A fiercely honest exploration of the risks and rewards of contemporary relationships-and hookups-Sex with Strangers embraces the dizzying power of attraction across the spectrum of...

A fiercely honest exploration of the risks and rewards of contemporary relationships-and hookups-Sex with Strangers embraces the dizzying power of attraction across the spectrum of passion and infatuation. In this fearless collection, lust and loneliness drive a diverse cast of queer and straight characters into sometimes precarious entanglements.

Recognizing that any partner is unknowable on some level, Michael Lowenthal writes about how intimacy can make strangers of us all. A newly ordained priest struggles with guilt and longing when he runs into his ex-girlfriend. A woman weighs the cost of protecting her daughter from a man they both adore. A teenage busboy has a jolting brush with a famous musician. A young man tries to salvage a long-distance relationship while caring for his mentor, an erotic writer dying of AIDS.

In edgy, disquieting stories, Lowenthal traces the paths that attraction and erotic encounters take, baffling and rueful as often as electrifying. This fraught and funny volume forces us to grapple with our own subconscious desires and question how well we can ever really know ourselves.

Author: Michael Lowenthal
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Published: 03/16/2021
Pages: 160
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.57lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.40w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9780299332648


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 03/15/2021

About the Author
Michael Lowenthal is the author of four novels: The Same Embrace, Avoidance, Charity Girl, and The Paternity Test. He lives in Boston.