If you did not learn anything new or at least curious from “Fifty Shades of Grey,” try other options.
1. “Lady Chatterley’s Lover, David Lawrence
The most famous and scandalous novel by English writer David Lawrence was first published in Italy in 1928, two years before the author’s death.
At home, in Britain, the book was banned for more than 30 years because of its explicit sexual content. But the British were quick to dispel the myth of their own decency. The first edition of the novel in 1960 sold a record circulation of three million copies.
The plot revolves around an emotional Lady Chatterley, her paralyzed below the belt husband – an aristocrat and her lover – a simple as a log, but a passionate huntsman. The heroine realizes that intellectual conversations with her stale spouse do not bring her feminine happiness. And “gets” the physical intimacy on the side.
By the way, the reader learns that the scrotum is full of mysterious heaviness, and “only a marriage whose permanent foundation is the phallus can be true.”
2. “The Sexual Life of Catherine M.”, Catherine Millet
The French writer, art critic, and founder of Art Press magazine candidly recounts her intense sex life. The book is intended for those devoid of romantic illusions and can be a guide to group sex and blowjobs.
The novel is written in such pretentious language that even the dirtiest and most shocking details look not vulgar, but rather floridly meticulous. “With the last stroke of the penis, the body – except for the ass – dries up, shrivels up, and, finally deprived of the vital juices, like a dry leaf, ceases to exist, dissolving in a flickering stream of light,” the author says of his sensations, remaining an art historian even in bed.
3. “Tropic of Cancer, Henry Miller
The American writer’s autobiographical book, published in 1934, gained scandalous fame for its naturalistic descriptions of sex.
But don’t look for strawberries, for which Miller is too intellectual. But you will be swept away by the stream of consciousness of a literary man trapped in France. At the same time, you’ll learn that “in Paris, dating and friendship are mostly about sex and venereal disease,” and that “the whole world is centered in a second of orgasm.
4. “Call Me by Your Name, Andre Aciman
An incredibly beautiful story of first all-consuming love unfolds in an appropriate setting – a hot summer in a luxury villa in Italy.
The main character Elio is 17 years old. He lives with his psychotherapist mother and his historian father, who every summer invites one of his graduate students to visit. Elio’s feelings for one of these guests are awakened. All events are shown through the prism of his emotions.
But if you don’t want to read it or don’t have time, you can watch the 2017 film of the same name, which won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
5. “Sleeping Beauty, Anne Rice
Her debut book, Interview with the Vampire, made Anne Rice famous. And the trilogy “Sleeping Beauty”, published in the mid-1980s, only consolidated the commercial success of her novels. True, fearing the wrath of feminists who condemned pornography, Rice this time took the pseudonym A.N. Rocker.
Ann herself calls a series of novels about the sexual adventures of medieval beauty not at all pornographic, but “elegantly sensual” – despite the bias in a hard BDSM with floggings and orgies.
Rice was repeatedly attributed a passion for sadomasochism. But the speculations were dispelled by the author’s husband, who said that she was as much of a masochist as a vampire. By the way, at one time Ann refused to meet with members of the BDSM community who idolized her.
6. “Fanny Hill: A Memoir of a Woman for Comfort,” John Cleland
Erotic romance is quite daring even for our times. And what to say about the middle of the eighteenth century, when it saw the light of day. It was a real slap in the face to public morality. Not many people were willing to relish verbose descriptions of sensual pleasures in the entourage of a brothel.
Since then, the work of Englishman John Cleland has not tired of being called the encyclopedia of prostitution. By the way, according to the author, the oldest profession is not a hindrance to find the only love and become a virtuous mother of the family.
7. “The Story of O,” Pauline Reage
French journalist Dominique Orie’s erotic novel made a lot of noise in the 1950s. Anticipating an imminent scandal, she took the pseudonym of Pauline Réage and only 40 years later dared to confess her authorship.
“The Story of O” begins with meeting the man of her dreams – the smart, rich and handsome Rene. Toward the end of the candy and bouquet period, the fairy prince takes the girl to a castle, where she finds herself in true sexual slavery. “The corset, tightening her body, forced her to stay upright all the time, the chains constantly reminded her of submission, the whip of obedience, the silence became her last refuge” – this is what love dreams sometimes lead to.
8. “Married Couples,” John Updike
A prim American town. Dreary, monotonous everyday life. Good families. And no, they’re not so respectable. People need a way to have fun, and they choose the most accessible option: sex.
The winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, author of the famous Eastwick Witches, John Updike wrote Married Couples in the midst of the “swinging sixties.” The erotic novel could be called a veritable handbook on adultery, with all the possible – and sometimes rather unpleasant – physiological details.
However, the numerous characters do not only switch partners out of the blue. They manage to be friends at home, play tennis, and talk politics.
9. “On the Street of Our Love,” Samantha Young
Scottish writer Samantha Young started with fantasy for teenagers. When she grew up, she switched to erotic novels. Her first book in the genre, On Our Love Street, became a New York Times and USA Today bestseller.
The main character lost her parents and her sister at age 14. Now she avoids close relationships so that she no longer experiences the pain of loss. One day the girl meets a man who is also haunted by memories of the past. They make a deal: only sex between them – and no affection. This is the story of two affluent and attractive young men who make a lot of love and fight with cockroaches in their heads.
10. “Rush” Maya Banks
Maya Banks is a resident of the patriarchal American South. She is also a mother of three children, a devoted wife, and a caring mistress of many cats. Which doesn’t stop her from captivating millions of readers with her racy fantasies.
“Lust” is the first book in the “Breathless” trilogy, which also includes the erotic novels “Passion” and “Burn.” All three were published in 2013 and recount the sexual adventures of three American millionaires. The friends share business and leisure time and sometimes women. But at some point, each begins their own story filled with sensual pleasures and relationship talk.
Many have accused Banks of imitating “Fifty Shades of Grey” by Englishwoman E. L. James. But the author herself claimed that she had never read the book. And why should, if the Texas mother of the family is already all right with the imagination. She makes up incredible sex scenes while she cooks dinner, fishes, or plays poker.