Best Women's Erotica 2005

While the editor of this fine annual collection, Marcy Sheiner, argues in her introduction that these stories dwell on "the darker side of sex"--revenge, anger, grief--there is a redemptive quality to passion that often outweighs whatever unworthy motives may have inspired the deed. Although there is plenty of frivolous, one-handed reading in this year's edition, many of the pieces included have the hallmarks of literary fiction; they are not merely about a sexual event, but offer a revelation of character through that event. Lisa Glatt's "Waste," Anne Tourney's "Rope Burn," and Susannah Indigo's "The Language of Snakes" would shine in any short story anthology. Yet even the simplest and most graphic stories here can surprise the reader with their casual illuminations. In Tabitha Flyte's "After Loss," for example, a young woman and her brother-in-law stumble into sex after returning from her father's funeral. When she first feels his comforting arms around her, she reflects on how differently men and women embrace: "When I am hugged by a woman I feel that the arms around me say, 'Yes, you can do it, you can.' When I am held by a man I feel that I am being told, 'No, you don't have to do it, you don't.'" A remarkable volume, evidence of the considerable talent being directed toward erotica in recent years. --Regina Marler