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The brief for this remarkable compilation of Welsh women’s autobiographical essays was the theme ‘My Experience of Sex’. Contributors were guaranteed complete anonymity from the editor, Catherine Merriman, and any readership (though not from Honno). Some of the women are named on their pieces, others named as contributors but do not have their pieces identified, while some use pseudonyms or ‘Anon’. All twenty-six writers were brave enough to put pen to paper and share their most profoundly intimate and life-changing moments with total strangers.
Because of their very nature, most of the stories, of necessity, contain sexually explicit passages, but their use is not gratuitous, and the book can in no way be considered pornographic.
The stories are not categorised by subject matter but by the age group of the authors, commencing with the oldest – ‘60s+’, and continuing through the decades to ‘20s’; and the experiences shared with the reader cover virtually every gamut of emotion except, noticeably, self-pity. To quote from the editor’s introduction: ‘All are interesting. Some are funny, some are sad, some informative, and some, as in those where the writer seems to be achieving self-awareness even as she writes, deeply affecting. I felt privileged to read them all.’
I totally agree with Catherine Merriman, and although some of the authors are less experienced writers, this in no way detracts from their stories or the impact that they have on the reader. I was electrified by the first story, 'Brazen Hussies', and became a compulsive page-turner until the book was finished; then I immediately read it all again, reminding myself all the while that these are true stories.
Readers may not always sympathise with a particular writer, but they cannot fail to be impressed by their compelling honesty and directness, or to agree with the final sentence of 'Brazen Hussies', whether it be with regard to sex or other pleasures: 'I hope I shall never become too old to feel desire.'
Hillary Gibson
It is possible to use this review for promotional purposes, but the following acknowledgement should be included: A review from www.gwales.com, with the permission of the Welsh Books Council.
Gellir defnyddio’r adolygiad hwn at bwrpas hybu, ond gofynnir i chi gynnwys y gydnabyddiaeth ganlynol: Adolygiad oddi ar www.gwales.com, trwy ganiatad Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru.
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