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Anonymous Sex
27 Authors. 27 Stories. No Names Attached.
A bold collection of stories about sex that leaves you guessing who wrote what.
Bestselling novelists Hillary Jordan and Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan present an elegant, international anthology of erotica that explores the diverse spectrum of desire, written by winners of the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, PEN Awards, the Women’s Prize for Fiction, Edgar Award, and more. There are stories of sexual obsession and sexual love, of domination and submission. There’s revenge sex, unrequited sex, funny sex, tortured sex, fairy tale sex, and even sex in the afterlife.
While the authors are listed in alphabetical order at the beginning of the book, none of the stories are attributed, providing readers with a glimpse into an uninhibited landscape of sexuality as explored by twenty-seven of today’s finest authors.
Featuring Robert Olen Butler, Catherine Chung, Trent Dalton, Heidi W. Durrow, Tony Eprile, Louise Erdrich, Jamie Ford, Julia Glass, Peter Godwin, Hillary Jordan, Rebecca Makkai, Valerie Martin, Dina Nayeri, Chigozie Obioma, Téa Obreht, Helen Oyeyemi, Mary-Louise Parker, Victoria Redel, Jason Reynolds, S.J. Rozan, Meredith Talusan, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, Souvankham Thammavongsa, Jeet Thayil, Paul Theroux, Luis Alberto Urrea, and Edmund White.
A bold collection of stories about sex that leaves you guessing who wrote what.
Bestselling novelists Hillary Jordan and Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan present an elegant, international anthology of erotica that explores the diverse spectrum of desire, written by winners of the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, PEN Awards, the Women’s Prize for Fiction, Edgar Award, and more. There are stories of sexual obsession and sexual love, of domination and submission. There’s revenge sex, unrequited sex, funny sex, tortured sex, fairy tale sex, and even sex in the afterlife.
While the authors are listed in alphabetical order at the beginning of the book, none of the stories are attributed, providing readers with a glimpse into an uninhibited landscape of sexuality as explored by twenty-seven of today’s finest authors.
Featuring Robert Olen Butler, Catherine Chung, Trent Dalton, Heidi W. Durrow, Tony Eprile, Louise Erdrich, Jamie Ford, Julia Glass, Peter Godwin, Hillary Jordan, Rebecca Makkai, Valerie Martin, Dina Nayeri, Chigozie Obioma, Téa Obreht, Helen Oyeyemi, Mary-Louise Parker, Victoria Redel, Jason Reynolds, S.J. Rozan, Meredith Talusan, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, Souvankham Thammavongsa, Jeet Thayil, Paul Theroux, Luis Alberto Urrea, and Edmund White.
368 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2022
555 people are currently reading
5884 people want to read
About the author
Hillary Jordan
6 books1,328 followersHillary Jordan is the author of two novels: MUDBOUND and WHEN SHE WOKE, as well as the digital short "Aftermirth," all published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill.
MUDBOUND won the 2006 Bellwether Prize for fiction, founded by Barbara Kingsolver to recognize debut novels of social justice, and an Alex Award from the American Library Association. PASTE Magazine named it one of the Top 10 Debut Novels of the Decade, and it was a 2013 World Book Night selection.
WHEN SHE WOKE was one of BookPage’s Best Books of 2011. It was long-listed for the 2013 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and was a Lamda Award finalist.
Hillary's books have been translated into French, Italian, Spanish, German, Serbian, Swedish, Norwegian, Portuguese (Brazil), Turkish and Chinese (Taiwan and Hong Kong).
Hillary grew up in Texas and Oklahoma. She received her BA from Wellesley College and her MFA from Columbia University. She lives in Brooklyn, along with half the writers in America.
MUDBOUND won the 2006 Bellwether Prize for fiction, founded by Barbara Kingsolver to recognize debut novels of social justice, and an Alex Award from the American Library Association. PASTE Magazine named it one of the Top 10 Debut Novels of the Decade, and it was a 2013 World Book Night selection.
WHEN SHE WOKE was one of BookPage’s Best Books of 2011. It was long-listed for the 2013 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and was a Lamda Award finalist.
Hillary's books have been translated into French, Italian, Spanish, German, Serbian, Swedish, Norwegian, Portuguese (Brazil), Turkish and Chinese (Taiwan and Hong Kong).
Hillary grew up in Texas and Oklahoma. She received her BA from Wellesley College and her MFA from Columbia University. She lives in Brooklyn, along with half the writers in America.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 299 reviews
February 13, 2022
When award winning authors come together to write highly sophisticated "trashy" stories, botch of a book like this emerges from the wreckage. : ")
November 23, 2022
In brief - If this is your sort of thing and you have an open mind some of these stories are very good.
In full
I really did like the concept of this book of short stories. Known authors get to write short stories about sex anonymously. I'd heard of or read a handful of the authors involved and felt this might make an interesting change of reading. I see that the blurb says that there are 27 stories. My copy is a pre publication one but I appear to have read 31.
These stories do cover a fairly wide range of encounters. Maybe worth noting that most of them are heterosexual though. Some are short, some are long. Some I got and some I simply didn't. Probably unsurprisingly for this sort of anthology there were ones that I really liked and worked for me. Equally there were quite a few that were far more ordinary.
I'd prefer people to discover these for themselves however I will comment on three of these. I really liked "Rapunzel". This is definitely not a story for children however I found it very entertaining and well written. It's a reworking of the fairy tale and I thought it was very creative. For something erotic (and not that many were for me) then "Vis a vis 1953" was very good indeed.
Ultimately there was one story that was simply so well written and powerful that it blew me away. It was "The Memory of Hands". It was tender, felt very real and simply a very good read. I've not really read anything quite like that or that good in a fair while. While I do like the idea of anonymous authors here the snag is that I have no idea who wrote my favourites stories so I can't try more of their work. In a sense that is a pity (for them and me).
Those three stories have stayed with me despite the fact that I finished this book a month or so ago at the time or writing this. Looking through my notes there were a few others that resonated with me to some degree. However the remainder didn't do a lot for me. Despite this I would still suggest this is well worth a try if the general idea appeals to you. I don't know what you might find in these that work for you but I'll bet some of then do.
Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review
In full
I really did like the concept of this book of short stories. Known authors get to write short stories about sex anonymously. I'd heard of or read a handful of the authors involved and felt this might make an interesting change of reading. I see that the blurb says that there are 27 stories. My copy is a pre publication one but I appear to have read 31.
These stories do cover a fairly wide range of encounters. Maybe worth noting that most of them are heterosexual though. Some are short, some are long. Some I got and some I simply didn't. Probably unsurprisingly for this sort of anthology there were ones that I really liked and worked for me. Equally there were quite a few that were far more ordinary.
I'd prefer people to discover these for themselves however I will comment on three of these. I really liked "Rapunzel". This is definitely not a story for children however I found it very entertaining and well written. It's a reworking of the fairy tale and I thought it was very creative. For something erotic (and not that many were for me) then "Vis a vis 1953" was very good indeed.
Ultimately there was one story that was simply so well written and powerful that it blew me away. It was "The Memory of Hands". It was tender, felt very real and simply a very good read. I've not really read anything quite like that or that good in a fair while. While I do like the idea of anonymous authors here the snag is that I have no idea who wrote my favourites stories so I can't try more of their work. In a sense that is a pity (for them and me).
Those three stories have stayed with me despite the fact that I finished this book a month or so ago at the time or writing this. Looking through my notes there were a few others that resonated with me to some degree. However the remainder didn't do a lot for me. Despite this I would still suggest this is well worth a try if the general idea appeals to you. I don't know what you might find in these that work for you but I'll bet some of then do.
Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review
December 3, 2021
Some of these are decent. Some are terrible. The rest are just underwhelming. I’m not sure all the authors understood the assignment. There’s such an elitist snobbery in a bunch of literary authors deciding to titillate the world with this collection. Do they think this is erotica? Have any of them read good contemporary erotica (or a steamy scene in a romance novel)? It doesn’t seem like most have, and as a result their stories are not remotely sexy.
Also, why do they have to be anonymous? Are they embarrassed? Do they think it will sully their reputations in the pretentious world of literary fiction? I was honestly bored by most of their efforts. Do yourself a favor and read a real collection of erotica instead.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.
Also, why do they have to be anonymous? Are they embarrassed? Do they think it will sully their reputations in the pretentious world of literary fiction? I was honestly bored by most of their efforts. Do yourself a favor and read a real collection of erotica instead.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.
February 11, 2022
Real Rating: 3.5* of five, rounded down for the unbearable straightness of it all
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU (SORT OF).
My Review: Point one: I'm queer as the proverbial three-dollar bill. Point two: I'm old. Sex, while it still entertains and even once in a while delights me (given that the party of the second part is far away ATM that's not the most common occurrence), I'm not as, um, invested in the subject as I once was. Point three: I've internalized a lot more of the 21st century's norms and mores than I thought I had, as I discovered reading this.
A woman whose fantasy life is spent imagining her "ethnic" next-door neighbor, for example, made me a little...uneasy...because that just feels weird these #MeToo days. However, that self-same story contains some lines that made me snort my ramen:
There is a startling absence of men as actors. Not just gay ones, men as the point of the story. That got it a half-point, though we can't remotely consider this a Bechdel-test win! Heterosexuality is common, goodness knows, but it's common as pig tracks here in this collection. No, not every encounter was heterosexual; just almost all.
There are twenty-seven stories in this collection. I can actually remember reading three of them:
One Day in the Life of Josephine Bellanotte Munro does what I hope all women do: tosses itself off in any handy corner while seriously violating her Proper Matron Status by fetishizing the "ethnic" neighbor, wondering how the hell to convince her still-eager husband to go the fuck away with that thing, and scare her teenage daughter into a week's celibacy by threatening to expose her sex life to her dad.
Ick. Just...ick.
What the Hands Remember poignantly meditates on that one paralyzingly terrifying, utterly ensorcelling, always humiliating First: a boy's first sex with a living, breathing partner. In this case, as the man remembering it has lost all other memories, all other connections to life. This is the moment he relives.
Josephine will, somehow, somewhere, still feel you, will be back there with you...and that is the real Kiss of Death. A horndog you surely were, but in the end we are our final and authentic selves. SO: Vale, sir.
Vis-à-Vis 1953 suspends two bored, unhappy people in the gladsome cage of shared need and always sought, never satiated desire.
On a train from L. A. to Wichita, Kansas.
Ends, beginnings, they're the exciting bit. Middles can wear on you; there's no middle here.
I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU (SORT OF).
My Review: Point one: I'm queer as the proverbial three-dollar bill. Point two: I'm old. Sex, while it still entertains and even once in a while delights me (given that the party of the second part is far away ATM that's not the most common occurrence), I'm not as, um, invested in the subject as I once was. Point three: I've internalized a lot more of the 21st century's norms and mores than I thought I had, as I discovered reading this.
A woman whose fantasy life is spent imagining her "ethnic" next-door neighbor, for example, made me a little...uneasy...because that just feels weird these #MeToo days. However, that self-same story contains some lines that made me snort my ramen:
...maybe I won't even ask them to talk about Things Fall Apart, which tends to startle and tongue-tie my almost-entirely-white-and-well-off wards. Not that I don't share their good fortune, though I, bookish girl from a big Irish Italian Catholic family, married into this seaside haven of college professors & financiers, skim-milk Unitarians who wouldn't know original sin from artisanal gin.
There is a startling absence of men as actors. Not just gay ones, men as the point of the story. That got it a half-point, though we can't remotely consider this a Bechdel-test win! Heterosexuality is common, goodness knows, but it's common as pig tracks here in this collection. No, not every encounter was heterosexual; just almost all.
There are twenty-seven stories in this collection. I can actually remember reading three of them:
One Day in the Life of Josephine Bellanotte Munro does what I hope all women do: tosses itself off in any handy corner while seriously violating her Proper Matron Status by fetishizing the "ethnic" neighbor, wondering how the hell to convince her still-eager husband to go the fuck away with that thing, and scare her teenage daughter into a week's celibacy by threatening to expose her sex life to her dad.
Ick. Just...ick.
What the Hands Remember poignantly meditates on that one paralyzingly terrifying, utterly ensorcelling, always humiliating First: a boy's first sex with a living, breathing partner. In this case, as the man remembering it has lost all other memories, all other connections to life. This is the moment he relives.
Josephine will, somehow, somewhere, still feel you, will be back there with you...and that is the real Kiss of Death. A horndog you surely were, but in the end we are our final and authentic selves. SO: Vale, sir.
Vis-à-Vis 1953 suspends two bored, unhappy people in the gladsome cage of shared need and always sought, never satiated desire.
On a train from L. A. to Wichita, Kansas.
Ends, beginnings, they're the exciting bit. Middles can wear on you; there's no middle here.
February 9, 2022
It's been a hot minute since I've read any erotica. But give me 27 authors with 27 erotic stories and you have no idea who wrote what? Well, don't you threaten me with a good time!!
Alas, meep. I was thoroughly intrigued - especially with this large cast of amazing authors. And I'm sure, like with most anthologies there is something for everyone. Unfortunately, for the most part these were a miss for me. The very first story had me intrigued - so much that if I knew who the author was, I'd write them and see if we can't get this story expanded as I REALLY need to know what happened after that necklace incident! WINNER. But the rest fell a bit flat for me. And I didn't feel most stories were all that "erotic" ... though that definition varies for everyone and their sex spectrum.
Long story short... swing and... a miss! Let's just say that for the most part, it was a bit... soft. Womp womp.
Alas, meep. I was thoroughly intrigued - especially with this large cast of amazing authors. And I'm sure, like with most anthologies there is something for everyone. Unfortunately, for the most part these were a miss for me. The very first story had me intrigued - so much that if I knew who the author was, I'd write them and see if we can't get this story expanded as I REALLY need to know what happened after that necklace incident! WINNER. But the rest fell a bit flat for me. And I didn't feel most stories were all that "erotic" ... though that definition varies for everyone and their sex spectrum.
Long story short... swing and... a miss! Let's just say that for the most part, it was a bit... soft. Womp womp.
November 16, 2021
I agree with other reviewers that some of these stories are meh. But wow, some of them are great. I wish I knew who wrote which chapter, because I'd love to follow up with other stories/books by the same authors.
The first story, History Lesson, had me hooked. The main character gives herself permission to have kinky sex once a year with a certain someone at an annual conference. Love it. One Day in the Life of Josephine Bellanote Munro is now possibly one of my favorite short stories of all time. Funny, honest, lustful but sweet. I adored it.
There are some duds in between, maybe even more duds than not. Truthfully, I wish more of the authors had chosen to talk about sex with levity, lightness, humor. No need to be so serious about it all, you know? But the stories that I liked I LOVED, and I would encourage anyone to flip through this collection to find something that moves them.
The first story, History Lesson, had me hooked. The main character gives herself permission to have kinky sex once a year with a certain someone at an annual conference. Love it. One Day in the Life of Josephine Bellanote Munro is now possibly one of my favorite short stories of all time. Funny, honest, lustful but sweet. I adored it.
