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* "Composition in Cream and Chocolate" by Mary Anne
Mohanraj (sexy striptease) 10, 10, 10
* "Composition in Cream and Chocolate" by Mary Anne Mohanraj (moh2@midway.uchicago.edu). I found it difficult to determine exactly what was happening in this story. After reading a paragraph or two I often found myself reaching a point where I gained a new piece of information and had to back up to fit it into the picture that was gradually emerging in my mind's eye. This ambiguity is not a flaw; it's intentional - end it's very well done. The theme is unusual: a male stripper gradually revealing himself and offering his attentions to a female patron. I have never attended such a show myself, and all my vicarious experiences have consisted of films and stories about female strippers. I HAVE gone with my husband to bars with striptease dancers (while we've been away at conventions - so that none of my students will see me entering the establishment and so that I won't accidentally discover one of my coworkers at her night job.) My impression has invariably been one of disappointment; the dancers were simply not very sexy. They seemed to be in worse shape than myself, bored with their jobs, and concerned primarily about squeezing tips out of patrons before putting on a tawdry display that wasn't really sexy at all. Nevertheless, it seems reasonable to FANTASIZE about exotic dancers in terms of wonderment; and this story turns the tables by making a male dancer the center of attention. I guess what we have here is the male stripper equivalent of the ideal lap dance. This was a new and very erotic experience for me. The show starts in near darkness, as does our understanding of what is going on. Even at the end of the story, I wasn't sure exactly what had happened. The sex had been explicit, though conducted by candlelight in a dark room; but questions remained unanswered. All along I had assumed that the woman was a patron - but at the end we hear an audience applauding. And near the very end we have a reference to a pile of cream and chocolate skin; and I am struck with the realization that the woman is brown-skinned and the man is white. OK; the two must BOTH be dancers, and they've been putting on a show for an audience.... That's why it's called "Composition in Cream and Chocolate." Wait a minute! I'm going to have to reread major parts of this erotic narrative - maybe even the whole thing - to see if my new theory fits. Gee, that's too bad. I'm already turned on, and you can never tell what a second reading is going to do to me.... In recent reviews I have railed against what I have called a demeaning use of interracial sex in some of the stories. This story does NOT fall into that category. The skin color is part of the ambiance - music, skin color, facial features, nipples, actions, etc. - that create a sexually charged, poetic atmosphere. This is an excellent story. This author has a whole collection of Ratings for "Composition in Cream and Chocolate" Athena (technical quality): 10 Venus (plot & character): 10 Celeste (appeal to reviewer): 10 |