In The Box Called Pleasure

Not as I expected.

Kim Addonizio is known for her poetry, which is raw in emotion, sensual, and sexual. This collection of 22 stories, her first collection, very much fits in her literary world. None of the stories are very long, in fact a few would be termed 'flash-fiction', but all are well-written and deal with sex to some degree or another, though none are graphic enough to call these stories pornographic. The stories that stick out the most are those that deal with troubled women and their self-destructiveness (which I suppose is just about every story). But before you assume that all is grim, there are stories (such as "A Brief History of Condoms") that successfully use humor. Might even make you laugh out loud. I am a huge fan of Addonizio's poetry, so it makes me happy to say that as a fiction writer she is pretty good. I look forward to reading more stories (and novels if she chooses to write them) from her.