Recommend: Yes
Penguin Moderns score yet another win. These little $2.50 editions punch fair above their weight.
For years I have confused Anas Nin with Virginia Woolf. Each are ‘classic’ female authors beloved by publishers. Their works have been issued in many different editions. Up until now I had read neither Nin or Woolf. I now understand a key distinction between these two authors. Woolf is a literary darling. Nin writes smut.
The Veiled Woman is a collection of four short stories, plucked from other previously published collections. I, of course, didn’t know this and I, of course, already own the other collections (noting I said I hadn’t read Nin before, a very different proposition to not having owned Nin before). So I’ve fallen prey of the re-release, a stealthy attack I will be vulnerable to for the rest of my life.
Even having been duped into a double up, I couldn’t blame Penguin for wanting to dip back into these delectable little tales of erotica. Nin is a brilliant writer. Her stories are like little pornos (I imagine). They begin with a ludicrous set up – Eyes Wide Shut type stuff – and envelope you in the simplicity of their payoff.
The Penguin editors gave us a bit of everything in this tiny volume. There’s voyeurism, forest orgies, lesbian romps and even a meta short story about authors of erotica (‘literary prostitution’). I thought I would be embarrassed to read Nin on the bus but she ended up being so engrossing I didn’t want the trip to end. I can only hope the man behind me enjoyed what he could read over my shoulder.
Nin expertly balances hedonism and tension so that each of the stories rushes by too quickly and you are left with an empty feeling at the end, and the only way to satisfy yourself again is to go back to the start and do it all over again.
I shouldn’t have been impressed that these stories were originally published in the 1970s – I’ve known for a long while that it was the most distinguished decade of literature. And sure, some of the sexual phrasing is a bit dated (while published in the 70s, Nin actually wrote them in the 40s) but that doesn’t distract from the excitement. Besides, things haven’t changed too much that department over the decades…
Nin is a titillating and talented author. This is a rich and fun collection and far better value than your Only Fans account.
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