- Title: Sex and Samosas
- Author: Jasmine Aziz
- File Size: 541 KB
- Print Length: 293 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0987735705
- Publisher: Shubblie Publications (March 1, 2012)
- Publication Date: March 1, 2012
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B0085TJWQ6
- ISBN-10: 0987735705
- ISBN-13: 978-0987735706
- Formats: Paperback and Kindle
- Genres: Women’s Fiction, Romance, Romantic Comedy (Some might say Erotica but the way Ms. Aziz handles the subject, you just don’t get that from it.)
How did I happen to end up reading this book?
I’m not certain what I was expecting when I began reading Sex and Samosas by Jasmine Aziz. I didn’t read any other reviews or even a book description beforehand nor have I since. I had no preconceived ideas about what it was about, except it had the word sex in it and I was cautious. Having read an article about the author, I only knew I felt I could trust Jasmine Aziz to provide a good story. Me and a book with the title Sex in it would not normally be a match, but trust was given and thus here we are.
I learned of Ms. Aziz after having read about her through Dan McNeil, another great author I have interviewed and thought there was a great opportunity for a review and interview. (The interview is just waiting for me to format it. Look for it any day now.)
In the beginning.
“You never forget your first orgasm…”
Those are the first words you are going to read once past the opening credits. Yes, you will read this as if watching a movie, because it feels like a movie and will make a great movie with the right director, if only Nora Ephron were still with us.
Learning.
Not letting the books opening words give you too much pause, if you are of the more timid kind, (Waves hand. Okay, maybe not timid but a closet fiend.) you will read about the how and why of the orgasm in women. In truth men will learn just as much as women. Trust me men, and women, there is nothing wrong with learning things from books. They save a lot of time and unsuccessful moments.
This book takes the awkwardness out of unsatisfying sex and wanting to remedy that problem. Men, don’t be arrogant and think you know, because if you finally do really know how to make her happy, you will be the happiest you’ve ever been. Call it a mindgasm if you will; my word as far as I know. Aziz explains how things work, north and south of the pleasure equator.
Sex isn’t the only thing this book is about. You will find Sex is only perhaps a metaphor for what really happens in the book. The sexual awareness that occurs is a parallel path of something else.
The Who
We meet Leena, a South Asian woman married to Manny, also South Asian, who lives in North America but has a very traditional mother from the old country, India. They have been married for five years or so and have already settled down into the marriage routine. That revealing part from Leena had me laughing and for a while and I still laugh when I think about it.
But we also meet Mahjong, Mae Wong really but the mispronunciation from younger days stuck and it fits in more ways than one. Mahjong takes Leena to a Sex Party, a party that is not exactly what the name implies but does teach a lot. (Men, when you read this, take notes.)
You will learn a lot about some of the customs and even culture confusion of being South Asian and being in North America around a traditional South Asian community culture. You will also find Leena’s mother’s thoughts on religion interesting. I did.
What you get.
Family and community play an interesting role in the book and in ways I would not have expected. Yes, you will get surprises. The subject is handled well, with taste and humor. Some may be pleased the amount of profanity was at a minimum, which keeps the mind more on the story than taking away from it and leading one down that path of a pure sex book. And when any words are used they tend to fit the situation and the person speaking. They aren’t just thrown in there for shock value.
Again, this is not a sex book, but it is a book that includes the topic of sex, and in very descriptive ways.
Ms. Aziz handles the writing of the subject so well that you don’t feel uncomfortable reading certain subjects and think of it more like a classroom or documentary of sorts with a lot of humor along the way. And she makes it human. You will swear she is reading your mind at times.
Nothing is perfect. Sex isn’t perfect like a scripted movie. Things happen, and man, I am still dying over the what I call ‘on fire’ part of the book.
The book is almost just about as much about men as it is about women; at least you discover things about men that you may not realize. And Aziz nails it. (Pun intended after the fact.) Her honesty in sharing these thoughts and parts of her reality, you’ll know what I mean once you read about Ms. Aziz, took more courage, I believe, than the actual being involved in anything that occurs in the book itself. And for that, I thank Jasmine Aziz. I honestly think writing about sex in this manner is one of the most brave things you can do in this day and age. The final frontier if you will.
Recommendation:
I say anyone that might ever have sex should read this book once at the appropriate age. For a child of mine that might be 40. Okay, maybe 18 or as a senior in High School.
There are descriptions of sexual acts, tastefully so, and humorously at times, but be aware of that when purchasing the book for yourself or as a gift. You eventually don’t even notice it.
As readers here on LWI know, my reviewing is a bit tougher than some might be out in book review land. I like for my reviews to count for something. When I say I give an honest review, I mean it. If I am asked for a review and it doesn’t appear here then that usually means I couldn’t even finish the book and thus don’t want to do harm to a book’s sales because of an OPINION, which is all a book review is, even by a professor at Harvard or Yale.
Thus, follows my rating.
Character Believability: 5
Flow and Pace: 5
Reader Engagement: 5
Reader Enrichment: 5
Reader Enjoyment: 4
Overall Rate: 4.8
Just so everyone knows, I don’t normally give Ratings this High.
About Jasmine Aziz:
I’m a retired vibrator seller.
I’ve been writing poetry and short stories for years. Following a bad breakup and shortly after doing a “Bollywood Bachelorette” party during my days selling adult novelty toys, I was inspired to write my first full length novel. I’m currently working on my second book “Bring Your Own Batteries” – my memoirs chronicling the four years when I sold sex toys. I’ve seen a lot, I’ve lived through a lot, I’ve got much still left to say.
I reside in the town where I was born: Ottawa, Canada.
To watch a trailer for the book or even readings by Jasmine Aziz of sections of Sex & Samosas on her site, click the link below.
http://www.jasmineaziz.com/media.html
Make certain to connect with Jasmine through her Twitter
And Facebook at Sex & Samosas.
Book Review by: @RonovanWrites of ronovanwrites.wordpress.com
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