I think I got interrupted about 15 times while reading your latest...sorry, got interrupted again...entry. Writing a christmas list already... Which work of Anais Nin is that from...I would like to read the rest of it!!

Thanks for being there...always enjoy hearing of your experiences. m
melissa | 10.26.04 - 8:26 pm | #

It's an excerpt from the short story "The Woman On the Dunes" in the Little Birds collection. She's definitely the gold standard of erotica, but not even she can compete with my kids when it comes to getting my attention.
flea | Homepage | 10.26.04 - 8:49 pm | #

LMAO. This is so much my life in so many ways.
Krupskaya | Homepage | 10.26.04 - 9:20 pm | #

Kinda loses something, yes?

You can make the juxtoposition of death and sex work, but not so much the blending of erotica with juice, cookies, milk & dinner.
Juno | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 9:58 am | #

another great one, flea. keep 'em coming. those kids of yours are perfection.
Katie | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 11:02 am | #

I recognized the story

And I also had the "goddamnit, why didn't I blog this before flea thought of it?" envy.
bitchphd | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 3:30 pm | #

Is "Oh, fuck it." part of the flea narrative or part of the Nin narrative?

I kinda draw the line at execution fettish. And I'm not one to draw lines.

Taking this opportunity to remind everyone to vote!
Ralph | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 3:55 pm | #

Literati interruptus... what a hoot.
Ang | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 4:39 pm | #

Well, it's really less "execution fetish" than it is "anonymous sex in a public place" fetish. I just posted about half a page of it, so bear in mind that it's literati interruptus, indeed, and it's best to get to the, er - *climax* before judging the work as a whole.

Not to mention that people often use sex as a distraction in times of high stress. Nice combo of everything in this story.

Who else can combine leftist politics and dirty sex so well, not to mention the use of the phrase "Dostoyevskian answers" in her erotica? No, they just don't make smut the way they used to.
flea | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 4:54 pm | #

Is getting groped (or more) randomly by a stranger part of the Nin m.o.? It's been years since I've read any, but this sounds terribly famililar.
pinky | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 5:11 pm | #

That's OK, flea, it takes all kind of oarsmen/women to row this boat.

I know EXACTLY how it is. My five year old senses when I'm trying to concentrate on reading and finds it an imperative time to interupt.
Ralph | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 5:42 pm | #

...or on the phone.

Pinky, I seem to remember a lot of pedophilia in her work, especially in Delta of Venus (which is a deal breaker for me) more so than stranger groping. She pretty much covers everything, though.

I usually tell my customers that while the quality of Nin's writing is very high, the subject matter is often very un-pc.

For PC stuff, I recommend the Herotica series, but the writing is atrocious.
flea | Homepage | 10.27.04 - 7:10 pm | #

*sigh*

That's one of my favorite stories.

My mom had both Delta and Little Birds in the house when I was growing up, and as I was a voracious reader I eventually found them...I know I was reading them before I was 12.

Probably warped me in some significant ways, but not all of them bad, I think.
Maggie | 10.27.04 - 8:20 pm | #

Hey, good job getting the diæresis over the "i" in "Anaïs"!!
Zookeeper | 10.28.04 - 6:17 am | #

Thanks! I feel so cool now that I can do that. If you'll notice, I also put in accent marks over certain e's.
flea | Homepage | 10.28.04 - 9:05 am | #

OMG! What a sublimely hysterical post. You totally capture to tension in that moment. Thank you!
unique | Homepage | 10.28.04 - 11:30 am | #

Maggie:

I found the same books in the bathroom (they had a handy bookshelf in there) in my sister's house when she was an undergrad. I was nine or ten. I'm sure I'm warped, too
pinky | Homepage | 10.28.04 - 12:06 pm | #

Erotic fiction and dinner with my kids. I can't even imagine. I'm good if I can get through whatever catalog came in the mail.
Jules | 10.28.04 - 2:05 pm | #

Hmm. And here I was sneaking looks at my dad's Happy Hooker book when I was 12. And my little sister thought it would be awfully fun to narc on me. Dang her.

Yeah, I have to agree with you about the Herotica. PC but not so great on the writing.
DM | Homepage | 10.29.04 - 11:28 am | #

Jules - well, as you can see, it didn't work out very well.
flea | Homepage | 10.29.04 - 3:13 pm | #

I am 36 and just found out I'm pregnant. Is THIS what I have to look forward to?
devilgirl | 10.29.04 - 4:14 pm | #

I'm afraid so. But welcome to the club anyway!
flea | Homepage | 10.30.04 - 11:51 am | #

OMG, I am cracking up over this post as usual. I also agree that Herotica is okay but not really involving.

And this post explains why I always have to wait until my kids go to bed, and why I'm so f*&#ing cranky when my DH interrupts my reading....
JT | Homepage | 11.06.04 - 10:01 pm | #

So, still catching up on my years and years behind.
I couldn't help but laugh when I scrolled down to this post while eating dinner with my kids. Too true.
Sarah | 09.25.07 - 5:13 pm | #

Great job! I love people who have the courage, depth and humor to be truthful. Anais clearly did! Thanks for this post,


Tristan L. Sullivan

www.tristanluke.com
Tristan L. Sullivan | Homepage | 02.28.08 - 9:25 pm | #

I love Anais Nin. You blend this with your life as a mom brilliantly.
Tristan L. Sullivan | Homepage | 03.27.08 - 8:48 pm | #