There are some duds in between, maybe even more duds than not. Truthfully, I wish more of the authors had chosen to talk about sex with levity, lightness, humor. No need to be so serious about it all, you know? But the stories that I liked I LOVED, and I would encourage anyone to flip through this collection to find something that moves them.
March 4, 2022
A book filled with different stories all about sex? It sounded like my kind of book, I like spicey content, I like romantic content, I like dark romance content, I dunno, I felt like this one fell just the tiniest bit flat with me. I was looking forward to it but a lot of the stories didn’t resonate with me in any way, a few of them felt rushed through, and one felt like it wasn’t even finished. I did find myself wondering which author wrote what story though, but we will never know!
I’m happy to have read the book but it’s not one I would read again in the future.
Thank you Harper Collins for sending me a copy.
I’m happy to have read the book but it’s not one I would read again in the future.
Thank you Harper Collins for sending me a copy.
September 4, 2022
The concept of this short story collection is great, but the execution terrible.
27 authors, each with a short story focusing on the concept of "anonymous sex" - bear in mind it was written during the panini, and there are no names attributed to any of the stories.
Honestly, I'm baffled that 99% were so dull? Here's your opportunity to write the weirdest/filthiest shit you cannot publish anywhere, and this is what you hand in? These people have absolutely NOTHING on mature fanfic. Nothing. And I don't just mean that most of it was boring, or straight (though I was promised more queer stuff in the intro? where tf was it?), it was just weird, without it being tantalising or seducing in any way. Repellant.
The only two I even vaguely remember is the one set in China with the revengeful ghost and the teacher one who's thirsty for the neighbour. The one set in Hawaii could have been interesting, but the ending was so bland? Not a surprise that I skipped a lot of them.
27 authors, each with a short story focusing on the concept of "anonymous sex" - bear in mind it was written during the panini, and there are no names attributed to any of the stories.
Honestly, I'm baffled that 99% were so dull? Here's your opportunity to write the weirdest/filthiest shit you cannot publish anywhere, and this is what you hand in? These people have absolutely NOTHING on mature fanfic. Nothing. And I don't just mean that most of it was boring, or straight (though I was promised more queer stuff in the intro? where tf was it?), it was just weird, without it being tantalising or seducing in any way. Repellant.
The only two I even vaguely remember is the one set in China with the revengeful ghost and the teacher one who's thirsty for the neighbour. The one set in Hawaii could have been interesting, but the ending was so bland? Not a surprise that I skipped a lot of them.
November 15, 2021
“She claws his buttocks more deeply into the clenched slop of her sex” is a line from the story “LVIII Times a Year.” This is, all by itself, a excruciating line, but it just one of many examples in this collection of an author using “sex” instead of more specific words to describe genitalia. The phrase “her sex” occurs four times and “his sex” appears twice. This might not seem like a lot spread over twenty-seven stories, but as the examples accumulated it occurred to me that this decorous, antiquated euphemism only occurs in writing. No one ever calls a penis or vagina “her sex” or “his sex” outside of the pages of a book, and each time I encountered it, it became more ludicrous.
Anyway, this is the sort of thing I was free to notice as I was decidedly not enjoying most of the stories collected here. Some are genuinely good short fiction. “One Day in the Life of Josephine Bellanotte Munro” was my fave. I also appreciated “Rapunzel, Rapunzel” and “Odi et Amo.” But most of the rest I found to be actively off-putting, poorly crafted, or a depressing combination of the two.
Anyway, this is the sort of thing I was free to notice as I was decidedly not enjoying most of the stories collected here. Some are genuinely good short fiction. “One Day in the Life of Josephine Bellanotte Munro” was my fave. I also appreciated “Rapunzel, Rapunzel” and “Odi et Amo.” But most of the rest I found to be actively off-putting, poorly crafted, or a depressing combination of the two.
February 23, 2022
A book about all kinds of sex! A short story collection! A book with 27 authors writing stories anonymously! Bring it on!
Except...no. I don't remember being so disappointed by any short story collection as this one. In all anthologies, there is at least one great story and a couple of good ones. But this one was an exception.
Most of the stories didn't even make sense. I am all for open endings given that they are thought-provoking. There is nothing of that sort in this book. The endings of many stories are so ambiguous that I was more confused than I was before I started the story. Some of the stories read as if the author had never read a single erotic novel or even a sex scene in any book. It was all very awkward. Sometimes, I was so bored that was lulled to sleep while reading. Not what I expect from a book about sex.
There were 27 stories and I remember only one - Vis-a-vis 1953. That, too, wasn't a great story but it was passable.
A disappointed 2 stars.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
Except...no. I don't remember being so disappointed by any short story collection as this one. In all anthologies, there is at least one great story and a couple of good ones. But this one was an exception.
Most of the stories didn't even make sense. I am all for open endings given that they are thought-provoking. There is nothing of that sort in this book. The endings of many stories are so ambiguous that I was more confused than I was before I started the story. Some of the stories read as if the author had never read a single erotic novel or even a sex scene in any book. It was all very awkward. Sometimes, I was so bored that was lulled to sleep while reading. Not what I expect from a book about sex.
There were 27 stories and I remember only one - Vis-a-vis 1953. That, too, wasn't a great story but it was passable.
A disappointed 2 stars.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
July 4, 2022
I liked the premise of Anonymous Sex and the fact that at least a few of the stories in here didn't have an agenda; however, for most of this collection I felt like an author was trying to force something down my throat. As if they thought they were on the lit side of a peep show, performing for a captive audience of conservatives. There were one or two very good stories (read: sexy) and one or two decent stories (didn't quite work but the attempt was genuine) but for the rest of them, I felt like Alex with my eyes pried open, resisting reprogramming. Yo, just write, don't try to tell us how to feel or how to see. If you just write, we will feel what you feel and see what you see - that's what's so fucking great about art - the real stuff shines through. One of my favorite books of the last 10 years or so is The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson and what works so well about that book is Nelson specifically NOT trying to militantly tell the reader what to think or how to feel. The reader is left with a connection to her life rather than an agenda to bristle against
I don't meant to be all that hard on Anonymous Sex, it's just that I expected a lot of unbridled, transgressive fun and instead felt mostly like I was either being condescended to or worse, treated like a combatant
I don't meant to be all that hard on Anonymous Sex, it's just that I expected a lot of unbridled, transgressive fun and instead felt mostly like I was either being condescended to or worse, treated like a combatant
March 30, 2022
I was intrigued and excited to read this book. The premise of an anthology with 27 authors writing stories about sex in different facets of life anonymously really pulled me in. However, now that I've finished it, I'm disappointed. The majority of the short stories were uncomfortable and awkward to read. I didn't find any of the stories sexy and out of 27 stories, I only really liked 3. The 3 stories I enjoyed were "Find Me," "Vis a Vis 1953" and "Partita."
Maybe I didn't enjoy this because I came into this with a set mental picture of what I thought this was going to be, and was met instead with stories involving sex with sentient moss, a variety pack of cheating, and one truly sickening story about a man who becomes so obsessed with his student, he tracks her down outside of the classroom and used his power to force her into a sexual relationship with him.
Overall, this was an interesting and intriguing idea, just less than ideally executed for me.
Maybe I didn't enjoy this because I came into this with a set mental picture of what I thought this was going to be, and was met instead with stories involving sex with sentient moss, a variety pack of cheating, and one truly sickening story about a man who becomes so obsessed with his student, he tracks her down outside of the classroom and used his power to force her into a sexual relationship with him.
Overall, this was an interesting and intriguing idea, just less than ideally executed for me.
