor to the sexual act. The protagonist in this story is a woman who with the help of one of the most intriguing personalities I've encountered in books called Tom, who changes her whole perception of herself and sex. Tom is a man whom I think every girl should have as a mentor to make her realize that being a sexual person is not a sin or an abnormality...it is much a part of us as eating and drinking is. I'm a feminist and I think that this book will appeal to all feminists who choose to enjoy sex as an equal partner in the process and not be dominated by a male. The author has beautifully brought out the idea that sex can bring about equality between male and female partners.
The characters in this story are well described and are ones whom we encounter in all walks of life. That is what makes this book different. The characters mentioned in this book are real and play a vital role in the shaping of the protagonist's understanding of her being a sexual person. The author mentions in her memoir that she never knew initially that she was a sexual person and could enjoy sex on an equal basis with any male partner. She also mentions the age old idea that one cannot have sex without being in love. As a woman from India, I believe that this decadent idea of sex only with love is hypocrisy at its best. Sex according to me should be enjoyed and not endured. Lucie through her sex partners or as she calls them her 'fuck buddies' revolutionizes our misconception about sex being a taboo, which only people in the married state or in a live-in relationship should deal in.
Of all the characters in the book, my favourite is the personality of Tom the protagonist's true love who allows the protagonist to view herself as a sexual being and who allows her to explore sex with other partners without any give and take policy...with no strings attached. It is Tom who made me realize that inspite of societal norms and regulations...we all are called to address the truth of our lives. Tom has made me understand that true love is seeing another person happy and to allow that other person to blossom into an all-rounded personality, without any pressure to conform to the usual rules and regulations of partners in love with each other. Tom is an oddity in this story...he is a person who allows his girlfriend and lover to have sex with other men to develop her character and to me, that is, was and will always be the height of true love.
The novel is humorous and full of hidden truths, which we all need to comprehend, to fully enjoy this book. It is a book of passion and compassion, two ideals that never go together, but the author has brought these two incompatible ideals together to make us understand that love is not about being selfish but about being selfless. I would encourage all lovers to read this beautiful book which narrates to us the true love that the author has for her dear friend Tom, who let her blossom as a self-actualized human being where sex was concerned. Call this book a memoir, a novel or an account of sexual desires and equality between the sexes...the author has made an impact which is enriching and changes the way we look at ourselves as husbands, wives, lovers, girlfriends, boyfriends etc.
Here are a few treasures or gems that a reader can collect from this memoir of sex:
1. Sex can be enjoyable without love.
2. Sex can be liberating.
3. True love is about sacrifice and letting ones lover to grow.
4. The way we perceive ourselves is more important than what others think of us.
5. That one can hold ones dignity even in casual sex.
6. That humans are not objects for sexual gratification, especially not women.
7. That the depth of human emotions is hard to fathom... true love is hard to fathom.
Various sexual practices have been mentioned in this book...some which we are used too and some which are shocking but interesting. We become curious like the protagonist to explore this hidden domain of sex and the author through her writings and graphic accounts satisfies our curiosity. I liked the idea of the author exploring her sexual side as Adrienne (her dark side as she calls it), to overcome her shyness where sex a basic human need is concerned. Her innocence and naivety about sex in the beginning of the account is brought out very well by the author. The flow of the story is good and the impact it has on our minds after reading it is remarkable.
Lastly, I would recommend this book to all adult girls...from different countries...from different sections of society to read and be liberated...just the way I was liberated. I congratulate Lucie Novak the author for giving us such a very fascinating account of her life that will and can change the mindset of people towards sex and sexual acts.
The characters in this story are well described and are ones whom we encounter in all walks of life. That is what makes this book different. The characters mentioned in this book are real and play a vital role in the shaping of the protagonist's understanding of her being a sexual person. The author mentions in her memoir that she never knew initially that she was a sexual person and could enjoy sex on an equal basis with any male partner. She also mentions the age old idea that one cannot have sex without being in love. As a woman from India, I believe that this decadent idea of sex only with love is hypocrisy at its best. Sex according to me should be enjoyed and not endured. Lucie through her sex partners or as she calls them her 'fuck buddies' revolutionizes our misconception about sex being a taboo, which only people in the married state or in a live-in relationship should deal in.
Of all the characters in the book, my favourite is the personality of Tom the protagonist's true love who allows the protagonist to view herself as a sexual being and who allows her to explore sex with other partners without any give and take policy...with no strings attached. It is Tom who made me realize that inspite of societal norms and regulations...we all are called to address the truth of our lives. Tom has made me understand that true love is seeing another person happy and to allow that other person to blossom into an all-rounded personality, without any pressure to conform to the usual rules and regulations of partners in love with each other. Tom is an oddity in this story...he is a person who allows his girlfriend and lover to have sex with other men to develop her character and to me, that is, was and will always be the height of true love.
The novel is humorous and full of hidden truths, which we all need to comprehend, to fully enjoy this book. It is a book of passion and compassion, two ideals that never go together, but the author has brought these two incompatible ideals together to make us understand that love is not about being selfish but about being selfless. I would encourage all lovers to read this beautiful book which narrates to us the true love that the author has for her dear friend Tom, who let her blossom as a self-actualized human being where sex was concerned. Call this book a memoir, a novel or an account of sexual desires and equality between the sexes...the author has made an impact which is enriching and changes the way we look at ourselves as husbands, wives, lovers, girlfriends, boyfriends etc.
