In the spirit of National Condom Week, "Getting It On: A Condom Reader," an anthology of essays, prose and fiction that ponders the ups/downs and ins/out of life with prophylactics.
"Condoms are everywhere - television shows, rap lyrics, classrooms, not to mention bedrooms and backseats," editors Mitch Roberson and Julia Dubner state. Everybody has an anecdote about buying condoms, finding used condoms, fumbling for condoms in the dark. So, why not a book?"
Indeed. The result explores the surprisingly complex range of emotions - from passionate to pitiful - that are universally associated with this seemingly harmless piece of latex. Remembering that "one size does NOT fit all," the editors assembled an original collage of voices, ranging from Anne Rice to John Irving, T. Coraghessan Boyle to Armisted Maupin and Martin Amis.
Some of the selections in "Getting it On" are from previously published works, like Anne Rice's contribution, which is lifted from "The Tale of the Body Thief." Armisted Maupin offers an excerpt from his popular novel "Babycakes," where a group of gay men on a camping trip compare condoms to... underwear.
"Well, didn't you ever ask a guy to put his Jockey shorts back on just because it looked hot," asks one of the campers. "All there was between you and that incredible cock was this thin piece of white cotton. So... that's kinda what rubbers are like. They get in the way, keep you from having everything at once. That can be the hottest thing of all."
But perhaps the most insightful selection is Kim Addonizio essay "A Brief History of Condoms," where she describes the day in the life of a condom at the bottom of a woman's purse - from the condom's point of view. Condoms have always seemed to have a life of their own; after all, they have the power to halt reproduction and interrupt perfectly good sex. They're scary, ugly, inconvenient creatures that can literally save our lives. But Addonizio's essay reminds the reader that rubbers are also quirky, bizarre and incredibly humorous. She asks, "If the condom could speak, what truths might it tell us, privy as it is to some of our most intimate moments?"
(Tony Peregrin)
"Getting It On: A Condom Reader"
Mitch Roberson and Julia Dubner
Soho Press, 240 pages, $15
copyright 1999 New City Communications, Inc.