The Seduction of Peter S

Rating:
Summary: A Super-Seductive, Thoroughly Entertaining Read!!
Review: Late one afternoon Peter Scuro, a thirty-six year-old out of work actor, hits his favorite Manhattan bar, aptly named the "Loser's Place," after being told by yet another casting director that they're looking for a "younger type." Peter is on his second martini when a woman, covered in mink, wearing dark glasses, hands him fifty dollars and asks him, "your place?" Outside, waiting for a cab, he asks, "Why me?" She answers, "You look reasonably clean." She turns out to be Martha Twombly, late forties, dependent on make-up, hairdresser, and aerobics for her passing looks. Confident, she cruises when "in the mood." Martha and Peter get to know each other a little better, if that is possible, and come up with an outrageous business plan.

They decide to provide a service for bright, successful, wealthy and/or lonely women who are looking for a male company, but not emotional attachments - women who will pay for what they want. Peter and Martha open an exclusive establishment where moneyed women can buy their fantasy, for an hour or so. The idea takes-off and the business becomes successful and expands. Problems arise, including those unique to the business of prostitution.

This is as much a character study as a thriller or mystery. Martha describes Peter perfectly when she tells him, "You are in the flesh game because you like easy money, you enjoy sex, you like women, you like to be on, you like to live by your wits, you can't stand the thought of a regular nine-to-five job - you've got a million motives for doing what you're doing." Yet Peter also seeks intimacy and never expects to come into contact with violence. He strives to become part of the "overworld," of wealth and power - one of the movers and shakers - but doesn't realize how much violence can be involved in achieving his vision of success.

Lawrence Sanders has written a different kind of book with "The Seduction Of Peter S." It is edgey, but is also filled with humor. Some of the vignettes of the male prostitutes and their female tricks are very funny, as are many of the characters and their foibles. One of Sander's premises is that women have achieved equality with men in many areas, so why not in the world's oldest profession - with a role reversal? I found the novel to be extraordinarily entertaining, well written, and one of Sanders' best.
JANA

Rating:
Summary: The Seduction of Jeff R
Review: My name is Jeff Richmond. I'm the kind of guy who goes through libraries asking, "Is this all there is?"

Finding Lawrence Sander's "The Seduction of Peter S" was like picking up the perfect girl in the most average place--a bar, a supermarket, or a library for that matter. Perfect not because of any great or lasting beauty, or any real depth of character, but because I didn't have to pretend to be anyone but who I really am--an average reader who craves an above-average read.

And an above-average read is exactly what this book is. Not Shakespeare, Dostoevsky, or even Hemingway. But a quick-moving, captivating story of one sorry actor's thankless performance to his most devoted audience--himself.

Peter Scuro may not be Broadway's finest, nor its most in-demand actor. But he's "always on," as they say, and with at least enough skill to fool himself, along with a good number of fellow out-of-work actors, into thinking he can turn woman's oldest profession into a new form of theater, reaping not only money and booty, but aesthetic satisfaction as well. The result is mostly comic--but as in all good comedies a certain seriousness grounds the narrative, otherwise as light as an episode of "Frasier."

The prose not only clips along. With sentences chopped up. Into their respective grammatical elements. Providing a certain theatrical effect. (Much better than this.) But also the sentences flow along naturally, wonderfully, from descriptions as sparse yet effective as stage directions to thoughts on life rendered as precise theatrical images and analogies. There are even moments of Joycean epiphany--a certain poetry, I mean--though, granted, "epiphany (very) light."

"Think of God as a clown," Peter says on the first page of the book. "A bridge collapses? Slapstick. A thousand people drown when a boat sinks? A great schtick." Not an exact quote, but you get the gist. Peter's spiritual and ontological views justify his actions; they also are justified through them. In the end, God, or at least poetic justice, has the last laugh.

I could go on and on. And I have. I've read this book twice, that's twice as many times as I ever read this sort of novel--I'm an average reader, yes. OF Shakespeare, Dostoevsky, Hemingway and company. The book is no Classic, but it's a classic, for what it is. A five-star above-average average read.

"The Seduction of Peter S" stood my test of time, however; the encore read was well rewarded and I know I'll read it again. Probably the next time I'm relaxing on a beach somewhere in the mood for the literary equivalent of a summer affair.

I highly recommend this book to any and all readers. The only disappointment is that it made me want to read other books by the author, but it was the ONLY one of Sander's novels I've been able to finish (ie. get past page 3).

I guess I'm looking for a younger type.

Rating:
Summary: I did not enjoy this book.
Review: This book was recommended through the Amazon "Book Finder" based on my interest in intrigue/spy, etc. titles. I bought it, but wish I hadn't. I never really understood what the author was trying to tell us about Peter or his situation. Although it's a quick read, I actually forgot to finish it and found it several days later in my study, face down, with about 5 pages left to read. I won't try this author again.