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Jun 05, 2012jmikesmith rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Imagine, if you can, a a novel that combines the fantasy of Alice in Wonderland, the plot structure of the old TV show "Fantasy Island", the erotica of Penthouse, and the social satire of Gulliver's Travels, and you might have an approximation of House of Holes. The House of Holes is a pleasure resort of indeterminate location. It can only be reached indirectly, through magical tunnels, hedges, drinking straws, laundromat dryers, golf course holes, and assorted other apertures. You can have pretty much any sexual experience you want there. And the guests want a wide variety of experiences, which are described in comical, over-the-top language and explicit detail. There's little plot to speak of. Each chapter is more or less a stand-alone vignette of some guest's experience (early chapters deal with how the characters get there). There are a few recurring characters and one or two situations that do carry through the assorted stories. The sex scenes start out fairly standard but quickly get more and more bizarre as the book progresses. Interestingly, there is less and less direct contact between men and women with each subsequent scene. And I think that's the main point. This book seems to be satirizing modern society's obsession with sex and particularly the prevalence of soulless, love-less porn. In a bit of a role reversal, men are the sex objects here, to the point that some men allow their heads to be removed in payment for their time at the resort (in a safe, reversible way) so that their bodies can be used by women guests. The men get sex without having to think about it. I think Baker is saying that sex is great, but without love and personal contact, it's just a tangle of arms, legs, and genitalia.