Lofting

An ENE Review of the novel
Lofting by Alma Marceau

 

Reviewed by JZ Sharpe
 

As a reviewer of erotic fiction, I keep my "finger on the pulse" of the genre (so to speak). Therefore, it comes as no surprise to me (nor should it to you) that one of the most popular plot lines in erotica is that of the woman who wants to live out her fantasies. When Lofting, by Alma Marceau, landed in my in-box, I said to myself, "Here we go again!" Another woman, another line-up of sexual dreams, another novel. Not the first and definitely not the last.
 

But I liked Lofting, despite some small reservations which we'll discuss later. I enjoyed my time with Claire, a middle-aged psychologist with a pretty wild fantasy life. In the beginning, she's understandably timid, getting her first taste of cybersex from her friend Andres, a.k.a. Patroqueeet (his online moniker). She soon decides that she likes it, and one fantasy only builds on another, as these things often do. If only she had someone of an equal perversion level who could join her, in person!
 

Enter Nick, who comes to Claire as a prospective patient. She decides that he needs a psychiatrist instead - then she also decides, after giving it some thought, that she's attracted to him. As luck would have it, he's attracted to her as well, so they form a friendship which soon becomes a laboratory for the realization of sexual wishes. Hot play ensues, and a good time is had by all, right to the last pages.
 
Now I will warn you that at several points in this book, I was tempted to set it down and say, in that cynical voice reserved only for reviewers, "Aw, c'mon! People don't talk like this!" My belief was sorely tested when Claire's cyber-attraction to Andres deepened because his opinions on post-modernism were the same as hers. Granted, I've had moments where an already intriguing person becomes even more appealing - but somehow, their opinion on post-modernism never seems to figure into it. (Okay, maybe I've got a problem. Maybe I'm the one who needs a shrink.)
 
But, setting aside those moments where the characters are just TOO sophisticated for their own good (like the rather unbelievable online chats between Claire and Andres -both of them have amazing vocabularies, beyond anyone I've ever met in a chat room), Lofting is a fine read. It's worth plowing through those moments of late 20th century cool to get to the sex scenes, which are well written, free of erotic cliches and downright incendiary, even for a jaded reader like me. I confess that I read the last fifty pages with only one hand, not something I do with every book.
 
I suspect that Alma Marceau is the pen name for someone (or a group of someones) with enormous writing talent and a deliciously perverted mind. (A web search on "Alma Marceau" only turned up apartments in Paris by the same name.) I may be a hick from the sticks of Pennsylvania, but I know good erotica when I read it - and Lofting is excellent! I highly recommend it - and don't worry, your opinion on post-modernism won't matter in the least.
 
Lofting

Lofting by Alma Marceau is available for purchase through Amazon.com

Lofting, a novel, is the record of a perceptive and intrepid sensualist, one woman's exploration of the thematic catalogue of fin de siecle eroticism. Rendered in compellingly elaborate detail, its scenes of debauch will delight aficionados of exhibitionism, voyeurism, bisexuality, bondage, flogging and other national pastimes.

For the past five years, JZ Sharpe has been making up for the time she lost in a 20-year writer's block. She lives in the Pennsylvania mountains, where most of her friends and coworkers would be shocked and amazed by her secret life as a writer of erotica and science fiction. JZ Sharpe is a regular contributor to ENE. You can also find her work at About's Amateur Erotica, Adult Story Corner, Biblio Eroticus, Blood Moon Zine , Dare , Erotica Readers Association, HotErotica.Com and Scarlet Letters . Get lashed by the Sharpe Tongue.
 
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