Quixotic Erotic

Britta Santowski is a freelance writer in Victoria.

This collection of erotica by Tamai Kobayashi is divided into two
sections: “Erotic” and “Quixotic.” The “Erotic” section
consists of 12 mostly short pieces where the lesbian
slam-bam-thank-you-ma’am whacks the reader hard and fast, again and
again. “Variations on a Kiss” seductively details a hot and steamy
grope between two female strangers in an unnamed, unlit office space.
“Mirror Mirror” reveals the mutually enjoyable onanistic activities
of a voyeur and an exhibitionist. “Hot Spring” has Jessie and
Suzanne expanding their sexual relationship to include Mika. Sticky heat
radiates from these stories. Engorged and glistening cunts throb, pulse,
thrust, burn, and ache. Lovers stroke, spread, bounce, whimper, shiver,
feast, and moan. The sexual intensity can become numbing.

The “Quixotic” section, which is by far more complex and
captivating, consists of nine intricate works that take a more fairytale
approach to erotic writing. Here, myth and legend are rewritten and
inextricably intertwined with lesbian desire and longing. “The Island
of Earthly Delights” tells three legends of three very desirable and
sexually motivated women: Jiana, the Moon Woman, and Yuki Onna. In
“Beast,” the patriarch warns his daughter, Miranda, not to go near
the cell that holds the beast captive; a relationship between Miranda
and the beast ensues. An additional layer of complexity is added to it
through a substory in the footnote margins of the text. “Vampyr” is
a collection of four stories told to a Vampyr by a menstruating woman
while she waits for her blood supply to replenish (“If you arouse me
again, so soon, the blood will stop”).

Kobayashi’s closing words are telling: “Dear Reader, these are
stories, perhaps seductions, but stories can subvert and still amuse.
... Remember, if you don’t like the ending, change it.” Kobayashi is
no stranger to invention, and one gets the sense she has changed many
endings to better suit her worldview. She invites the reader to do the
same.