Madam Lash
by Sam Everingham
Allen & Unwin
Gretel Pinniger is certainly a fascinating character and Sam Everingham portrays her as a strong-willed but misunderstood eccentric in this fast-paced and interesting biography.
Pinniger built a name for herself as a dominatrix, fetishist, fashion designer and artist, but was also a mother and was once a young woman who had dreams of becoming a nun. She rubbed shoulders with the wealthy and influential- it was Clyde Packer who apparently introduced her to the joys of bondage and while the identity of her mysterious ‘Patron’, who supported her for decades, is never revealed the idea of who he might be is endlessly intriguing.
Originally Everingham wrote the book with Pinniger’s cooperation, however she chose not to attend the official launch sending a representative to read a statement saying she felt betrayed and degraded by the book, calling it a ‘character assassination’.
Either way, madam Lash is a great read full of titillating tales and naughty narratives.
Amy Henderson
Jane Slayre
by Charlotte Brontë & Sherri Browning Erwin
Simon & Schuster
Do the mash… the monster mash. Ah, you know literature has reached new heights when the literary monster mash-ups become all the rage. And no, I’m not being sarcastic at all (amazingly) because quite simply I love these remixes. I mean, anything that takes a traditional ‘female’ text and imbues it with zombies, vampires, werewolves and ghouls is more than ok in my books (if you pardon the pun).
Now, I’m not that familiar with the original. Sacrilegious, I know. But after lifting up my petticoats, grabbing a stake off the shelf and heaving my bosom through Bronte’s world via Browning Erwin’s madness, I think I have the general gist. After all, Jane was raised by vampires and sent to be a governess for Mr Rochester’s daughter where the man of the house is really a werewolf, right? Oh, and don’t forget the zombie sorceress too, yeah? No? Well… maybe it should have. I would’ve read it then.
Perhaps Jane Slayre has too many monsters for its own good. But what it does do is spark an interest in the original, which is perhaps the best part of this new mash up genre. Either way, this book is harmless fun… unless you’re a purist, and then yes, it’ll offend with its bloodsucking debauchery.
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
God Says No
by James Hannaham
Grove Press
‘God Says No’ will not end the way you expect. It is no thriller but the tale of a man being pulled in many directions with little to follow but the word of God and his primal urges.
James Hannaham’s debut novel follows Gary Gray, a young, black, Christian man who fights the confusing affections he has towards the same-sex. God-fearing and scrupulous to negate these advancing feelings, Gray marries his college sweetheart. However a week before the wedding, Gray is confronted with his internal conflict in the bathroom of a rest-stop.
Hannaham delivers an honest and often funny account of the struggle for acceptance from others and one’s self. Hannaham’s character experiences the complexities of out life as well as turning to a gay-conversion ministry that advocates ‘pray-away-the-gay’. This debut novel also made it as one of the best new paperbacks for Entertainment Weekly’s Ultimate Summer List this year.
Benn Dorrington
