My Secret Summer Reading

I've read two books that I later regretted picking up. "The End of Faith" by Sam Harris and "The Painted Bird" by Jerzy Kosinski. Not because they were poorly written or constructed, but because each described too-graphic-for-me scenes of torture and murder.

I try to keep myself happy by maintaining a safe distance from disturbing ideas, toxic personalities and, on the opposite end of the spectrum, malaise caused by banality. And I feel like I do a pretty darn good job of hovering somewhere between these two extremes.

Yet for better or worse, I also have a rather robust intellectual curiosity - especially about psycho-pathology - and that sometimes usurps my common sense and my desire to keep ugly images out of my head. And I can tell you already that this week, I'm gonna fall straight down that literary rabbit hole again. Ouch.

Today is the official release date of the book, "Tampa" by Alissa Nutting. It's the story of a drop dead gorgeous, female 20-something school teacher/pedophile. A woman who lusts for 13 year old boys and acts almost exclusively to fulfill her twisted desires.

I've been reading pre-release reviews of the book. I first heard of it from this salon.com article, Why Stories of Female Sexual Predators Shock Us.

"Tampa" is being compared to "Lolita" and "American Psycho" except reviewers are generally concluding that "Tampa" is darker, more disturbing, wholly offensive, and on and on. Celeste Price - the main character - is described as a monster. It's a car wreck I can't turn away from. I'm intrigued by the notion of a female sexual predator - because that's just so rare a reality. And I really, really appreciate the literary bravery of Tampa's author, Allissa Nutting so I'm happy to contribute to her coffers.

I'll read it this week, with my trepidation, my inevitable disgust, and my morbid curiosity all bubbling around in a stew. Thank god for e-books and kindles - to hide our reading secrets. Depending upon how I digest the book, a review may just be following.....