One of Modern Love’s favorite erotica kittens, Rachel Kramer Bussel, has delivered a collection of twenty-five stories that lives up to its name. Orgasmic, Erotica for Women by Cleis Press (2010) is a sizzling and sweet literary accomplishment for aficionadas who covet romance, sex, fantasy and a bit of risk in their bedtime rituals.
Each story explores female arousal, desire and explosive satisfaction. The women who open their secrets to us are keenly aware and driven towards a celebration of female ecstasy with the assistance of their lovers – husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends and illicit hookups – who are as in to their pleasure as any willing participant could possibly be.
A few favorites put Modern Love over the top (yes, the stories are that good), including 'All She Wanted' by Andrea Dale (a tale that combines heightened sexual urges of pregnancy with BDSM), 'The Big O' by Donna George Storey (which offers a double wammy for readers who want to learn about kegel routines juxtaposed with triumphant satisfaction) and ‘Moon Tantra’ by Teresa Noelle Roberts.
The latter fuses erotic literature with more transcendent sexual experiences, speaking to those who lust from the groin to the soul like the couple in this story. Joined at the hips, facing the waters, they are making languid and surreptitious love on the shore by moonlight.
“Pleasure without peaking – it’s oceanic, not like crashing waves but like the swells we can see in the distance when we take our eyes off the moon. I could go into a trance like this, work the magic that enables us to walk the moon’s path across the water and reach another realm.
…Now about a quarter of the moon’s bright face is obscured. I turn to kiss you. Despite the awkward twisted position, we fall into the kiss. “How long do you think we can keep this up? I say when we pause for breath.
“Let’s find out.” You’re speaking through clenched teeth. “I want to hold out until the moon’s gone red.”
Hmmm, delayed gratification in the service of pleasure and intimacy? Sounds very Modern Love to this reader, which is why I heartily acknowledge Bussel for compiling what I believe is one of her best anthologies yet. This is a book I won’t be lending out, unless of course, I’m reading it with my beloved.
Orgasmic erotica for women, by Rachel Kramer Bussel is available by Cleis Press. You can follow Bussel on twitter and facebook, or learn more about her writing and appearances and her website.
Follow Modern Love on Twitter and Facebook. All Modern Love Examiner articles ©2010 by Tinamarie Bernard; PARTIAL reposts only permitted with link back to original article. All other rights reserved.
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