by Lang Reid
Put
“erotica” in the title of any book and you have the undivided attention of
50 percent of potential readers. Male readers predominantly. Make the book
title “The best of” and you have them salivating at the thought.
This week’s book, The Best of South East Asian Erotica
(ISBN 978-981-08-5436-2, Monsoon Press Singapore, 2010, edited by Richard
Lord), came direct from Phil Tatham’s Monsoon Press, but one could imagine
the poor man, reading a piece of titillating prose every evening and
wondering if it were good enough (erotic enough?) to make it into the book.
Of course, there is a fine line between erotica and
pornography. And what is erotic for some, may be perceived as pure porn by
others. There has also been an enormous shift in public acceptance of
matters of a sexual nature in books. All that fuss over Lady Chatterley’s
Lover, prose which wouldn’t raise a heart rate today, let alone anything
else.
The book follows one which had been entitled The Best
of Singapore Erotica, which apparently had been a Singaporean best
seller, prompting the expansion into S.E, Asia, but the spread of items is
not equal with Malaysia (4), Indonesia (1), Philippines (3), Thailand (6)
and Singapore (5). Is Thailand the home of sexually charged writers of
erotica, whilst Indonesia is culturally repressed? Even Editor Richard Lord
was rather coy, stating that the sole Indonesian item was the only one “we
were able to accept”. He does not go on to explain what was wrong with the
others - too explicit or too mild?
At the end of each piece there are notes on the authors,
most of whom are not randy young men, but tend towards latter middle age,
and there are even a couple of women in there as well.
I found the categorization of the items a little
difficult to follow, but can understand editor Lord’s problems. If the
author is not from S.E. Asia, is the work then from the country of origin of
the writer, or if the action is set in a S.E. Asian country, does that give
it the Asian bona fides? The authors include well known authors as Stephen
Leather and John Burdett, both excellent writers who can turn a pen to any
subject.
Books like these can very easily become boring, after all
there is a limit to positions, even in the Kama Sutra position 34 is exactly
the same as position 46, except you cross your fingers. However, editor Lord
has selected his pieces for originality and spiced the book with even one on
sex with a transvestite, a common fantasy for many males.
I did enjoy the book - though obviously some items were
more interesting than others, but there was a thankful lack of repetition. I
did not consider it to be a XXX publication, but an anthology around a
common premise (eroticism) and handled in many different styles. At B. 530
at most bookstores it is a book that is easily picked up and put down, but
is not a ‘one-handed read’ if you get my lack of subtlety.