June 4, 2022
Anonymous Sex is a fantastic anthology with a unique concept about love and sex in the pandemic.
It featured many notable contributors, including Robert Olen Butler, Catherine Chung, Trent Dalton, Heidi W. Durrow, Tony Eprile, Louise Erdrich, Jamie Ford, Julia Glass, Peter Godwin, Hillary Jordan, Rebecca Makkai, Valerie Martin, Dina Nayeri, Chigozie Obioma, Téa Obreht, Helen Oyeyemi, Mary-Louise Parker, Victoria Redel, Jason Reynolds, S.J. Rozan, Meredith Talusan, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, Souvankham Thammavongsa, Jeet Thayil, Paul Theroux, Luis Alberto Urrea, and Edmund White. There are a lot of different kinds of sex highlighted in these stories: ghost sex, holographic sex, bad sex, bondage sex, good sex, and married sex.
I loved the introduction, which summed it up when it said, "In thinking about how to describe the collection, we kept coming back to the last line of Altitude Sickness, the fourth story in the anthology. 'She grabbed the man's hand and kissed him without shame as the plane began to tilt.' While the world has certainly been more atilt than usual recently, the truth is, it's always tilting in ways large and small for each one of us. Sex can be a grounding force in that day-to-day pitch. It can also be part of the upheaval. Either way, it's a connection many of us both want and need, a way to reach across the divide and know that we aren't alone, which is what inspired us to take this leap together. We hope you enjoy every eloquent, provocative, delicious word." After seeing the wicked strawberry cover, I will say that I don't think I will ever eat a strawberry the same way again.
To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at:
https://zibbyowens.com/transcript/hil...
It featured many notable contributors, including Robert Olen Butler, Catherine Chung, Trent Dalton, Heidi W. Durrow, Tony Eprile, Louise Erdrich, Jamie Ford, Julia Glass, Peter Godwin, Hillary Jordan, Rebecca Makkai, Valerie Martin, Dina Nayeri, Chigozie Obioma, Téa Obreht, Helen Oyeyemi, Mary-Louise Parker, Victoria Redel, Jason Reynolds, S.J. Rozan, Meredith Talusan, Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, Souvankham Thammavongsa, Jeet Thayil, Paul Theroux, Luis Alberto Urrea, and Edmund White. There are a lot of different kinds of sex highlighted in these stories: ghost sex, holographic sex, bad sex, bondage sex, good sex, and married sex.
I loved the introduction, which summed it up when it said, "In thinking about how to describe the collection, we kept coming back to the last line of Altitude Sickness, the fourth story in the anthology. 'She grabbed the man's hand and kissed him without shame as the plane began to tilt.' While the world has certainly been more atilt than usual recently, the truth is, it's always tilting in ways large and small for each one of us. Sex can be a grounding force in that day-to-day pitch. It can also be part of the upheaval. Either way, it's a connection many of us both want and need, a way to reach across the divide and know that we aren't alone, which is what inspired us to take this leap together. We hope you enjoy every eloquent, provocative, delicious word." After seeing the wicked strawberry cover, I will say that I don't think I will ever eat a strawberry the same way again.
To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at:
https://zibbyowens.com/transcript/hil...
December 6, 2021
First off, in concept, this book is great. However, the execution ... well, the execution was terrible! This book is touted as a collection of short stories that are "erotic" and that the concept was to allow the authors the freedom to write anything their heart desired, under the guise of anonymity. I'm not certain that the authors understood the assignment. I didn't find any of the short stories to be particularly "erotic". The first one was interesting ... then they all went downhill fast from there. Such a shame because this could have been SUCH a great book had the authors actually completed the task!
Thank you to Scribner, NetGalley and Hillary Jordan for an advanced copy of this book. The book releases February 1, 2022.
Thank you to Scribner, NetGalley and Hillary Jordan for an advanced copy of this book. The book releases February 1, 2022.
February 1, 2022
Title: Anonymous Sex
Author: Hillary Jordan
Publisher: Scribner
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"Anonymous Sex' by Hillary Jordan
My Assessment:
'Anonymous Sex' was quite a read of twenty-seven erotic stories. Now, if this is your kind of read, then you have come to the right place because these authors give it all to you as they present their anonymous short and sweet stories. You may not enjoy all of these stories; however, there will be something just for you because many topics will be covered. So, be ready for 'some thrilling ones, long-married love, hardcore, sweet, gritty, steamy, and even some fanciful.' so you get a little bit of it all from this collection. I liked the idea of how these stories were put together because even though the author's name is listed, you do not know the particular author of the story that comes up. That, to me, makes the story even more intriguing. So, if you are into this type of reading...get ready for 'Anonymous Sex' will give it to you.
Author: Hillary Jordan
Publisher: Scribner
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"Anonymous Sex' by Hillary Jordan
My Assessment:
'Anonymous Sex' was quite a read of twenty-seven erotic stories. Now, if this is your kind of read, then you have come to the right place because these authors give it all to you as they present their anonymous short and sweet stories. You may not enjoy all of these stories; however, there will be something just for you because many topics will be covered. So, be ready for 'some thrilling ones, long-married love, hardcore, sweet, gritty, steamy, and even some fanciful.' so you get a little bit of it all from this collection. I liked the idea of how these stories were put together because even though the author's name is listed, you do not know the particular author of the story that comes up. That, to me, makes the story even more intriguing. So, if you are into this type of reading...get ready for 'Anonymous Sex' will give it to you.
June 1, 2023
Actually I would rate it 3.75
I found it interesting that is was a collection of 27 stories by 27 authors. However, I found it frustrating that the particular authors I liked cannot be followed. They are anonymous. Although the 27 authors are listed in the back of the book, there is no way I’m going to research them and guess what they wrote so I can read more by that author. Since I didn’t care for all the stories, there is no way to know which authors to avoid in the future.
The benefit here is truly being able to write some freaky shit and not be completely outed. I’m in no hurry to read another book in the instant format.
I found it interesting that is was a collection of 27 stories by 27 authors. However, I found it frustrating that the particular authors I liked cannot be followed. They are anonymous. Although the 27 authors are listed in the back of the book, there is no way I’m going to research them and guess what they wrote so I can read more by that author. Since I didn’t care for all the stories, there is no way to know which authors to avoid in the future.
The benefit here is truly being able to write some freaky shit and not be completely outed. I’m in no hurry to read another book in the instant format.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2022
Eh, this was alright. Some good chapters. Some boring chapters. Just alright I guess.
November 21, 2021
I was super looking forward to this one with Jordan as an editor along with the concept of authors submitting their super sexy stories but without attribution within the short story collection. There were some heavy-hitters in the lineup. However I got the feeling when I had just started it that I was going to be disappointed as a whole with the anthology. And it didn't get better as I moved through a few more, unfortunately. The book had the overall vibe that I didn't feel.
Now again, title, cover, concept-- 100%, execution-- 25%.
Now again, title, cover, concept-- 100%, execution-- 25%.
February 2, 2022
I thought this book was going to be great spicy stories. Anonymous erotica seems like the authors could really go for it. In actuality it was a pretty depressing read for the most part. A couple of the stories I would have loved to know more, but mostly this book just left me sad. I had expectations of secret fantasies. This one made me feel like I was the lover looking at their watch to see how long it's taking for it to be over.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
September 12, 2022
Why is it that books that promise some different and literary and insightful views on sex never deliver at all? I really do think there's a lot of perspectives on sex, and types of sex, we for some reason never see in books, so I get super excited if something seems like it might dive into some of that. And a few stories in here did actually deliver on that, but majority of them didn't. Many still felt like they weren't doing anything "special" compared to your "typical" erotica story. It also wasn't nearly as diverse as it claimed, not only in that most of those stories are straight, but also that I didn't feel we got 27 (or even 20) different approaches to the topic. Maybe if you're straight (and more into non m/m sex scenes than I am) this will be a lot more relatable to you than it was to me, but for me it just re-established my belief that straight people don't have a single clue about sex.
