My thoughts were scattered and mixed while reading With My Body by Nikki Gemmell. At first, the book felt like a coming of age tale about a middle aged housewife; appropos considering Pammypam is of a certain age. After a while though, I found myself not liking the book. At all.
To be sure I loved the settings of England and Australia: the differences in climate between the two locales as different as the lives of a young woman and a middle aged woman. I could not, however, enjoy the sexual escapades of a teenage girl. Call me a prude, call me whatever you want, but I found I just could not enjoy the story as I felt I was supposed to. Had the main character been several years older I might have felt differently but as it was, the scenes felt dirty, improper, and wrong.
The reader may have difficulty separating the age of the main character from the story but BUT BUT if you can, I believe you may enjoy the intimate scenes and literary interludes. Ive not read the Tirology of Trash known as 50 shades of Gray, but I can suppose that the trilogy cannot hold up under the microscope when compared to Gemmell’s intelligent interpretation of famous books about sexuality.
I also would have liked the author To allow us more insights into the life of a bush person. Knowing nothing of Australia and her people, I imagine everyone to look and sound like The Wiggles; is that true? Are the characters Caucasian like my beloved Greg or darker like the somnambulant Jeff? Or was that the point, to keep the ethnicities vague?
Do not let my words keep you from enjoying With My Body. There may be something there that you will enjoy. Plus, a good book invites discussion and differences of opinion and there are sure to be differences of opinion by readers of Gemmell’s latest book. This book should be enjoyed drinking your favorite beverage and or on vacation, which, coincidentally, is exactly how I finished it. It is a decadent read, sure to make you think.
I give the book two paws, mostly because I couldn’t get past the teen sexuality bit.
