A hilarious memoir of one man's journey from inexperienced ex-pat to New York sexpert
At twenty-one perennial virgin Grant Stoddard left Britain for the United States in pursuit of true love. After eighteen months of couch-surfing and heartbreak, he stumbled into a job as New York's most intrepid sex columnist, despite having little experience in either sex or writing. He lives in New York City.
Readers of Grant Stoddard's popular Nerve.com column "I Did It for Science" won't be surprised that Stoddard opens his memoir with a description of himself, down on all fours, about to be anally penetrated by a latex replica of his own phallus. For three years, Stoddard's was the thinking pervert's go-to guy for behind-the-scenes reporting on everything from chin-mounted dildos to group sex. Now, in this consistently hilarious exploration of the life of an accidental sexpert, Stoddard combines adventures from his dot-com days with a portrait of the artist as a young virgin, growing up luckless and loveless in London. Stoddard would probably balk at the suggestion that he has a "typically English" sense of humor, but whatever he'd choose to call it, his self-deprecating style and wonderful appreciation of the absurd serves him well, whether he's describing his highly unusual university flatmate (an octogenarian named Mrs. Montague) or a more recent stint as a terrified extra in a pornographic movie. If the book has a weakness it's in the pacing: toward the end the narrative threatens to stall, and an over-long description of Stoddard's failed attempt to woo a visiting French teenager falls flat. Fortunately, though, these slightly uneven interludes don't significantly diminish the pleasures of this smart and appealing book. (Jan.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
"Stoddard's prose manages to be clever, poignant, x-rated, and hilarious -- often in the same sentence. I blushed through the whole book, but couldn't put it down" Lauren Weisberger, author of The Devil Wears Prada "A genuine talent... he writes with elegance and precision" LA Times
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