I definitely wanted more beautiful and heartwarming stories, and not quite so many stories with people who seemed quite sexually repressed and had a rather limited view on sex. I wouldn’t have complained about more kinky stories either, since there’s so much unexplored diversity there, and this collection could have been an opportunity to change that, but wasn’t.
Rather than going through it story by story, like I usually do, I will group those into six categories, so that when I felt similarly about several stories I can talk about all of them at once and don’t keep repeating myself, because this review will already turn out way too long as it is. So I’m grouping them into “forgettable/bland”, “yikes”, “just not my taste”, “missed potential”, “good but not super special” and “what I wanted this whole collection to be”.
I am not actually going to go into all the stories in the “forgettable/bland” category, because as the name suggest, there’s really nothing I could say about them, since many of them I already struggle to remember even though I read the whole book today and have taken notes. Many of them didn’t feel like they stood out in the erotica genre, and weren’t offering any of the promised diversity at all, and a number of them felt almost interchangeable with one another. The stories in this group are “LVIII Times a Year”, “Find Me”, “Love Doll”, “This Kind”, “Tomorrow Morning”, “Interruptus” and “Partita”.
Now, let’s start with the worst ones, so we can at least end on a positive note. There’s six stories that had me quite disgusted, a lot more so than I might already get from your typically straight sex scene. The first one being “Hard at Play”. This was written in second person, which I love when there’s an obvious reason for this choice and it adds something to the story, which just wasn’t the case here. I was bored, the writing was kind of awkward, and the personality of the main character didn’t make any sense to me, so it just left me super confused.
Probably my least favorite story in this collection was “A Day in the Life of Josephine Bellanotte Munro”. I hated this so much, I didn’t even bother to properly take notes on why I was so disgusted, literally all I wrote down was “if I were part of an alien race that had discovered earth and came across this story, it would cause me to order the immediate extinction of humanity”.
“I Don’t Miss You” was my second least favorite, it’s written addressed to someone else taking part in the same anthology as the main character, which is probably supposed to be this fun subversive thing. But it didn’t work at all for me, the way this was written made it feel like it was actually the author’s ramblings after having discovered the other person’s name on the list of contributors and it was so uncomfortable to read.
Then there’s “Odi et Amo”, which was probably the driest hate-love story I’ve ever come across. I love a good enemies who are also really into each other story, but this just wasn’t that at all. I hated the characters and there was literally not even the hint of a spark between them.
“The Great Artist” was just disgusting on so many levels. I can’t even bring myself to think back on it in order to explain to you why it was disgusting.
Lastly, “Spectacular” is kind of close to being in the “bland” category instead, but I chose to put it in here, because the narrator’s voice was horrible, and what even was that shit about the guy behaving like a woman during sex? First of all, that doesn’t make any sense, and secondly, can I have some stories about people respecting the way the other character acts during sex please? (I seriously started suspecting that that’s a foreign concept to heterosexual people while reading this book)
Next there were some stories I didn’t really like, but it was more a personal not vibing with them, and being able to easily see how other people might feel differently, rather than having any actual issues with them. The first one of those would be “Woman Eaten by Shark Drawn to Her Gold Byzantine Ring”. I definitely loved the ocean setting, but other than that it was really short and weird and I didn’t quite get it, but I feel like there might be a metaphor there that might be kind of cool if you do understand it.
I liked the folktale elements in “Pearl River”, but I really don’t care about stories involving cheating, regardless of whether it gets excused or challenged. Since this isn’t a story excusing it though, I think a lot of other people will like it a lot more than I did.
Then there’s “How I Learned Prayer” a weird religious sexual story, which just kind of missed the mark for me. While I theoretically like the idea of stories about the intersection of religion and sexuality, this didn’t really go into that discussion as much as I would have liked.
“What the Hands Remember” is about an old guy recalling a past relationship and wishing it had lasted, and I liked the concept of that, just not the descriptions of the actual relationship (definitely way too much of an underwear kink for my taste).
“Posseeblay” is about a married couple who used to write kinky stories for a magazine wanting to write about realistic marital sex now. While I want to get more realistic sexual stories (at least in contemporary, it’s a whole different matter in fantasy and scifi), I just can’t get myself to care about married couples, it’s literally the most un-romantic and the least sexy things I am able imagine. The way they talked to each other was a little cringe-y too.
Then there are the stories with missed potential, which there are only two of. The first one was “The Next Eleven Minutes”, which felt a little disconnected, and was just doing too much at once. I liked some of the things it brought up and themes I thought it would go for, but it didn’t actually follow through on any of it, and it could have been so good if it had.
The second one was “Holo Boy, 2098”, because the premise and the world in it were pretty cool. I just really couldn’t stand the main character, and I would love to get a story set in this world, but following somebody else.
Fortunately there were at least some stories I actually enjoyed. There are three that I don’t have a lot to say about, because I thought they were good, but don’t feel super passionately about, and those are “History Lesson”, “En Suite” and “Vis-à-Vis 1953”. But I will say the main character in the last one of those three was my favorite person in this entire book.
And then there are the four stories that I wanted this collection to be like. The first one is “Asphodel”, which is about this afterlife and the surroundings are conscious, so the main character is literally having sex with the wind and moss and stuff like that. It was a little weird how the first half of it told the backstory with her mother, I think that could have been condensed or framed a little differently, but the main idea was just so out there, and in a really fun way, and I kind of want more stories that do things like that.
Then there’s “Altitude Sickness”, which follows a number of different sexual encounters all somehow connected to planes, and I liked the format of that a lot. Some of the people and situations I liked more than others, but I definitely liked having that variety in one single story.
“First Lust” could have been my favorite, but the way it ended was just a little disappointing, I had wanted it to end on a slightly different note. It was the only m/m story in here, which already made it a million times more likely for me to like it than any of the other stories. I like it when stories acknowledge young teen’s or even pre-teen’s sexuality, and don’t pretend people only start thinking about sex once they’re old enough for you to not be made uncomfortable by that idea. It definitely wasn’t written in a weird way, where it seemed like it wanted you to be turned on by it or anything. It was the only thing in here I found somewhat relatable.
“Rapunzel, Rapunzel” was quite good to. I’m generally a fan of fairytale retellings, and I was rather invested in this story and really enjoyed the writing.
I definitely wanted more beautiful and heartwarming stories, and not quite so many stories with people who seemed quite sexually repressed and had a rather limited view on sex. I wouldn’t have complained about more kinky stories either, since there’s so much unexplored diversity there, and this collection could have been an opportunity to change that, but wasn’t.
Rather than going through it story by story, like I usually do, I will group those into six categories, so that when I felt similarly about several stories I can talk about all of them at once and don’t keep repeating myself, because this review will already turn out way too long as it is. So I’m grouping them into “forgettable/bland”, “yikes”, “just not my taste”, “missed potential”, “good but not super special” and “what I wanted this whole collection to be”.
I am not actually going to go into all the stories in the “forgettable/bland” category, because as the name suggest, there’s really nothing I could say about them, since many of them I already struggle to remember even though I read the whole book today and have taken notes. Many of them didn’t feel like they stood out in the erotica genre, and weren’t offering any of the promised diversity at all, and a number of them felt almost interchangeable with one another. The stories in this group are “LVIII Times a Year”, “Find Me”, “Love Doll”, “This Kind”, “Tomorrow Morning”, “Interruptus” and “Partita”.
