No sex please - Erotic literature that doesn't actualy concern The Act

This is something I'm really interested in - I've not read Nin's actual sex-related stuff but her short stories in Under A Glass Bell are still very sensual and dreamy. I'm quite unconventional in my reading preferences, and I think this extends to the way I like reading about sex/sexuality. For instance, a story I'd really like to recommend to fans of restrained (deeply subtle) but very very sexy writing is Italo Calvino's 'The Adventure of a Soldier' in William Weaver's translation for Picador. Sadly my Italian isn't up to the original, but - cor. All that happens is that a soldier and a widow share a railway compartment and he puts his hand on her thigh. But god, it's amazing.
Any reciprocal recommendations of sexy writing that isn't about sex itself would be intriguing and appreciated.
B

Beetle, you are completely right. I think one of the dreamiest love stories I ever read was the one that could not be consummated--not even started in A Long Fatal Love Chase. I do not know how to describe it except to say that it is a fierce attraction between a priest and a nun... Tension can be incredibly erotic--sometimes better than the consummation.

Anais Nin has a particular talent for that. Have you any more examples of sexy w/o sex in literature?

Leo

Leopold Bloom and the girl on the beach.

Kencf, Leopold Bloom and the girl and the beach? Please enlighten me...

Leo

In Swann's Way by Proust, there is a passage where, in a carriage, he leans over the little bunch of flowers on the bosom of his companion. (It is early and I forget the name of the woman - how could I? - and the kind of flowers - violets?). This passage, read a few years ago, left me breathless.

I had a copy of Swann's Way in my hands, but I did not purchase it. I am sort of a cover snob and I did not like the cover!

I was once in a cafe in, and the man sitting next to me was reading the book and I could not help but get into a conversation with him about it. Seems his company was reading the entire series and he found it to be kind of dry...

...you have given me a new outlook on Proust!

There is A LOT of stuff to go through with it, but the moments where he illustrates your own memories and feelings, as though speaking directly to you, are so worth it. I highly suggest the new translations. Within a Budding Grove is now 'In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower', which is a direct translation from the original title. I found this second volume much more fluid than the first of older translation, which I will go back to read in the new edition. That said, I wonder if those moments of Swann's Way I cherished will be altered, or only more numerous.

There is a LOT of stuff to be read. I have been having a dance with Proust forever. Now you have definitely inspired me to add him to my wishlist!

I have never had an author illustrate my own feelings and memories as I hear Proust has the ability to. The only thing is I am not sure which is the best translation to get. I tend to like vintage, so I will probably go older.

Fiso

The only problem with the older is that I suspect it does not carry the author's words as close as desired, if the translation of the title (a superficial sign , I know) is any indication. The translation of the first may have embellished in the text of the novels, expressing his own artistic agenda. What I really need to do is sit down with both versions and one in the original French and submit my opinion afterwards. What a delightful little academic exercise!

If the newer translation is easier to read AND closer to Proust's own words, there is the added bonus of, if you find them, reading a beautifully designed hardback (ah, so superficial of me).

Let's be superficial because I cannot resist the lure of a well designed book!

Thanks for your help, I am on the hunt for a good translation of Proust!

Fiso

Speaking of Proust, I picked up a newer version of Swann's Way translated by Lydia Davis (whose fiction I rather enjoy). I haven't started it yet, but was wondering if anyone else had more insight on the quality of this translation?

One of the most erotic books I have read was End of the Affair by Graham Greene. There is one scene where the couple is in bed, but the real eroticism is between her and her "other lover." (READ the book to find out who that "other lover" is.)

I agree that some of the most erotic parts of a novel are not necessarily dealing with intercourse. I thought the most erotic parts of Narcissus and Goldmund were the not the parts dealing with Goldmund's relations with women - but the subtle, nonsexual relationship with Narcissus.

i remember being blown away by A Passage to India when i first read it.

I'd like to recommend The final planet. I've just finished reading it. I had a hard time deciding how to tag this one, and I settled on "sensual".

It's a science fiction story about an Irish pilgrim who is dropped on a mysterious planet in order to make contact with the natives. He finds a post-utopian society on the verge of breakdown, where tensions (including sexual tensions) are running high.

Our pilgrim has a great appreciation of the female form, clothed and otherwise, but he never describes any sex acts beyond kissing. I think the following passage, where he attends a formal dinner, captures the style pretty well:

Looking was all that was expected. The guests reclined in intimate and proximate positions, but none of them touched. You had to be very observing of your partner's moves to maintain the few inches of space that separated you. When her gorgeous little ass shifted too close to your thigh, you simply moved a fraction of an inch. Skillful, but what a waste of energy.

There's also a lot of action and adventure in this story. The second half reminds me strongly of the gender relations in Robert A. Heinlein's best/worst work.

All in all, a pleasant romp.

15: i was going to joke that it kept you up all night finishing it, but i see you're posting from Finland :-)

16: That's ok. I did finish it last night :) I tend to read as part of falling asleep, but some books demand to be finished first.

Now that I reread my last post, though, I'm less happy with the passage I quoted. The situation is representative, but the tone is much dryer than is normal for the book. I think that's because I picked a passage that neatly summed up a situation in one paragraph. Unfortunately, other good passages I found were a bit too spoilerish.

I should probably just put this book away and start reading the next one :)

The Vampire Lestat was one of the most sensual books I remember reading. It affected me so much, I could not finish it.

'What we have here is a failure to communicate'. Is it not obvious that Men are designed by nature to focus on 'The Body wants what the body Wants' while Women are designed by Nature to focus on 'The Heart wants what the Heart Wants'. Is it still Erotica if we eliminate the carnal aspects? Should that more properly be referred to as Romance? While the division between the two is not clear, perhaps those wishing to avoid the first should not have to ask that Erotica avoid 'Intimate LOVE'. Is this Muddy Thinking? Anyone who thinks of Erotica as 'dirty' should go back to 'Romance' and avoid the rest of us.
It would appear that work written by women should be called 'Erotica', and that written by men should be called 'Pornography', at least according to women.

In this connexion André Maurois tells a good story.
An elderly gentleman walked into a bookshop and said to a young female assistant: "Can you help me, please? I want to buy a book for my granddaughter's birthday, and I don't know very much about books. Can you choose something for me?" YFA said: "Certainly, Sir." And she went away and soon came back with a book. EG took it, then said: "I hope there's no SEX in this book." And YFA said: "Oh dear no, Sir. There's no sex in that book. It's a love story." Need more be said? Glen Ralph, Wilmar Library