Part of the goal of this project was to read some things I normally wouldn't. Book 88 Certainly isn't the kind of book I ever thought I'd read. Fifty Shades of Alice in Wonderland by Melinda DuChamp is essentially a literary porn parody. Thankfully, it has nothing to do with the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy other than the title (from what I understand, those books promote an extremely unhealthy view of sexual relationships) Ms. DuChamp's little book is more of a goofy how-to guide for exploring adult fantasies.
The story follows Alice, a young woman unsatisfied with her love life with her fiance, Lewis. Lewis gives her a "rabbit" to spice things up a bit. When Lewis Falls asleep, the "rabbit" runs away and Alice chases him down the rabbit hole and into a wonderland of goofy characters who spend a good deal of their time being naughty little monkeys. As far as I can tell, the book follows the format of the original Alice in Wonderland with the exception that most of the creatures have been replaced by hunky dudes and hot babes. Lest you think the book is promoting rampant infidelity, the book ends with the reveal that it was all a crazy dream and Alice and Lewis live happily ever after.
Apart from the massive amount of puns and silly jokes, this book is also careful to promote healthy ways to explore roleplaying and other games. Everyone is nice and considerate, and boundaries are always respected. This isn't to say that the book is chaste by any stretch because Oh My, they do some weird stuff. But the writer's sense of fun for her topic is palpable, and you almost forget that you are reading a smutty, smutty book. In fact, I was shocked that this book is actually pretty well written. Erotica and Romance books aren't renowned for their quality writing (at least that's what I learned from watching Alison Janney in 10 Things I Hate About You and that episode of FRIENDS where Joey finds Rachels dirty book) The parody was well thought out, and some of the jokes were actually quite clever. I looked into a bit and discovered that Melida DuChamp is a pen name for an author who has published over 50 novels under her real name. The pen name is to protect her from the embarrassment of her family finding out that she likes to write dirty books, which makes sense. I mean, people don't like to admit to reading these kinds of books, let alone admitting that you wrote a porny book. (which also explains the romance novel boom that has happened since the advent of the Kindle. Now no one has to know that you aren't reading War and Peace) Overall, I thought this was an interesting read, and I suppose you could do a lot worse than read a dirty parody of a literary classic that treats it women like people with thoughts and feelings rather than just an object of desire.
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