Now, let’s start with the worst ones, so we can at least end on a positive note. There’s six stories that had me quite disgusted, a lot more so than I might already get from your typically straight sex scene. The first one being “Hard at Play”. This was written in second person, which I love when there’s an obvious reason for this choice and it adds something to the story, which just wasn’t the case here. I was bored, the writing was kind of awkward, and the personality of the main character didn’t make any sense to me, so it just left me super confused.
Probably my least favorite story in this collection was “A Day in the Life of Josephine Bellanotte Munro”. I hated this so much, I didn’t even bother to properly take notes on why I was so disgusted, literally all I wrote down was “if I were part of an alien race that had discovered earth and came across this story, it would cause me to order the immediate extinction of humanity”.
“I Don’t Miss You” was my second least favorite, it’s written addressed to someone else taking part in the same anthology as the main character, which is probably supposed to be this fun subversive thing. But it didn’t work at all for me, the way this was written made it feel like it was actually the author’s ramblings after having discovered the other person’s name on the list of contributors and it was so uncomfortable to read.
Then there’s “Odi et Amo”, which was probably the driest hate-love story I’ve ever come across. I love a good enemies who are also really into each other story, but this just wasn’t that at all. I hated the characters and there was literally not even the hint of a spark between them.
“The Great Artist” was just disgusting on so many levels. I can’t even bring myself to think back on it in order to explain to you why it was disgusting.
Lastly, “Spectacular” is kind of close to being in the “bland” category instead, but I chose to put it in here, because the narrator’s voice was horrible, and what even was that shit about the guy behaving like a woman during sex? First of all, that doesn’t make any sense, and secondly, can I have some stories about people respecting the way the other character acts during sex please? (I seriously started suspecting that that’s a foreign concept to heterosexual people while reading this book)
Next there were some stories I didn’t really like, but it was more a personal not vibing with them, and being able to easily see how other people might feel differently, rather than having any actual issues with them. The first one of those would be “Woman Eaten by Shark Drawn to Her Gold Byzantine Ring”. I definitely loved the ocean setting, but other than that it was really short and weird and I didn’t quite get it, but I feel like there might be a metaphor there that might be kind of cool if you do understand it.
I liked the folktale elements in “Pearl River”, but I really don’t care about stories involving cheating, regardless of whether it gets excused or challenged. Since this isn’t a story excusing it though, I think a lot of other people will like it a lot more than I did.
Then there’s “How I Learned Prayer” a weird religious sexual story, which just kind of missed the mark for me. While I theoretically like the idea of stories about the intersection of religion and sexuality, this didn’t really go into that discussion as much as I would have liked.
“What the Hands Remember” is about an old guy recalling a past relationship and wishing it had lasted, and I liked the concept of that, just not the descriptions of the actual relationship (definitely way too much of an underwear kink for my taste).
“Posseeblay” is about a married couple who used to write kinky stories for a magazine wanting to write about realistic marital sex now. While I want to get more realistic sexual stories (at least in contemporary, it’s a whole different matter in fantasy and scifi), I just can’t get myself to care about married couples, it’s literally the most un-romantic and the least sexy things I am able imagine. The way they talked to each other was a little cringe-y too.
Then there are the stories with missed potential, which there are only two of. The first one was “The Next Eleven Minutes”, which felt a little disconnected, and was just doing too much at once. I liked some of the things it brought up and themes I thought it would go for, but it didn’t actually follow through on any of it, and it could have been so good if it had.
The second one was “Holo Boy, 2098”, because the premise and the world in it were pretty cool. I just really couldn’t stand the main character, and I would love to get a story set in this world, but following somebody else.
Fortunately there were at least some stories I actually enjoyed. There are three that I don’t have a lot to say about, because I thought they were good, but don’t feel super passionately about, and those are “History Lesson”, “En Suite” and “Vis-à-Vis 1953”. But I will say the main character in the last one of those three was my favorite person in this entire book.
And then there are the four stories that I wanted this collection to be like. The first one is “Asphodel”, which is about this afterlife and the surroundings are conscious, so the main character is literally having sex with the wind and moss and stuff like that. It was a little weird how the first half of it told the backstory with her mother, I think that could have been condensed or framed a little differently, but the main idea was just so out there, and in a really fun way, and I kind of want more stories that do things like that.
Then there’s “Altitude Sickness”, which follows a number of different sexual encounters all somehow connected to planes, and I liked the format of that a lot. Some of the people and situations I liked more than others, but I definitely liked having that variety in one single story.
“First Lust” could have been my favorite, but the way it ended was just a little disappointing, I had wanted it to end on a slightly different note. It was the only m/m story in here, which already made it a million times more likely for me to like it than any of the other stories. I like it when stories acknowledge young teen’s or even pre-teen’s sexuality, and don’t pretend people only start thinking about sex once they’re old enough for you to not be made uncomfortable by that idea. It definitely wasn’t written in a weird way, where it seemed like it wanted you to be turned on by it or anything. It was the only thing in here I found somewhat relatable.
“Rapunzel, Rapunzel” was quite good to. I’m generally a fan of fairytale retellings, and I was rather invested in this story and really enjoyed the writing.
December 24, 2021
There are many different ways one could write a story about sex — erotic, arousing, sensual, romantic, comfortable, familiar, edgy, transgressive, subversive, whimsical, humorous, embarrassing, descriptive, clinical, anticipatory, a remembrance, etc. The theory behind “Anonymous Sex” was that by keeping the stories anonymous, the authors would feel uninhibited and produce more expressive and higher quality stories. In my opinion, the editors and authors failed in this goal. I started the book anticipating that some of the twenty-seven stories might not appeal to me, as it is hard to assemble an anthology where every story is appealing to most readers. However, I was surprised and disappointed at the number of stories that were boring or poor quality.
The opening story, "History Lesson" was decent, but the next four stories were lousy. "LVIII Times a Year" was decent, as were the next two stories ("Hard at Play"; "First Lust"). "Find Me" was the first really good story. [Not the most promising that it took until the ninth story of twenty-seven to find a really good story.] "The Next Eleven Minutes" was decent. "Rapunzel, Rapunzel" was quite good, probably the best story in the collection. And it was also the start of a series of good stories -- "Pearl River"; "One Day in the Life of Josephine Bellanotte Munro", and "How I Learned Prayer."
"Love Doll" was okay. "I Don't Miss You" was "blah." "Odi et Amo" was good. "This Kind" and "What the Hands Remember" were both okay stories. "Tomorrow Morning" was decent. "Holo Boy, 2098" was thought provoking but disappointing; too rushed. "The Great Artist" was borderline racist and poor quality. "Posseeblay" was decent. "Spectacular" was not spectacular at all. "Vis a vis 1953" was quite good. "Interruptus" was "blah." "Partita" was lackluster, starting off good but declining in quality fast.
Of the 27 stories, 7 were good or quite good and 7 were decent, with 13 that were okay or lousy. Other readers will have different opinions on these 27 stories, and it is possible that some readers will enjoy most of these stories. However, my suspicion is that many readers will have a similar opinion to mine -- they might have a different mix of stories that they thought were "good" versus "bad" but will find that the overall collection is of mixed quality.
I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.
The opening story, "History Lesson" was decent, but the next four stories were lousy. "LVIII Times a Year" was decent, as were the next two stories ("Hard at Play"; "First Lust"). "Find Me" was the first really good story. [Not the most promising that it took until the ninth story of twenty-seven to find a really good story.] "The Next Eleven Minutes" was decent. "Rapunzel, Rapunzel" was quite good, probably the best story in the collection. And it was also the start of a series of good stories -- "Pearl River"; "One Day in the Life of Josephine Bellanotte Munro", and "How I Learned Prayer."
