Four in a Bed: Writing about Sex from the London Review of Books

LRB Collections #4

by Various

The pieces in this book look at divorce, bisexuality, boy toys, masturbation, impotence, bodice-rippers and involuntary celibates (incels), and more. Some of the authors pretend to apologise for being unable to resist the temptation to joke about sex, but the truth is it really can be very funny. This isn’t to deny its tragic side. But perhaps, as Wendy Doniger writes in her introduction, the essays collected here will strike a blow for more humour – and more humanism – in our thinking about these subjects, and the spaces in between.

Featuring: Mary Beard, Jenny Diski, Wendy Doniger, Frank Kermode, Andrew O’Hagan, Adam Phillips, Amia Srinivasan, David Sylvester, Barbara Taylor, Hugo Williams and Mary-Kay Wilmers

104 pages, Paperback

About the author

Various is the correct author for any book with multiple unknown authors, and is acceptable for books with multiple known authors, especially if not all are known or the list is very long (over 50).

If an editor is known, however, Various is not necessary. List the name of the editor as the primary author (with role "editor"). Contributing authors' names follow it.

Note: WorldCat is an excellent resource for finding author information and contents of anthologies.

Reviews

[Nihar Mukund · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.41 (avg.)
I genuinely enjoyed this collection (perhaps slightly more than the Meaninglessness of Meaning). I have, with subjectivity so extreme that I might desire a bit of reorganisation in a few days, ranked the eleven essays from the weakest to the strongest. Though I do not include the Introduction (for its role in providing a route-map, which differentiates it from the purpose of the other essays), Doniger's intro is excellent and better than her essay. Additionally, I am sticking to a 2-sentence limit.

11) 'Under the Loincloth' - Frank Kermode: The superlative 'weakest' is a relative measure. While I enjoyed the review, Kermode's biases towards the book cause him to severely undermine the issues he rightly recognised in it. [3.25/5]

10) 'Poetry' - Hugo Williams: Why put this short and forgettable poem, not only in this collection, but also in its entirety on the back page? Still a fun read. [3.5/5]

9) 'Four in a Bed' - Wendy Doniger: While her exploratory review identifies and charts cultural notions of bisexuality keenly, Doniger is unwilling to unpack the theoretical moves she makes. Woop, I kept under the 2-sentence review. Okay, now it's two AND three sentences. [3.55/50]

8) 'Too much' - Barbara Taylor: I agree. The length was too long, but the content was great. [4/5]

7) 'No Joke' - Adam Phillips: Despite the topic of impotence being fascinating, it was a struggle at times to maintain my interest. Idk if it is a me problem. [4.25/5]

6) 'In Bed with the Surrealists' - David Sylvester: I loved, loved this piece, and the book it reviews is now on my tbr. I wish Sylvester, however, spoke in his own words rather than relying on quotations. (4.75/5)

5) 'Diary' - Mary Beard: It is the strongest piece amongst the pieces before it in the book. I only wish the ending were expanded and worked to clarify a few ideas. (4.85/5)

4) 'Does anyone have the right to sex?' - Amia Srinivasan: A great closing essay, and genuinely a fun read. However, I don't know if its ending points towards a viable direction. (4.99/5)

2) [TIE] 'Divorce Me' - Mary-Kay Wilmers: It is a banger opener of an essay. (5/5)

2) [TIE] 'Cuddlesome' - Jenny Diski: Love a well-thought-out scholastic takedown of Greer (5/5)

1) 'Travelling Southwards' - Andrew O'Hagan: With phrases such as 'arcs of s*m*n hither and yon', a review of the '50 shades' book is my fav piece. I wonder if he has reviewed and written about the other two.

[Juliette Imbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Very pleasantly surprised. The first three essays/articles were long-winded, meandering and hard to follow, but the others were all excellent.

Good intro to feminist theory and to the philosophy of sex & gender. Hilariously niche historical topics.

Favourite chapters:

- Amia Srinivasan on sexual entitlement and preferences (excellently argued and structured, with a careful acknowledgment of the subtleties and contradictions inherent to the argument)

- Mary Beard on rape (terrifying, evolution is not the answer to everything thank you very much )

- Frank Kermode on artistic depictions of Jesus’ private parts throughout the ages (hilarious if thought-provoking too)

- Jenny Diski on women’s fascination with boys’ bodies (made me think of Good Luck, Leo Grande)

- Barbara Taylor on masturbation (some fantastically funny and shocking quotes from history, including “the filthy Commerce with oneself”)

I wanna read more LRB stuff.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lo cierto es que en esta colección de ensayos y artículos del London Review of Books lo que uno encuentra es el dedo en la yaga en la sexualidad de Inglaterra, América y Europa. Vale la pena leer varias de las piezas (se encuentran rápido por internet, si no podéis haceros con la recopilación) por varias razones: Gozaréis con firmas como Mary Beard (<3), Barbara Taylor (<33) o Mary-Kay Wilmers (<333); trata el sexo desde el divorcio, la bisexualidad, los juegos para niños, la masturbación, los “incels” o las erecciones de Cristo (yo tampoco me había planteado nunca si Jesús se trampaba o no); y muestra la cara divertida de la sexualidad, pero también la tragedia.

[Aidan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. lots of nice stuff, a few a little too dry and meandering (as with many LRB articles tbf)

[Luigi Barraza · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s more like a 3.5, but I support sex as a sociological ethnological subject matter. It is a very interesting read, although a bit disjointed.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s pretty heavy going like all LRB writing, but I do like these books as they are short and an easier way of reading the LRB than the big newspapers. I took my time with this dipping in and out and not putting any pressure on myself to finish it. Of course Mary Beard’s piece is the best and most interesting.