What We Never Say by Paulette Stout; Acton, Massachusetts: Media Goddess Inc. © 2022; ISBN 9781736-637159; 378 pages, $18.99.
SAN DIEGO – Here is a novel by a Jewish author that is built upon a male and female character who each suffer from a form of sexual dysfunction. Rebecca had been unable to achieve orgasm in lovemaking, and Kyle was forced, against his will, into a long-term sexual relationship by Jane, a powerful publisher of a popular fashion magazine who controlled his and many other people’s livelihoods.
Of interest, but not critical to the story, Kyle is Jewish, and Rebecca has a Jewish father and a Latina mother. The couple’s troubles had seemed to be behind them after they met and fell in love. He had switched his profession from male clothes model to food photographer. Having participated in a medical study and intimacy coaching, Rebecca had a sexual breakthrough, and now was augmenting her career as an advertising executive by writing an increasingly popular blog about how women could find pleasure in the bedroom.
Kyle blamed himself for the sexual relationship into which he was forced, deluding himself that only women, not men, could be victims in heterosexual relationships. He believed that if he didn’t really want the relationship, he would not have responded sexually to Jane’s demands. However, he was subsequently counseled that sexual arousal for some men is an automatic physiological response, no more intentional than is crying while peeling an onion.
Gratified by their self-discoveries, Kyle and Rebecca seemed headed toward a fulfilling marriage. Then Jane manipulated her way into both their lives. The novel turns on how the couple eventually responds to the tyrant.
A subplot deals with Kyle’s sister, Libby, who lashes out at almost everyone she meets, particularly Rebecca.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor emeritus of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com