Reflection's Edge

Book Review: Thong Nation, by Henry Sutton

Reviewer: Sharon Dodge

Following one long summer with a less-than-traditional family, Thong Nation delves into the less charming side of British sexual mores - and sexuality in general. Charlie's approaching 70th birthday becomes the focus as the family looks to meet up in its entirety for a rare moment, including his wife, mistress, children from each, and their various assorted lovers.

Thong Nation is a study in British sexual politics: and, at least regarding the sour side of those politics, it's a clever novel. It takes the thong and fetishizes it nicely, allowing all the characters - some in more humorous circumstances than others, as when Bob mistakenly decides swimsuit thongs are the new hot thing - to have a go at defining the thong and its relationship to sex. (Not surprisingly, anal sex, and the rear in general, is a constant topic.) It also covers a wide variety of ages and sexual preferences, from the young and beautiful Zara, with her habit of sleeping with all her bus tour clients, to the older bisexual Mark and his habits of fantasizing about everyone. The portraits, though unflattering, are sharp, and each chapter situation (it reads like a series of short stories) is quirky.

But frustration is key to Thong Nation - the frustration of the characters as well as the frustration of reading it. The problem is that few if any of the characters are sympathetic; the writing seems at times to work at being unlikable, almost bullying the reader. It's a relief to meet the 58-year-old Janet on her hunt for the perfect dildo, and to see Sally finding some actual satisfaction with, of all things, her garden hose - a relief to see anyone trying to improve her life, however shallowly. For a book about sex, it's surprisingly dissatisfied.

Despite the attempts at finding some happiness and balance at the end as the characters join together at last in their long-awaited party, the underlying cynicism is never fully overcome. Their adventures ultimately feel meaningless. No one ever comes to any realizations, other than a certain enjoy-it-while-you-can mentality that the patriarch Charlie particularly seems to embody. The reader may have been given a glimpse of a nation, but it's one that's a relief to leave.

To buy a copy of this book, click here.

If you liked this book, check out:

American Psycho, by Bret Easton Ellis

The Cigarette Girl, by Carol Wolper



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