Here are a few treasures or gems that a reader can collect from this memoir of sex:
1. Sex can be enjoyable without love.
2. Sex can be liberating.
3. True love is about sacrifice and letting ones lover to grow.
4. The way we perceive ourselves is more important than what others think of us.
5. That one can hold ones dignity even in casual sex.
6. That humans are not objects for sexual gratification, especially not women.
7. That the depth of human emotions is hard to fathom... true love is hard to fathom.
Various sexual practices have been mentioned in this book...some which we are used too and some which are shocking but interesting. We become curious like the protagonist to explore this hidden domain of sex and the author through her writings and graphic accounts satisfies our curiosity. I liked the idea of the author exploring her sexual side as Adrienne (her dark side as she calls it), to overcome her shyness where sex a basic human need is concerned. Her innocence and naivety about sex in the beginning of the account is brought out very well by the author. The flow of the story is good and the impact it has on our minds after reading it is remarkable.
Lastly, I would recommend this book to all adult girls...from different countries...from different sections of society to read and be liberated...just the way I was liberated. I congratulate Lucie Novak the author for giving us such a very fascinating account of her life that will and can change the mindset of people towards sex and sexual acts.
July 26, 2014
I actually would rate this as a 4.5.
A very unusual story, a very brave story too in many respects because in this book Lucie lets us into her heart and soul and tells us , though under a pseudonym, her innermost thoughts and fears as her life progresses.
Now Lucie tells us this is not erotica, but it does contain erotic passages, relating's of messages she receives and sends via the dating website she uses.
Now though the progress she makes in losing her inhibitions and venturing into the world of FWB relationship is a good part of this recounting. I personally found many other parts of her story to be just as interesting.
Her upbringing under a restrictive communist regime, her early encounters with men, her interest in sex, but her not really knowing why, and last, and by no means least, the little anecdotes and stories she weaves into the story that left me wanting more.
If you are looking for something a little different from the usual romance, if you like to read of a woman's enlightenment and her new found freedom to explore her sexuality, then I'm sure you will enjoy reading Lucie Vokes book. its a very unusual story indeed
A very unusual story, a very brave story too in many respects because in this book Lucie lets us into her heart and soul and tells us , though under a pseudonym, her innermost thoughts and fears as her life progresses.
Now Lucie tells us this is not erotica, but it does contain erotic passages, relating's of messages she receives and sends via the dating website she uses.
Now though the progress she makes in losing her inhibitions and venturing into the world of FWB relationship is a good part of this recounting. I personally found many other parts of her story to be just as interesting.
Her upbringing under a restrictive communist regime, her early encounters with men, her interest in sex, but her not really knowing why, and last, and by no means least, the little anecdotes and stories she weaves into the story that left me wanting more.
If you are looking for something a little different from the usual romance, if you like to read of a woman's enlightenment and her new found freedom to explore her sexuality, then I'm sure you will enjoy reading Lucie Vokes book. its a very unusual story indeed
May 15, 2017
I started this book 9 months ago and got about 10 percent of the way into it before letting it sit on my phone. I had bought it on Kindle, and the only thing I have to read Kindle books on is my iPhone. And to be honest, I really don't like reading books on my phone. I would much rather have a physical book. But, the Kindle edition is what I had. Over seven or eight months, I would pull up the Kindle app on my phone and read a bit on this. I got up to 17 percent and just never got really interested as Lucie described her early sex life, which, by her admission, was somewhat dull. Last week, I decided to really try to finish the book, and once I got to Tom's real introduction, my interest picked up.
There is a lot here for a man who is trying to understand how women think and feel about sex (and what heterosexual man isn't?). Th psychology behind Lucie's Adrienne exploits and the men she meets is fascinating at times.
The main problem I had was trying to keep up with all the men. Lucie said in her own author review on Goodreads that she made the book too long, and I agree. I also didn't feel a sense of resolution when it was all over. Where is her relationship with Tom heading? And does she go further into BDSM with Bruce?
Still, I enjoyed the read, and I was glad I finally got to the part where Tom showed up....
There is a lot here for a man who is trying to understand how women think and feel about sex (and what heterosexual man isn't?). Th psychology behind Lucie's Adrienne exploits and the men she meets is fascinating at times.
The main problem I had was trying to keep up with all the men. Lucie said in her own author review on Goodreads that she made the book too long, and I agree. I also didn't feel a sense of resolution when it was all over. Where is her relationship with Tom heading? And does she go further into BDSM with Bruce?
Still, I enjoyed the read, and I was glad I finally got to the part where Tom showed up....
February 19, 2017
Lucie Novak has been my friend on Goodreads for several years. She is a retired GP, Czech native, UK emigre, nonpracticing Jewish, book lover who experienced a profound sexual revolution later in life which she shares in her amazing erotic memoir. Though the sexual exploits steal the headlines, Lucie's story is one of self discovery and empowerment---sexuality was just a vehicle. Lucie boldly breaks with social and religious convention to explore her own limits, and learns about life and love through the blue lens of online sexual liaisons. Novak is fluent in five languages, six if you count medicalese, and her writing voice is charmingly authentic and not overly edited. The book is also "about life in a communist country, emigration, marriage, divorce, love, voyeurism and a other things." Lucie Novak has the curiosity, the courage and the compassion of the most intelligent and daring among us. Bravo, Lucie, Bravo! And thank you.
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