"The combination of sexual awakening, secret societies, and lost technology, wrapped up in Kneen's loving treatment of her subject, character, and story, makes for a remarkably pleasing read. The conclusion is wildly imaginative and surprisingly satisfying. The characters are delightfully varied, including many from groups that are underrepresented in erotic fiction, and each is more fascinating than the last."--
Publishers Weekly starred review]
"An unabashedly erotic novel. . . . Reading about Holly reading James Salter, Angela Carter, and a slew of others and finding the experience so wholeheartedly transformative makes the reading list in the back of the book irresistible....Offers a keen appreciation of the erotic writing of others."----Kirkus Reviews
"A joyful and ambitious mix of science fiction, coming-of-age, adventure story, literary fiction and, of course, erotica. It revels unselfconsciously in bringing these different elements together and is always playful and quirky."--Australian
"Holly White isn't easy to classify...Like a love-child of Barbarella and Brave New World, it's a refreshingly confrontational mix of sci-fi surrealism, sexual stirring and erotic honesty."--Stuff NZ
"Holly White should appeal to those awoken to the possibilities of sex literature by the popularity of books such as Fifty Shades of Grey, but looking for something more sophisticated. Fans of Nicholson Baker and Angela Carter will be in heaven A riotous romp."--Books+Publishing
Holly White wears a ring that says True Love Waits and worries because her boyfriend isn't trying to persuade her otherwise. She lives with her parents and knows exactly how to make them proud. Her friends have agreed to remain chaste until marriage. Then Holly is invited to join a book club. Not just any book club. Plunged into in the classics of erotic literature, Holly is fascinated: by the strange new world of Eros, by the increasing power she senses in her own body--and by a weird blue glow emanating from the most private part of her self.
But Salter and Nabokov are one thing. When Holly encounters The Infernal Desire Machines of Dr Hoffman--quickly followed by the infamous orgone generator of Wilhelm Reich--things are set to explode. Her journey of sexual awakening will take her across the globe and into what might just be a secret conspiracy to prevent the world from learning the true power of sex. But perhaps the most surprising place she encounters is the one she returns to--her own home.
A romp through the canon of erotic literature, effortlessly combined with the laugh-out loud tale of Holly's sexual awakening.
Industry Reviews
'Witty and seductive, sexy and funny, with just a hint of the surreal, The Adventures of Holly White and the Incredible Sex Machine is a book that I can see appealing to many readers new to her work...A riotous romp through the imagination of one of Australia's most accomplished sex writers.' * Books & Publishing *
'Kneen's outrageous erotic imagination fuels Holly's sexcapades but at its molten X-rated core, this explicit novel is a celebration of the lust for literature as much as for physical debauchery.' * Booktopia Buzz *
'In mapping out Holly's sex machine, Kneen has also mapped out a vivid heroine's journey: a very sexy sci-fi-erotica hybrid with an inspired, Cronenbergian premise.' * Readings *
`Kneen once again shows her mastery.' * Daily Telegraph *
`A joyful and ambitious mix of science fiction, coming-of-age, adventure story, literary fiction and, of course, erotica. It revels unselfconsciously in bringing these different elements together and is always playful and quirky.' * Australian *
`The Adventures of Holly White and the Incredible Sex Machine isn't easy to classify...Like a love-child of Barbarella and the Brave New World, it's a refreshingly confrontational mix of sci-fi surrealism, sexual stirring and erotic honesty.' * Stuff NZ *
`Nobody writes sex like Kneen...her finest book to date.' * QWeekend *
`Krissy Kneen writes about sex with nipple-stiffening zest. Her latest is consistently lewd and amusing.' * Brisbane Times *
`It's a rare book that seems to drift like smoke away from the printed page to rewrite the physical world...[Kneen] wants us to strip naked and be transformed.' * Melbourne Review of Books *
`A remarkably pleasing read. The conclusion is wildly imaginative and surprisingly satisfying...Kneen encourages the reader to delight in sexuality that is by turns innocent, gleeful, and cheerfully obscene.' * STARRED Review, Publishers Weekly *
`A hilarious joyride that nods to a wide array of erotic literature.' * Book Riot *
