Best American Erotica 2007 - book discontinued by Touchstone - review by LimeGreen

When I found out I would be reviewing a book (The Best American Erotica 2007), I was very excited. With classes ending, I knew I would have tons of time to delve into the works of the collective authors the book had to offer. I got cozy in my bed, and began reading the introduction. I was struck by the editors writing style; it was curt and bordered on rude. But I wrote this off due to the fact that this was simply the editor talking, and not someone who had written the stories I was about to read. Of course, the fact that this woman selected the readings should have been a red flag.

Now, I am accustomed to reading and writing erotica as well as pornographic works, but I wasn’t quite expecting to come across the subject matter of the first story in the collection. The story began with God himself as the main character. Don’t take me the wrong way, I’m no conservative Christian by any means, but this story turned my stomach rather quickly as God got it on with Mother Nature and Mother Earth. Somehow this mixing of religious figures and sex made me cringe, but to each their own. The story was well written at the very least.

I moved on to the next story, and my disappointment continued. The following story read as a paint-by-numbers novel starring a woman and her boyfriend’s hooker. Perhaps I just wasn’t into these niche erotic tales, but I read on, hoping that out of the 23 stories at least a few would appeal to me, and I would be turned on in some fashion.

I was able to dig up a few stories that appealed to me, but barely, and not due to their erotic nature. With the end of each short story, I found that any arousal I had experienced fizzled out. Many of the stories were chock full of meaning and weren’t exactly sexy. I understand that this book is meant to be anything but vanilla, but it turned out to be more of an anthology of kink. For me, this type of erotica simply won’t do. I enjoy variety, but the variety that this book offered was all so offbeat that it got old quick.

If you are the vanilla type, steer clear of this collection, but if you would like to take a walk on the kinky wild side, and don’t mind a few hookers, this may indeed be just what you have been looking for. Or if you happen to enjoy short stories with sex thrown in, this would strike your fancy just fine.