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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