Fast Girls: Erotica for Women

Edited by Rachel Kramer Bussel

Book Review by Ashley Lister

I was intrigued by the title of Fast Girls.  I won’t go into one of my feminist rants about the use of the word ‘girls.’  This is neither the time nor the place.  But I was hooked by the use of the word ‘fast.’ 

Fast, as you’re probably aware is one of those rare words we call a contranym: words that can have two contradictory meanings.  Examples of other contranyms are words like bound, (we’re bound for London/her legs were bound together) and cleave (cleave apart/cleave together). 

In its adjectival form, fast can mean moving at high speed, or it can mean firmly fixed and attached.  (Also, as a verb, it can mean to abstain from food and drink for a specific period, but that would suggest a pretty dull book if it was simply a collection of stories about girls not eating).

In her introduction, where she explains what she wanted from each story, Rachel Kramer Bussel writes: “Two definitions of “fast,” according to Merriam-Webster are “wild” or “sexually promiscuous,” and while that is the seed of what I was angling for here, I didn’t just want to read about slut after slut after slut. I wanted to read about women who in some way defy the conventional norms…”

This is exactly what each of these excellent short stories manages.

The collection begins with Kayla Perrin’s ‘Temptation.’  ‘Temptation’ is a fast moving story about a thirty-seven year old woman and the twenty-year old youth who’s weeding her garden.  Perrin crafts a credible and entertaining story that is swift and satisfying and the cougar-styling of this opener certainly defies the conventional norms. 

And then we’re into Donna George Storey’s ‘Waxing Eloquent.’  Anyone who knows me knows I’m a huge fan of Donna.   Her full length title, Amorous Woman, remains one of my favourite erotic fiction titles and has a favoured place on my bookshelf.  ‘Waxing Eloquent’ is another example of her superb literary skills.  The story deals with an unconventionally forthright heroine who puts the LA into depi-LA-tion. 

In ‘Communal’, Saskia Walker’s heroine takes the unconventional step of using a university’s communal showers for getting clean whilst getting dirty.  Saskia Walker knows how to turn up the heat and this is one shower story that is best described as steamy. 

D L King, ‘Let’s Dance’ breaks the convention of traditional gender models with a female protagonist who wields a dominant control over a new friend as she sets about satisfying her own desires.  The writing is sharp, sexy and thoroughly enjoyable. 

Kristina Wright, ‘Chasing Danger’ introduces an unconventional female police officer involved in the hottest of hot pursuits.  As with all Kristina’s fiction, the story is tight, fun and worth every word.

Fast Girls is an entertaining collection of well-written erotica.  There are sufficient kinks to satisfy the most demanding deviants and enough unconventionality to keep readers twisting eagerly as they read.  You’ll be sure to get through this one fast; and it will keep you stuck fast to your seat.

Ashley Lister
August 2010

Fast Girls: Erotica for Women
(Cleis Press, July 2010; ISBN-10: 1573443840)
Available at:  Amazon Amazon UK

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© 2010 Ashley Lister. All rights reserved.

About the Author: Ashley Lister is a UK author responsible for more than two-dozen erotic novels written under a variety of pseudonyms.His most recent work, Swingers: True Confessions from Today's Modern Swinging Scene Virgin Books; ISBN: 0753511355), a non-fiction book recounting the exploits of UK swingers, is his first title published under his own name.
Ashley’s non-fiction has appeared in a variety of magazines, including Forum, Chapter & Verse and The International Journal of Erotica. Nexus, Chimera and Silver Moon have published his full-length fiction, with shorter stories appearing in anthologies edited by Maxim Jakubowski, Rachel Kramer Bussel and Mitzi Szereto. He is very proud to be a regular contributor to ERWA.
Websites: www.ashleylister.co.uk / ashleylister.blogspot.com

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