"The Fermata," the author's fifth book, is narrated by Arno Strine, a seemingly ordinary fellow whose secret, miraculous distinction lies in his ability to freeze, at whim, any moment in time. That is to say, ever since childhood, when he first discovered his peculiar talent, Arno has been assiduously honing various techniques for cutting off the cosmic power supply and deciding what personal advantage he wishes to take from the resultant opportunities. We quickly learn that although he has chosen to live by supporting himself as a Clark Kentish office temp, Arno is, in fact, whenever he chooses to be, magical lord of all he surveys. Capable of bringing the universe to a complete and total halt simply by snapping his fingers, he is then at liberty to wander among his statuelike, temporarily insentient fellows, safe in the eerie atmosphere of the suspension he's created.
Once he's there, nearly anything goes. Yet since Beyond Time there are no rules of moral behavior, Arno must invent them. This circumstance, however, won't surprise Nicholson Baker readers, who know that rule making and margin setting take up a large space in the author's usual bag of tricks. But Arno is unconvincingly squeamish when it comes to amassing wealth while at large in the Fold, or the "fermata" -- two of the names he gives to the secession-cessation he alone experiences. At first willing to give theft a small try, he concludes lamely that "there was misery in it, not excitement," which only has the effect of making the explanation seem included merely as a sop to the reader's own checklist of thrilling possibilities. (Arno does admit, though, to using the Fold for peaceful last-minute Christmas browsing.)
Quote by T_Elle
My still-favourite erotica series is The Sleeping Beauty Trilogy, written by Anne Rice, under the pseudonym A.N. Roquelaure. It's very hardcore, even today, but especially considering when it was written - the early 80's.
As Wikipedia says: The trilogy was written in the 1980s when many feminists denounced pornography as violation of women's rights, but Rice firmly believed that women should have the freedom to read and write whatever they pleased, and considered the trilogy her political statement.[10]
I loved it!