"Love Doll" was okay. "I Don't Miss You" was "blah." "Odi et Amo" was good. "This Kind" and "What the Hands Remember" were both okay stories. "Tomorrow Morning" was decent. "Holo Boy, 2098" was thought provoking but disappointing; too rushed. "The Great Artist" was borderline racist and poor quality. "Posseeblay" was decent. "Spectacular" was not spectacular at all. "Vis a vis 1953" was quite good. "Interruptus" was "blah." "Partita" was lackluster, starting off good but declining in quality fast.
Of the 27 stories, 7 were good or quite good and 7 were decent, with 13 that were okay or lousy. Other readers will have different opinions on these 27 stories, and it is possible that some readers will enjoy most of these stories. However, my suspicion is that many readers will have a similar opinion to mine -- they might have a different mix of stories that they thought were "good" versus "bad" but will find that the overall collection is of mixed quality.
I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.
January 24, 2022
These are short erotic stories, compiled into one book, all from active authors, but the catch is you don’t know who wrote which story. The authors are listed alphabetically at the beginning of the book, but no one is listed with the story.
Some of these stories were great and some… well weren’t. But the good thing is that they are all quick reads, and if you’re not into one you can move along to the next.
I think in your interesting in the read, and don’t mind story that contain sex, you can find at least a couple stories they like out of this. And because they are short story you can read how many or how little you want at a time.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.
Some of these stories were great and some… well weren’t. But the good thing is that they are all quick reads, and if you’re not into one you can move along to the next.
I think in your interesting in the read, and don’t mind story that contain sex, you can find at least a couple stories they like out of this. And because they are short story you can read how many or how little you want at a time.
Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.
quit-dnf
April 9, 2022What happens when you gather a group of award-winning literary authors to pen anonymous erotica? It's a tantalizing question, but one that's far richer when left to the imagination. It's a shame that Literary Review canceled their Bad Sex in Fiction awards, because they would have quite the buffet with Hillary Jordan and Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan Anonymous Sex. Or, at least, I'm presuming they would have...I could only make it through a handful of these stories before throwing my hands up and calling it quits with this anthology.
Things started off decently enough in "History Lesson," which finds historians Denise and Michael meeting for sex every year at an annual convention. It's a game they play, but this year Michael starts things early, sending Denise text messages threatening to release the video they made during their last tryst. The threat was all Denise's idea, part of their games of dominance and submission, of punishment and humiliation. After she begins breaking the rules and pieces of her make it onto the internet, she begins to appreciate how it feels to be objectified and the power her anonymity gives her.
Of the few stories I tackled, "History Lesson" is the closest Anonymous Sex gets to presenting anything enticingly erotic, with each successive story rapidly detouring this into a collection of diminishing rewards. By the time I got to the end of the second story, "Asphodel," which not only lacks eroticism but anything of interest at all, I was struggling to understand why it had even been published in the first place, let alone in a purportedly erotic anthology.
I had hoped for a quick recovery in "En Suite," which follows two women listening to a rowdy couple's shenanigans through their thin, adjoining hotel room walls. Would the sexy happenings next door being enough to push Anne and Linney's growing desires beyond mere friendship? Well, spoiler alert, but we'll never know. All the steamy action takes place off-page, in a different room altogether, away from our two central characters, and where they go, and what they may or may not do, is left entirely open-ended, making this story disappointing on multiple levels.
"Altitude Sickness" is told through the shifting perspectives of various flyers, but none of these vignettes contain even the slightest trace of eroticism. Sure, there's mention of a guy going into the bathroom to ejaculate into the toilet - it's literally one line and doesn't provide much more detail than I've written here - and a dancer who engages in some rope play, also equally nondescript, but that's about it. Equally absent are paragraph breaks and dialogue tags, presenting readers with page after page after page after page of wall-to-wall blocks of text.
"Woman Eaten By Shark Drawn To Her Gold Byzantine Ring" is just as described. It's approximately one and three-quarters Kindle Fire HD screen's and a handful of sentences long. A swimmer gets eaten by a shark, and is reminded of the pounding her husband gave her earlier that morning with a dirty sock stuffed into her mouth. That's it. That's the whole story. It's only slightly longer than the space I've given it here. By the time I reached the end, I was left with mouth agape and laughing out loud, wondering what the fuck this piece was even supposed to be. On the bright side, at least it was blessedly short.
And yet, the worst was still to come...
"LVIII Times A Year" was the coup de grâce for me and officially, finally, irrevocably killed any interest I had in continuing on with this burgeoning house of horrors. If this piece wasn't written by an award-winning, literary male author, I'll eat my hat. And if indeed it was not, then whoever wrote this did a damn good impression of a literary man badly writing about sex. Sadly, it's utterly impossible to tell if this story was written in earnest or as satire. The entire story - literally the whole damn thing, from beginning to end, reads like one long example of men writing about women badly, with its musings on how much the male lead's wife's slopping pussy resembles mussels, their sex drawing comparisons to mating with a mare in heat, pretentious segues into Latin pre-, post-, and mid-coitus, and the anatomical impossibility of, once buried inside her, being kissed by the eager, pouting, sucking mouth of her womb. E-fucking-gads, y'all! But, kudos where it's due, I suppose?, for Anonymous actually incorporating sex scenes into their story, an element that has been particularly lacking in the preceding stories about... you know...sex. Sadly, this is some of the most poorly written sex I've read in quite a while, on top of being utterly joyless and inhibited. So, yeah, kudos... way to go, dude.
There were 21 more stories after this, but I'll be damned if I could muster up any enthusiasm or enough liquid courage to even try and hate read the rest of this fucking thing.
What little of Anonymous Sex I did manage to muster through ultimately, and totally, missed the mark of what I expect out of an erotica anthology. To answer the question posed above, it turns out that when you gather a group of award-winning literary authors to write erotica, what you end up with is a collection of unengaged and sexless stories by authors who clearly believe the erotica genre is beneath them, and its readers are to be held, if not in outright contempt then, in open hostility.
Things started off decently enough in "History Lesson," which finds historians Denise and Michael meeting for sex every year at an annual convention. It's a game they play, but this year Michael starts things early, sending Denise text messages threatening to release the video they made during their last tryst. The threat was all Denise's idea, part of their games of dominance and submission, of punishment and humiliation. After she begins breaking the rules and pieces of her make it onto the internet, she begins to appreciate how it feels to be objectified and the power her anonymity gives her.
Of the few stories I tackled, "History Lesson" is the closest Anonymous Sex gets to presenting anything enticingly erotic, with each successive story rapidly detouring this into a collection of diminishing rewards. By the time I got to the end of the second story, "Asphodel," which not only lacks eroticism but anything of interest at all, I was struggling to understand why it had even been published in the first place, let alone in a purportedly erotic anthology.
I had hoped for a quick recovery in "En Suite," which follows two women listening to a rowdy couple's shenanigans through their thin, adjoining hotel room walls. Would the sexy happenings next door being enough to push Anne and Linney's growing desires beyond mere friendship? Well, spoiler alert, but we'll never know. All the steamy action takes place off-page, in a different room altogether, away from our two central characters, and where they go, and what they may or may not do, is left entirely open-ended, making this story disappointing on multiple levels.
"Altitude Sickness" is told through the shifting perspectives of various flyers, but none of these vignettes contain even the slightest trace of eroticism. Sure, there's mention of a guy going into the bathroom to ejaculate into the toilet - it's literally one line and doesn't provide much more detail than I've written here - and a dancer who engages in some rope play, also equally nondescript, but that's about it. Equally absent are paragraph breaks and dialogue tags, presenting readers with page after page after page after page of wall-to-wall blocks of text.
