It is entirely possible for a story to be both literary and erotic, to combine great story telling and excellent writing with the ability to arouse. These particular stories, playing with subjects sometimes unusual to average readers and certainly edgier than most, achieve this kind of combination. These aren't from the letters column of Penthouse, certainly. Sex is not (usually) the be-all and end-all of the tales -- quite anything usually encompassed by fiction can be found here, including love, death, discovery, growth, and all the conflicts a human being undergoes while living. These stories might surprise you. ( )