Fantasy has many different ways of expressing itself. There’s high fantasy like Harry Potter, the science-fantasy of Star Wars, the urban fantasy of Hellboy, and the psychotropic fantasy of Alice and Wonderland. Then, of course, there’s sexual fantasy, and whether that means role playing or fighting off the advances of a succubus, readers are sure to find it in Brothel, a book of poems by Bram Stoker-winner Stephanie M. Wytovich.
As set up in the Author’s Note at the beginning, this collection follows an unnamed narrator who finds a new home and new life as a sex worker. The poems are fittingly given visceral yet simple names, reflecting the carnal yet mechanical rhythms of sex for money.
Titles like “Orgasm,” “From Behind,” and “Naked” broadcast pretty clearly what goes on in their lines, just as any John knows what happens behind the brothel’s closed doors. Sex, of course, with some portraying the narrator as young and innocent, but in others, a demon driven by lust.
This book has over one hundred poems, all embracing the sex, sleaze, and sin of the world’s oldest profession. Some recount struggling with addiction and disorder, some note violent clients who get off on beatings and brandings, but this is not a narrator who goes down quietly.
This is a fierce collection, told by a woman who knows people take advantage of her, but refuses to be a victim. She strikes back at the men who abuse her, and devours others through her own voracious appetite, calling to mind Plath’s “Lady Lazarus”: “Out of the ash/ I rise with my red hair/ And I eat men like air.”
Brothel is a book that knows sex is about power, one that embraces flaws without portraying them as weaknesses, in which succumbing to temptation is simply a part of life. In fact, those who don’t run from their desires are rewarded, so don’t worry. If you’re tempted to read this, hit buy. You’ll be in for a real good time.
[bctt tweet=”‘This book has over one hundred poems, all embracing the sex, sleaze, and sin of the world’s oldest profession.’ #horror #book E. N. Dahl – Book Review – ‘Brothel’ by Stephanie M. Wytovich” username=”theboldmom”]
