Meeting the Master: Stories about Mastery, Slavery and the Darker Side of Desire

by Elissa Wald

Book Overview

Meeting the Master is an elegantly crafted collection exploring the pleasures and rituals of dominance and submission. In these resonant, darkly erotic stories, a young girl dreams of submitting to a boy who refuses to control her. An ex-convict is so accustomed to serving his cellmate that he cannot adjust to freedom. A professional dominatrix is beaten at her own game by a psychiatrist. And a student lies his way into the home of an army recruiter...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802135501
• ISBN13: 9780802135506
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Grove Press
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.66 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

The Mind Is the Most Erogenous Zone

It's a pity that people often seem to equate "erotic" with "explicit." These psychologically and emotionally perceptive tales about balances of power in human relationships are deftly-written and closely-observed. They do the reader the great favor of allowing you to use your imagination; by leaving some things unsaid and unwitnessed, so that you can co-create. These stories may or may not ultimately be about sex, but they are undeniably stimulating, on many levels.

What is it to really WANT?

THis book is one of the very few writings where the inner feelings of desire for submission are explored - what exactly is this desire? Wald doesn't offer an exact answer, rather she describes many different characters who want to submit, who desire this so strongly, and who, jut like in real life, are often unaware of what they really want.

Interesting subject matter; ham-fisted approach

Although the author finds a seemingly inexhaustible supply of dominance/submission situations in which to put her characters, the stories never quite rise to the level of literature. The prose is leaden and unimaginative, the dialogue and descriptions trite and cliched. For anyone interested in literate erotica, this is not your book.

More than just skin deep!

Let's face it, most erotica is written for one purpose and one purpose only - and S/M erotica in particular is as subtle about this as...well...a bull whip! Although Meeting the Master is classed as erotica, this book is different. It isn't graphic, and it isn't written simply to titillate those who indulge in S/M fantasies. Because ultimately this book is not about S/M or dominant and submissive relationships; ultimately its about desire - and who among us doesn't relate to that? Desire drives the characters of Meeting the Master. In a series of short stories we meet people who lie and manipulate and sometimes give up everything to make their desires come true. Whether its a college student whose dreams lead him cross-country and into the home of a man he's only met once, or a woman who tries to recapture the secret desires of her childhood, all of Ms. Wald's characters are drawn with bold, decisive strokes and none apologize for what they are. So, if you're looking for typical erotica or a how-to guide to S/M - there are other books that are more effective. However, if you're looking for a book that doesn't just give you a peek into a person's desires, but throws open the door and invites you inside, check out Meeting the Master. It is a wonderful voyeuristic journey into the darker parts of the heart, and Ms. Wald a skillful and knowledgeable guide.