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Nightbook
One night many centuries ago, the fair ladies of Athens gathered to tell stories about the pursuit of varied physical pleasures. Shortly, though, it appeared that the stories could not be confined to ancient times, another century -our own- began to interrupt their lascivious tales.A wise and loving scribe was on hand at both scenes. William Kotzwinkle reports on that wondrously exciting evening in "Nightbook". From him we learn of the enduring pleasures of incest, transvestitism, voyeurism, bestiality, masturbation, heterosexuality, homosexuality, and other events that can only be described under the cover of night before sunrise."A raunchy, sensitive, witty notebook on sex and life", wrote Newsday, and The New York Times stated, "Kotzwinkle's characters are plugged into the life force...he is into legends that might surprise Bullfinch".
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1974
42 people want to read
About the author
William Kotzwinkle
81 books256 followersWilliam Kotzwinkle is a two-time recipient of the National Magazine Award for Fiction, a winner of the World Fantasy Award, the Prix Litteraire des Bouquinistes des Quais de Paris, the PETA Award for Children's Books, and a Book Critics Circle award nominee. His work has been translated into dozens of languages.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 23, 2012
Reading Kotzwinkle’s Night Book is fast, insightful, weird and eccentric. My first attempt on reading this sort of novella makes my forehead furrow and leaves me with confusion enough for me to ask myself the question of reading it or not. Having no idea of the constantly shifting point of view and narrative makes me feel irritable about it. The second try makes me hope that it would become interesting as I first hate it and in the end, it thus leaves me utterly satisfied. The novel is about a combination of ideas and folklores from ancient Greek using themes which are more familiar in any of us living in this present day. Although its acceptance in every society is not much clear as it is before. Themes mainly of pleasures like incest, bestiality, voyeurism, homosexuality, masturbation, transvestism, sadism, masochism and the likes. Kotzwinkle’s prose assures you that he is a brilliant writer even though with such themes that he carefully analyzes with sensitivity and connecting it with our lives. The writing which I predict to be confusing for the first time somehow makes me fall flat while I read, unexpectedly making me stop to savor on how well accomplished he constructs the story leaving me with wide admiration.
There is no question that Kotzwinkle -as the blurbs on the back cover of my paperback copy- is one of the few interesting and insightful of writers. It is not arguable to call this novella erotica but I have to stop myself for the brand’s connotation, for in here, indeed he makes erotica to be of literary use. And I would probably read anything from him to experience once again what I’ve savor just from reading this small and witty masterpiece.
Opening Sentence: “Did you ever eat a girl?” she asked quietly.
Ending Sentence: “I can’t use it.”
There is no question that Kotzwinkle -as the blurbs on the back cover of my paperback copy- is one of the few interesting and insightful of writers. It is not arguable to call this novella erotica but I have to stop myself for the brand’s connotation, for in here, indeed he makes erotica to be of literary use. And I would probably read anything from him to experience once again what I’ve savor just from reading this small and witty masterpiece.
Opening Sentence: “Did you ever eat a girl?” she asked quietly.
Ending Sentence: “I can’t use it.”
August 19, 2015
A kind of sexy Scheherezade book where tales are told of orgies, incest, transvestitism, homosexuality, masturbation, the porno industry, prostitution, and other sexual kinks spanning time and space.
Not so much a novel but a collection of nutty sex tales, it was written in the Seventies and has that Playboy/Penthouse Shel Silverstein swinger vibe that was so prevalent back then. From the author of "E.T."
Not so much a novel but a collection of nutty sex tales, it was written in the Seventies and has that Playboy/Penthouse Shel Silverstein swinger vibe that was so prevalent back then. From the author of "E.T."
December 2, 2025
The framing structure is a group of Athenian women in antiquity, telling each other erotic stories. These are interspersed with contemporary accounts.
The book's main oddity, to me, is that many of the stories are more 'naughty' than erotic, in the sense that, for example, they may involve excrementory issues but not necessarily coprophilia; also as one may unfortunately find typical of a white heterosexual male writing in 1974, the stories are not particularly empathetic to queer people, or non-white people, nor are they even close to scrupulous about consent.
The book is usually entertaining, for all of that, and people who looking for a humorously naughty 1970s vibe would do well to check it out.
The book's main oddity, to me, is that many of the stories are more 'naughty' than erotic, in the sense that, for example, they may involve excrementory issues but not necessarily coprophilia; also as one may unfortunately find typical of a white heterosexual male writing in 1974, the stories are not particularly empathetic to queer people, or non-white people, nor are they even close to scrupulous about consent.
The book is usually entertaining, for all of that, and people who looking for a humorously naughty 1970s vibe would do well to check it out.
April 9, 2020
Pb., Avon / Equinox 1974, Good condition
April 15, 2016
An account of a group of Athenian women telling late night tales, until the temporal reality shifts and their stories are interrupted by parallel narratives from the 20th Century.
An oddity, even for William Kotzwinkle, and that's saying something as he is odd. Ostensibly, Night Book is a series of erotic tales told by a group of Athenian women in ancient times, coupled with a tangentially related story from modern times. The book covers just about every sexual variation including voyeurism, exhibitionism, prostitution, incest, bestiality ... the list goes on. It's more R-rated than X-rated, but not for children. Rather than erotic, it seemed almost more like a tribute to erotica, if that makes any sense. And although the stories in Night Book are purportedly based on ancient myths, most of them seem to be created whole cloth by the author. Perhaps a scholar of myths could verify their attributions better than I. A fun short read, Night Book seems like something that might be written by the protagonist in a Kotzwinkle novel, and seems like a challenge that the author set for himself to see how it would turn out. Maybe he was trying to write some profitable porn and came up with this instead. A curio, an oddity, an entertainment, a tour de force, and since it's William Kotzwinkle, it's well written. And just out of curiosity, I wonder how many copies of this are extant. [3 Stars]
An oddity, even for William Kotzwinkle, and that's saying something as he is odd. Ostensibly, Night Book is a series of erotic tales told by a group of Athenian women in ancient times, coupled with a tangentially related story from modern times. The book covers just about every sexual variation including voyeurism, exhibitionism, prostitution, incest, bestiality ... the list goes on. It's more R-rated than X-rated, but not for children. Rather than erotic, it seemed almost more like a tribute to erotica, if that makes any sense. And although the stories in Night Book are purportedly based on ancient myths, most of them seem to be created whole cloth by the author. Perhaps a scholar of myths could verify their attributions better than I. A fun short read, Night Book seems like something that might be written by the protagonist in a Kotzwinkle novel, and seems like a challenge that the author set for himself to see how it would turn out. Maybe he was trying to write some profitable porn and came up with this instead. A curio, an oddity, an entertainment, a tour de force, and since it's William Kotzwinkle, it's well written. And just out of curiosity, I wonder how many copies of this are extant. [3 Stars]
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews