Another deviation from my standard format….
Self’s Blossom by David Russell
Publisher: Devine Destiny (Destinies?)
I can in no way in hell rate this novel. Sorry. I don’t even know if i can write a cohesive review for it!
First of all, it’s written by a guy, in a woman’s point of view. This technique is in no way new, untried, or even unusual. What makes this book stand out like a sore, rotten thumb is the way Russell take on the technique. Existentialist, Russel is not. Dude trying to write like a 19th century classical novelist, sort of. Russell makes Selene out to be this ancient-soul-in-a-young-body (figuratively) woman, who is on this self-righteous journey to discover herself, hence the title, Self’s Blossom. Instead, Russell takes us on a painfully verbose trudge through a incredibly boring, self-entitled, shallow woman’s mind. Literally. Way too often, an event in the book is preambled by one of Selene’s pages-long self-analysis. It’s even worse when Russell has his characters tackling some ‘liberating’ issue. Sex does not liberate a woman! Obsession with a man does not liberate a woman! Liberation for Selene would have been her ditching her whiny-ass friend, finding a job she enjoyed, and letting go of all her melodramatic bullshit from her past–not running away from her problems, mooning over the whiny friend’s statements, seducing strangers, and molesting ocean waves. This book riles up the pissed-off feminist in me.
The prose was on this side of unreadable. If I were reading an essay written for a college-level sophomore English class by some long-dead existentialist author expounding on the facts, or lack thereof, of life, I would be more accepting of this sort of writing in a modern novel. In this day and age, there just isn’t a place for such flowery, purple-prosed, extravagant droning verbiage. I enjoy intellectual fiction. As an English major, I have to read quite a bit of it. I can see where a novel like this–minus the ‘erotic’ portions, may have an extremely remote resemblance to the great novels of Sylvia Plath, D. H. Lawrence, distantly, Camus, Kate Chopin.
Self’s Blossom has this vaguely nihilist, Kafka-esque air about it. I think maybe if Russell hadn’t attempted to write an ‘erotic’ novel, had not made Selene so self-important and broadened her internalizations—
No. I was trying to find something positive to say. But no…I just can’t even fake it.
I’ll never tell anyone not to buy a book. I’m —-> <—– this close to saying that here. In short, Self’s Blossom is hard to read, very slow, not sexy, and honestly, vaguely offensive.
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Hello Adroland – how about this? David
Erotic Flashes Reviews
Rating: 4 Flashes
Self’s Blossom is a story that should be in the Tate Gallery, were the Tate a gallery for literature as opposed to art.
With this story, you are getting a highly unusual and in-depth style of writing that you don’t usually find in the erotica genre. Some people may regard it as abstract, although in truth it is actually very detailed. (Just like many of the paintings in the Tate — you see where I’m going with this?)
It took me a while to get into this story, and I think it’s because when reading erotica, I’ve become accustomed to an “easy” read — a book that you can open and, wham-bam, there you are in the story. While some readers may have that experience with this, I can’t say that I did at first, and I suspect that most will not. There is an array of back story and character development from page one, and I’m glad I found the patience to stick with it, because I enjoyed the read.
It’s the story of Selene. She’s an intellectual. She’s independent. She’s seeking freedom because she’s an adventurer at heart. Or at least, that was my interpretation: for me, this was a story about the search for freedom, through sexuality, sensuality and emotions of the heart.
I dare say that not everyone will take to Selene, but she’s very real. She’s a restless soul, and she is not the “flouncy” kind of heroine you usually get in erotica novels, but can be quite blunt and analytical in her thinking. Yes, it’s unusual, but when I got into the story and her character, I found it refreshingly so.
The male lead is likeable and patient, giving her the space she needs to learn and grow throughout the story, but there is a two-way exchange here, and he learns from Selene as well.
This book is prose at its best. The language used is eloquent and intelligent. You won’t find crude words or phrases here, but a rhetoric that is closer to that of Charlotte Bronte (yes, I did say Charlotte Bronte — well, if she wrote erotica that is….) The narrative is highly descriptive and even a little “gothic” in some places. Here’s a brief example:
“Each, to the other, became universe god and goddess. After so many times in their pasts when the brakes had been applied, when both had been frozen by reticence, or had their yearnings derided — the universe’s currents now galvanized their bodies. Now words could be uttered in acceptance of total immersion. With their slow speed, they generated maelstroms. Their every part revealed with deep exuberance, two bodies showing themselves as two complete presences.”
Maybe it could even be considered poetry.
If you want an easy read that gets to the point, hard-hitting, direct language and a lot of instant action, this book is not for you. If you want a different, eloquent and intelligent erotic story, that indulges in every emotion and thought from the characters, that works towards a specific goal of self discovery, this is the book for you. I urge you to read the sample chapters from eBook retailers. If you can accept that it’s a different style of erotica, you will not be disappointed with it.
I first want to note that I loved Selene’s character. This woman is not your average shy-but-coming-into-her-own character. She is anything but shy. Selene is super confident about who she is and is not afraid to say so. She knows that she has an amazing body and has worked hard for it. Her attitude is unapologetic and her self confidence really shines off the pages. One might be thinking, ugh what a snob; I’d totally hate to read about a character like that. Selene is an honest character, sometimes too honest, and she knows who she is and likes herself… what is not to like about that.
I love that Selene went on vacation alone for the holidays. How many of us women can take a trip alone, or even dine alone in the very city we live in? But as I read I realized that traveling alone makes room for an adventure, an experience of a lifetime, that which would be tainted or not had at all if she has not taken the plunge to go on holiday alone. I can’t get enough of her independence!
I also like the way Selene doesn’t dwell on her mistakes. When she falters from her master plan and has an experience with a man at the beach, she quickly realizes that it was a mistake and brushed it off, moving forward from him and the encounter altogether with not a hint of gilt or self-loathing. This is something I think more women, including myself, should learn how to do – completely forgive ourselves for mistakes without beating ourselves up about it.
Russell has an amazing eye for detail and writes with a certain flair that makes you believe you are standing next to the author while he paints his story, having it all unfold slowly but with great satisfaction. Russell did a fantastic job at setting up the story, leading me exactly where he wanted me to go, without any confusion. Russell also has fantastic insight to a woman’s mind. Reading Selene’s thoughts, plans, and take on her life is very pure and honest. It’s like reading the things we say in our heads but never dare to utter aloud.
Self’s Blossom is a fantastic hit. Definitely a strong 5 of 5. If you are in the mood for a different kind of heroine, and new kind of story, Self’s Blossom is the way to go!
from Beky Lee in Sexy Reads:
Selene is vain and totally self-absorbed; she knows what she wants and how to get it.
David Russell has created a strong plot with strong characters that is far removed from the typical romance story and I really enjoyed it for this difference, it was well written and I think he captured the feminine viewpoint perfectly giving it a honesty and drive that had me eagerly reading to the last page.
The development is strong and consistent throughout and really gives added depth, this isn’t a simple love story it’s a dark tale full of passion and desire.
First off, I’d like to make it clear to readers that Selene, for me, didn’t come across as the usual romance heroine. If you expect to like her a lot, you may be disappointed. I, however, loved her because she isn’t your usual romance heroine. I saw her as conceited, vain, totally self-absorbed, and a pure delight for being this way.
She knows she looks good, knows her workouts have given her a body most women would envy, and the kind of woman she is was portrayed perfectly with this line: Selene had a far better body than the mousy little model in the photograph. While this isn’t something you might expect a romance heroine to think of herself, I loved it because she was made real by Mr Russell creating her this way. We have all thought things like this, perhaps not about our bodies, but about other things—I have a nicer hairstyle than her…I have a better car than her…I have prettier eyes than her—and Selene’s inner thoughts, of which there are many, gave me a glimpse into one of the realest women I’ve ever read. She was human, with, in my opinion, many flaws that might make her distasteful to some, but by God, she riveted me with her self-absorption and brutal honesty.
She goes on holiday alone, and I liked the way the book showed what was happening now but also took me into her mind, showing me memories and why she acted the way she did. I didn’t feel any sympathy for her at any time, just accepted she is like she is and let myself be sucked in by the way she thinks and acts. She’s a breath of fresh air, a person who has the courage to say what she thinks and damn the consequences, and also to think what she does with no remorse whatsoever.
The writing is very good, a touch of literary with an almost languid air to it that gives you the feeling it is slow-paced but it actually isn’t. I think it’s the dreamy state it gives you that creates that slow-moving feeling, and this is not a negative in any way. I loved the way it coasted along like that, where her thoughts and memories came into play and showed me Selene’s psyche. It’s a delve into the mind and life of a woman who knows what she wants and plots to get it. Although she plots, it never came across as malicious plotting. She went on holiday to meet someone, to ensnare them and have glorious sex with them—she makes that clear right from the start—and she is going to get it.
She has a sexual encounter on the beach with a young man—not in her plan at all because it didn’t play out quite as she envisaged—and she knew it was wrong. Not wrong that she had sex, but wrong for her, for her plan, and she walks away afterwards knowing the man is distraught she has gone but…oh, she’s so blasé in that she shrugs it off somewhat and continues on her original mission.
She meets Hudson, and here is where her plan comes fully into play. She is a manipulator, a master at it, in my opinion, and I adored watching her plan unfold, loved knowing what the next step would be and how she would make things go her way. Selene is, quite simply, not someone I would wish to know in real life, but I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know her in fiction.
…and make sure it’s your side of the slice that gets the butter.
Half asleep, she pondered on the aura she projected. She knew how good her body was, toned up by lots of squash and swimming at her health club.
It was essential for her to have some comparables, some implicit rivals around…
After it, before it, through it, and finally beyond it, she would be a glistening scale of the purest pigment of a butterfly’s wing, but in pure sensation, outshine all the finest plumage, so carefully, but so abundantly structured, proudly strutting.
Selene came to the conclusion that she read too much, thought too much, and lived too little.
Self’s Blossom is not all hearts and flowers. It’s a journey that amazed me with the portrayal of Selene being so herself and human, flaws right out there for all to see. The prose is also mesmerising. Maybe it won’t be so for you, maybe Selene will seem totally different to you, but I really did enjoy this book very much and am very glad to have been given the chance to read it.
Loved by Miz Love at 21:44
This is worthy of careful reflection!