"Meeting the Master" by Elissa Wald

[abcrystcats]

You'll find this in the "erotica" section at Borders books, complete with a lurid red cover and references to S/M, et cetera.

It is NOT erotica in the literal sense. In fact, many of the short stories she has written contain no sex at all. The stories are an examination of human psychology and the impulses that cause us to want to take either a submissive or dominant role in relationships. --And even that's oversimplifying what she's writing about. Some of the stories made me cry.

"The Houseboy" is about a high school student who becomes infatuated with an Army recruiter. He lies his way into the man's NY apartment as a kind of houseboy, and although the emotions between them are apparent in the story, the relationship ends abruptly.

"The Resolution" is about a rootless young girl who joins a circus and becomes deeply attached to a homosexual. She eventually becomes successful, and he contracts AIDS. This is the one that made me cry.

"Turned Out" is a story of a convict released from prison and how he adjusts to the outside (he doesn't).

There are eight stories in all, and I don't think the book deserves to be labelled erotica just because it has some intense sexuality as part of the themes. It's definitely worth reading -- if you can get over the embarassment of the red cover!