"Woman Eaten By Shark Drawn To Her Gold Byzantine Ring" is just as described. It's approximately one and three-quarters Kindle Fire HD screen's and a handful of sentences long. A swimmer gets eaten by a shark, and is reminded of the pounding her husband gave her earlier that morning with a dirty sock stuffed into her mouth. That's it. That's the whole story. It's only slightly longer than the space I've given it here. By the time I reached the end, I was left with mouth agape and laughing out loud, wondering what the fuck this piece was even supposed to be. On the bright side, at least it was blessedly short.
And yet, the worst was still to come...
"LVIII Times A Year" was the coup de grâce for me and officially, finally, irrevocably killed any interest I had in continuing on with this burgeoning house of horrors. If this piece wasn't written by an award-winning, literary male author, I'll eat my hat. And if indeed it was not, then whoever wrote this did a damn good impression of a literary man badly writing about sex. Sadly, it's utterly impossible to tell if this story was written in earnest or as satire. The entire story - literally the whole damn thing, from beginning to end, reads like one long example of men writing about women badly, with its musings on how much the male lead's wife's slopping pussy resembles mussels, their sex drawing comparisons to mating with a mare in heat, pretentious segues into Latin pre-, post-, and mid-coitus, and the anatomical impossibility of, once buried inside her, being kissed by the eager, pouting, sucking mouth of her womb. E-fucking-gads, y'all! But, kudos where it's due, I suppose?, for Anonymous actually incorporating sex scenes into their story, an element that has been particularly lacking in the preceding stories about... you know...sex. Sadly, this is some of the most poorly written sex I've read in quite a while, on top of being utterly joyless and inhibited. So, yeah, kudos... way to go, dude.
There were 21 more stories after this, but I'll be damned if I could muster up any enthusiasm or enough liquid courage to even try and hate read the rest of this fucking thing.
What little of Anonymous Sex I did manage to muster through ultimately, and totally, missed the mark of what I expect out of an erotica anthology. To answer the question posed above, it turns out that when you gather a group of award-winning literary authors to write erotica, what you end up with is a collection of unengaged and sexless stories by authors who clearly believe the erotica genre is beneath them, and its readers are to be held, if not in outright contempt then, in open hostility.
January 10, 2023
This is the most bizarre collection of stories I've read in a while. So disappointing.
November 8, 2022
The most recent pick for the Baddie Book Club, Anonymous Sex was an anthology of erotic stories from 27 different authors. It was a mix of stories with the goal to get you hot & heavy, but also some that touched on topics in less of an erotic manner.
Out of the 27 anonymous stories, I had 6 favorites:
History Lesson
Find Me
Rapunzel, Rapunzel
Tomorrow Morning
Posseeblay
Vis-à-Vis 1953
Out of the 27 anonymous stories, I had 6 favorites:
History Lesson
Find Me
Rapunzel, Rapunzel
Tomorrow Morning
Posseeblay
Vis-à-Vis 1953
November 6, 2022
Very hit or miss. The writing in all of them is good, but the spice level is lacking.
October 29, 2021
First, thank you so much to NetGalley for this advance copy of Anonymous Sex.
What a fantastic idea, so credibly and trickily executed: The book is titled Anonymous Sex, and it's a compilation of stories/essays/musings by various authors. Those authors are listed alphabetically, their stories are not. You read the stories not knowing who wrote them. No point of reference. Whether you think the story is based on truth, whether the author wrote the story more freely knowing that the reader didn't quite know who wrote it...........I'm not sure.
Some of the stories may be true, they may reflect the author's longings or retellings. Some stories are in the very distant past, and some told in the much distant future. They may be about sex, or what someone thinks is sexy. It's a lot.
I loved the variety, and I felt that all the stories were told very freely. Each story fit its own style perfectly, whether short or long, graphic or illusory. It's probably a book I never would have thought to pick up and read. Yes, the title is rather inviting, but the body of the book is so much more.
I really can't go into any of the stories, as it might be telling in just that, and I would not want to spoil any one author's contribution.
Let's just say that if you are willing to take a leap of faith here, you may really enjoy yourself.
I really recommend this book!
What a fantastic idea, so credibly and trickily executed: The book is titled Anonymous Sex, and it's a compilation of stories/essays/musings by various authors. Those authors are listed alphabetically, their stories are not. You read the stories not knowing who wrote them. No point of reference. Whether you think the story is based on truth, whether the author wrote the story more freely knowing that the reader didn't quite know who wrote it...........I'm not sure.
Some of the stories may be true, they may reflect the author's longings or retellings. Some stories are in the very distant past, and some told in the much distant future. They may be about sex, or what someone thinks is sexy. It's a lot.
I loved the variety, and I felt that all the stories were told very freely. Each story fit its own style perfectly, whether short or long, graphic or illusory. It's probably a book I never would have thought to pick up and read. Yes, the title is rather inviting, but the body of the book is so much more.
I really can't go into any of the stories, as it might be telling in just that, and I would not want to spoil any one author's contribution.
Let's just say that if you are willing to take a leap of faith here, you may really enjoy yourself.
I really recommend this book!
October 21, 2021
Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for providing the arc of Anonymous Sex by approximately 27 authors, in exchange for my honest review.
What caught my attention with this book was the fact that they are short stories written anonymously. The authors could write whatever they wanted without putting their name on it. The stories range from sweet, innocent sex to hardcore BDSM, young love to elderly love, and everything in between, cheating, kink, revenge, unrequited, funny, and so on. There’s a little bit for everyone.
I wanted to LOVE this because I love the concept, but it fell a little flat for me. I found myself skipping over stories that I couldn’t get into - which I guess is fine. I think the hardest thing for me was the shortness of the stories. Everything felt very rushed and reminded me of Literotica but in a book form. I think if you’re open-minded and enjoy reading various erotic stories, you’ll find something in here to enjoy. I know I found a few and that’s why I’m giving this 3 stars. The stories I enjoyed were great.
If you’re into erotica, I’d recommend giving it a go, I’m sure you’ll find something the tickles your fancy.
What caught my attention with this book was the fact that they are short stories written anonymously. The authors could write whatever they wanted without putting their name on it. The stories range from sweet, innocent sex to hardcore BDSM, young love to elderly love, and everything in between, cheating, kink, revenge, unrequited, funny, and so on. There’s a little bit for everyone.
I wanted to LOVE this because I love the concept, but it fell a little flat for me. I found myself skipping over stories that I couldn’t get into - which I guess is fine. I think the hardest thing for me was the shortness of the stories. Everything felt very rushed and reminded me of Literotica but in a book form. I think if you’re open-minded and enjoy reading various erotic stories, you’ll find something in here to enjoy. I know I found a few and that’s why I’m giving this 3 stars. The stories I enjoyed were great.
If you’re into erotica, I’d recommend giving it a go, I’m sure you’ll find something the tickles your fancy.
June 6, 2022
The idea is great. The execution is ehhhh. Short stories are hard because I like to reeeealllyyy get into the stories and learn all the bits and pieces. I never really found myself thinking “Omg I can’t wait to get home and read my book!” with this book like I do others. Some of the stories were awesome, and some were very boring. 27 short stories is also too much. This could’ve had 10 and I would’ve had a much more positive review because I could actually focus on and process 10 short stories.
Would I recommend? Absolutely because it IS fun and there are some absolute gems.
Would I recommend? Absolutely because it IS fun and there are some absolute gems.
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