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* "The Anatomy Lesson" by Michael Dagley (emerging
adolescence) 10, 10, 10
* "The Anatomy Lesson" by Michael Dagley (dagley@soho.ios.com). From time to time I reach the conclusion that since so many authors send me their stories before posting them I must by this time know all the good authors on this newsgroup. Therefore, I tell myself, there is no need to go through all those other postings that are probably a waste of time anyway. Fortunately, I ignore my own advice, and that's how I find excellent stories like this one. This story is about a 17-year-old English boy who has grown into adolescence almost completely isolated from peers - and especially from girls. His strict parents have dispassionately and sternly instilled in him a "good education"; but he knows only theoretical information. For example, he has been forced to memorize the names and locations of all the parts of the human body (including the reproductive organs of both males and females), but he has no clear idea how they all function or why anyone would want them to function. Then his elderly nurse and tutor, Moni Brunner, who was also his best and only friend, dies. Her replacement is Moni's granddaughter, Rafael, who is much closer to Gordon's own age. Although she is herself inexperienced with men, she decides during their first lesson together to teach him (1) the practical use of his theoretical information about reproductive organs and (2) the meaning of desire. I assured my husband that he would like this story; but I insisted that he read it aloud with his hands behind his head, while I did the things that Rafael did in the story. I guess you'll have to read the story to understand this. This was an exceptionally well written story. I hope to see a lot more by this author. Ratings for "The Anatomy Lesson!" Athena (technical quality): 10 Venus (plot & character): 10 Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10 |