"Erotica" has some of the best writing I've read in awhile. There are 22 short stories, 5 or 6 are geared towards a gay readership. Since I'm straight, some of the gay stories didn't totally make sense to me but since the writing was wonderful I didn't care. Some of the stories are so bizarre, so surprising, they made me marvel at the creativity of the author. "Milk" is one such story. A man developes a milk addiction which he has difficulty maintaining since he lives in Russia and there's a scarcity of all foods. Then one day he stumbles upon a unique way to feed his addiction which is quite sensual to say the least. In "Belonging" an obnoxious young man is kidnapped and subjected to (mostly) psychological sadism. Because he's kept blindfolded, he has no idea who his abductor is and that identity at the end is quite surprising. "Rubenesque" is about an overweight woman who gets the sensual surprise of her life during a luncheon. These exampples are just to give you an idea of the offbeat direction these stories take. I found a couple of the stories hard to take. But the writing always won out. If you get offended by explicit sex then this book will offend you. But for anyone who doesn't mind well written erotica, then this is an excellent read.

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