The Sperm Engine

Rating:
Summary: What a man learns from his sperm
Review: Ah - The Sperm Engine - Stephen Greco's debut success! This nasty little treasure, is a compilation of erotic journal entries, short fiction and narrative essays, with enough dirt for your inner voyeur to feast upon for weeks. After all, what else do you do with your inner voyeur? Offer to play a game of catch?

Greco certainly is an acquired taste for those who prefer the memoir/essayist, David Sedaris. But for those for decide to take the risk, they will find that Greco is as witty and creative, if not a lot more risque. Alas, one shoud not catagorize this as plain erotica, though many of the chapters contain greatly detailed sex acts and thoughts. Greco tends to tell a greater story using erotica as a mere literary tool to help push his story along. His first chapter, gives an intense testimony to meeting his partner in the cruising grounds of a Brooklyn park and is handled very bluntly, where the reader mouth will drop open in pure shock and amusement. However other chapters confess darker tones, such as a story devoted to a character's last act of intimacy with his dying lover in a hospital bed. Greco explores more of the human frailty and conflict through sexuality. Not only does he share some of his most intimate secrets, but some of his wizdom as well.

Of course, memoir and fiction certainly do interwine within this book and it can be difficult to distinguish which stories are fiction and which are not. One particular fiction piece, "Men and their Issues", follows the storyline of about 15-20 different characters over the course of one evening - some of the characters being humurously created and others more tragic.

The "Sperm Engine" is a truely excellent read, blending in dramatic memoir, humour and erotica together. This may not be a book to read through in one sitting, but perhaps to be savored over several nights and reads.

Rating:
Summary: What a man learns from his sperm
Review: Ah - The Sperm Engine - Stephen Greco's debut success! This nasty little treasure, is a compilation of erotic journal entries, short fiction and narrative essays, with enough dirt for your inner voyeur to feast upon for weeks. After all, what else do you do with your inner voyeur? Offer to play a game of catch?

Greco certainly is an acquired taste for those who prefer the memoir/essayist, David Sedaris. But for those for decide to take the risk, they will find that Greco is as witty and creative, if not a lot more risque. Alas, one shoud not catagorize this as plain erotica, though many of the chapters contain greatly detailed sex acts and thoughts. Greco tends to tell a greater story using erotica as a mere literary tool to help push his story along. His first chapter, gives an intense testimony to meeting his partner in the cruising grounds of a Brooklyn park and is handled very bluntly, where the reader mouth will drop open in pure shock and amusement. However other chapters confess darker tones, such as a story devoted to a character's last act of intimacy with his dying lover in a hospital bed. Greco explores more of the human frailty and conflict through sexuality. Not only does he share some of his most intimate secrets, but some of his wizdom as well.

Of course, memoir and fiction certainly do interwine within this book and it can be difficult to distinguish which stories are fiction and which are not. One particular fiction piece, "Men and their Issues", follows the storyline of about 15-20 different characters over the course of one evening - some of the characters being humurously created and others more tragic.

The "Sperm Engine" is a truely excellent read, blending in dramatic memoir, humour and erotica together. This may not be a book to read through in one sitting, but perhaps to be savored over several nights and reads.

Rating:
Summary: A Fabulous Surprise
Review: I never thought I would get addicted to this book in the way that I did. As a hetero female, I assumed I wasn't the target audience. And I'm not. But that's besides the point. The stories are so engaging, so honest and funny that they transcend gay porn or erotic fiction. They're fascinating stories--a truly spectacular entree into the world of the penis.

Rating:
Summary: Author Succeeds in Making Erotica Boring.
Review: I'm sure the 'Did you find this review helpful?' patrol will vote me off the island, but this is absolutely the WORST collection of erotica I've ever read... and I've read (er um) lots.

Look elsewhere... this one's a snooze.

Rating:
Summary: Author Succeeds in Making Erotica Boring.
Review: If I could build an engine fuelled by sperm I'd solve all the world's energy problems overnight. I'd get a sore right arm, though...

Rating:
Summary: Finally--a Cure for Insomnia
Review: This book is so boring that doctors should recommend it to those with insomnia because it'll put you right to sleep. Billed as an erotic book of essays, it did not succeed with its task.

The author seems to dwell in his promiscuity, but bores us with stories about his furniture and odd stains on his upholstery instead of telling us how those stains got there.

In another essay he tells of his dying lover in the hospital and the last time they performed together, then, at the funeral, his lover's nurse comes to tell him that he was "with" the lover several times--and the author thought that was comforting. Yet there were no details of any of these couplings.

There is a point when trying to write erotica intelligently, which I am all for, that the writer inadvertantly eradicates all hints of passion and heat. The author completely leaves his readers cold and unmoved and still not in the mood, which is unfortunate. This book could have been very steamy and still maintained its dignity had the writer moved into the scenes and relived the physicality of his sessions. But no, we are to read about distant memories that have no feeling or touch attached.

Instead of this book being labeled and marketed as erotica, it should have been listed as autobiographic...and if these are the highlights of a life, I feel sorry for the subject--how can one lead a life so boring?

Rating:
Summary: Finally--a Cure for Insomnia
Review: This book is so boring that doctors should recommend it to those with insomnia because it'll put you right to sleep. Billed as an erotic book of essays, it did not succeed with its task.

The author seems to dwell in his promiscuity, but bores us with stories about his furniture and odd stains on his upholstery instead of telling us how those stains got there.

In another essay he tells of his dying lover in the hospital and the last time they performed together, then, at the funeral, his lover's nurse comes to tell him that he was "with" the lover several times--and the author thought that was comforting. Yet there were no details of any of these couplings.

There is a point when trying to write erotica intelligently, which I am all for, that the writer inadvertantly eradicates all hints of passion and heat. The author completely leaves his readers cold and unmoved and still not in the mood, which is unfortunate. This book could have been very steamy and still maintained its dignity had the writer moved into the scenes and relived the physicality of his sessions. But no, we are to read about distant memories that have no feeling or touch attached.

Instead of this book being labeled and marketed as erotica, it should have been listed as autobiographic...and if these are the highlights of a life, I feel sorry for the subject--how can one lead a life so boring?

Rating:
Summary: A truly enjoyable read
Review: This book of essays really captures the essence of gay New York. Maybe not everybody's scene, but definitely "a" scene. Greco's "The Trout" is an amazing piece of literature that captured my imagination and made me imagine what a movie version would be like. It's easy to become engaged in each essay in the book, but because each one is relatively short, this book, despite it's title, is terrific to pick up, read a little, and then go back to later -- though I had to read it all in two seatings.... Definitely goes into my favorites pile.