Weather Balloons Make Rotten Sex Toys

Unemployed Ph.D. (General Studies) Annabelle du Fouet finds herself at loose ends after graduation, trying to figure out how to put her education to good use, until the family is saddened by the death of her Uncle Henry, who was, apparently, a bit of a perv. Aunt Ruth, escaping her grief at her husband’s death by vacationing in the Bahamas with ... Antonio (or was it Juan Carlos -- no matter – anyway), instructed Annabelle to get rid of Uncle Henry’s collection.

Rather than merely discarding this amazing collection of books and other items, Annabelle decides to read through them, and discovers an amazing world of pervs and kinks. Never one to miss an opportunity, Annabelle decides that her mission in life is to write the first ethnographic study of the world of sexual kinkiness and the only truly scientific method of studying this subculture is to infiltrate it undercover, as Mistress Dominique. Unfortunately, as much as Annabelle attempts to throw herself into the role, her essential vanilla-ness shines through.

Ok, first off, I need to tell you that this book is all humor. All of it. There is no romance anywhere in the book. Really. On the other hand, this is not a book you want to give to your kids, ‘cause the humor involves sex. Also, the reader should know that this is a reissue of a book that was earlier published by Cerridwen’s sister house, Ellora’s Cave.

This is actually a pastiche of academic ethnographical studies, in much the same way that Robert L. Fish wrote pastiches of Sherlock Holmes stories, or Douglas Adams wrote pastiches of science fiction. Imagine a slightly inept scholar tackling a topic of which she has an imperfect understanding. Imagine all the misunderstandings she can perpetuate – and create! Chapter titles include: "Kinksters and Kinsterettes – Who are these people anyway?"; a chapter on the history of kinkiness, "The Murky World From Whence It All Came", in which we learn that both the Vikings and the Egyptians were kinky; "Roleplaying – For when you just don’t feel like yourself"; and, my personal favorite, "Advice from Mistress Dominique, the kinkster’s Dear Abby." The only things left out are footnotes and a bibliography, which, as we all know, every academic study must have! What I found funniest was Annabelle’s total obliviousness to her ignorance of what she is studying. You will get a big chuckle out of this one, so don’t read it around other people!

Reviewed by: Jean