Tampa | Review

4.65/5.00
Published: 2013

Genre: Contemporary
Goodreads

“I found that sometimes it was a relief to do something unattractive in private, to confirm that I’m deeply flawed when so many others image me to be perfect. People are often startled by my handwriting; because I’m pretty, they assume everything I do it pretty. It’s odd to them that I write like I have a hook for an arm.”

I do not actually mind the language in this book or the sexual content. If you are more opposed to that kind of language, this is definitely not the book for you. It is undeniably rather crude.
Tampa tells the story of Celeste, a woman who has just taken a teaching position. It is a delightful opportunity allowing her to start feeding the desire she has been careful to hide so far, her attraction to 14-year-old boys. This desire, her depravity dictates her every move, everything a strategy to satisfy it.
The similarity here to the case of Debra Lafave comes quick to mind. It really is an otherwise too often seen story, but the simple conversion of the offender to a woman and narrating it from her perspective drew more interest. Not using a man as the narrator does more than make the story less dull however.
Even as the narrator says, don’t straight adolescent boys dream of just this scenario—a beautiful woman wanting to fuck them? Did I not dream of such a scenario when I was a teenager? Logically, it is just terrible. It is an adult screwing a child that should have our condemnation just as much as if Celeste was a guy, yet opinion of her, a beautiful woman, is not quite as dark among many.
“Sex struck me as a seafood with the shortest imaginable shelf life needing to be peeled and eaten the moment the urge ripened.”
However, any drawn assumption that this book, writing about sexual harassment perpetrated by a woman, is only cannon fodder for those who try to excuse, justify, or dampen the same harassment from men by saying, “Both sides” would be ludicrous and as maddening an understanding of Tampa as those who see Lolita as a romance. I understand the negative reaction towards this book. Despite such words, it is a read worth the time.
This is an amazingly intriguing book. No hint of the romanticism or forgiveness in Lolita finds a place here. It’s straightforward sexual desire. While not some inspiring or life-changing read, I do recommend it.

Alissa Nutting is an American author and a professor of creative writing. Her latest book, Made for Love, was published in 2017. 

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