On our Fiction shelves, look for these novels which incorporate aspects of Dominant/Submissive relationships as part of the storyline:
COURTSHIP by Catherine Coulter. Regency romance which includes a mild whip switch ofDiscipline.
TOPPING FROM BELOW by Laura Reese. Contemporary murder mystery which uses BDSM as part of the plot, conflict and character.
GORDON by Edith Templeton. A psychological novel of obsessive sexuality and submission; perhaps somewhat dry and dated now, but was widely banned when first published in the Sixties.
For yet more related reads, try these titles of classic literature (also often banned or challenged for their sexual content):
LADY CHATTERLEY'S LOVER by D.H. Lawrence. Banned, burned, and the subject of a landmark obscenity trial, a classic tale of adulterous love and discovery.
LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov. Tells the story of the aging Humbert Humbert's obsessive, devouring, and doomed passion for a young girl.
TROPIC OF CANCER by Henry Miller. A bawdy fictionalized memoir about life in Paris as a starving but liberated writer.
Additionally, many contemporary genre authors infuse their novels with frequent and fairly explicit sex scenes. Such authors in the Paranormal genre include Laurel K. Hamilton (Anita Blake series), J. R. Ward (Black Dagger series and others), and works by Lora Leigh andSherrilyn Kenyon. Or look for works by Urban Fiction authors like Zane, Alison Hobbs, Sister Souljah, and Nikki Turner.
Lastly, of course, we also have Stephanie Meyer’s TWILIGHT series, which was the tamerYoung Adult source material for the fan fiction that became 50 SHADES OF GREY.
Shady secrets and 50 SHADES OF GREY review:
Secret #1: I was very reluctant to read 50 SHADES OF GREY. I’m not against sexual content inlibrary books or for my own recreational reading. However, I’m not interested in poorly written books of any kind, and had perused enough critical reviews of 50 SHADES to suspect that is what I’d find. However, since this trilogy has gained so much popularity (or maybe justmisplaced notoriety), I felt I couldn’t write a related library blog without actually having read the book.
Secret #2: I am a hypocrite. I’ll admit to having rolled my eyes when patrons requested 50 SHADES OF GREY and even (most unprofessionally) snickered when at least one added that the book request was being placed “for a friend”. But “Hey, I read it for RESEARCH.” :/
Secrets #3: While I usually decline to include this information on my resume, disclosure here seems somewhat amusing and relevant. I once worked for over a year at an adult bookstore in San Francisco, and later was a member of an erotic fiction writers group, of amateur and professional authors, in Nashville TN. So, I suppose I do know something about this particular genre.
Not So Secret #5: I didn’t like 50 SHADES OF GREY. While this may be romance fiction with quite a bit of sexual content, in my personal opinion, the novel is not nearly as edgy as all the hype would have one believe. The kink aspects, supposedly a major part of the story and its impact, seemed to be used primarily for superficial shock value. Beneath a sprinkling of sex toys and spanking, this is a conventional formula romance. I read a lot in the genres of science fictionand horror; somehow, I find the idea of an impending zombie apocalypse much easier to acceptwith the required suspension of disbelief than I did this book. The author was not able to makeme believe in her clichéd characters or care about their relationship. James’ writing is filled with repetition; she grossly overuses certain phrases in description and dialogue (and then goes in the opposite direction with a noticeable lack of proper nouns or even adequate euphemisms in her sex scenes).
At most, 50 SHADES OF GREY may appeal to some readers aspassable escapist romantic fantasy. However, the over the top unbelievable characterizations, poor writing, and sloppy editingreally cooled off any “Burn” for me.
--Heather Whiteside
Reference Dept. / Library Assistant
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