SexLife
A Book Review
by a.a Clifford

Imagine life in the future where you MUST have sex at least five times a day. I know some of you are thinking, "Hey, if it's the law, then let me not break the rules!" Or you may even think you are ready for a future with non-stop sex. But add this to the equation, it is sex without pleasure and emotion, and you MUST have sex in order to live, otherwise you die. And after each sexual encounter, you are depressed and must live in a world where you must take anti-depressants in order to not fall into dark despair. Yeah, that makes you think about how good you would really feel if there weren't any feelings or emotions involved.

In a. a. Clifford's novel, SexLife, we are in New York City in the year 2268 A.D. It is a time when computers manage the world; the subways fly and fat can be taken off a person in a matter of minutes. However, the people in this future time have an incurable disease, CMB, which makes it necessary for everyone to have sex at least five times a day in order to survive. If they fail to get "fixed" they will succumb to the effects of CMB, which stands for Chronic Metabolic Breakdown. The body basically turns into a mass of seething and puss filled sores, and dead flesh. In addition, this disease has killed sexual gratification. The brain has lost its ability to feel pleasure during sex. So ‘fixing’ this disease to keep from dying requires having sex, with the ‘fixing’ only being temporary. Meaning after three to six hours, one must be ‘fixed’ before their stage progresses to death.

During this futuristic time, prostitutes are elevated to a higher standard in life. They are highly successful and very much in demand. The prostitutes, or PSP as they are known, save lives.

This novel revolves around the life of Joe, clinical philosopher, who meets Vella, a young woman he virtually bumps into one day. During this encounter, Joe experiences what he has only seen in old erotica tapes, an erection not brought on by the need to be ‘fixed’ because he is going through a stage. From this brief interaction, Joe and Vella's lives change. We watch as Joe becomes obsessed with finding Vella because what they share is what the world wants back, sex with pleasure. They both crave and give into the sexual pleasure they have discovered with each other, but with no other human beings. For Joe and Vella, their experience brings a change in their lives; although it may feel good, it costs them their freedom.

I have never been a fan of science fiction novels. SexLife has changed that for me. It was a wonderful change of pace to learn new definitions for words, actions and futuristic gadgets. I was amazed at how engrossing this story was. I was fully engaged from the very beginning. It made you reflect about our lives today and the emphasis we put into sex, based on the arousing feeling we normally obtain from it. Imagining sex without pleasure, but necessary to sustain life, and to live life with drugs is quite unnerving. It is a well thought out story with a beautiful moral behind it, "Emotion is the treasure of my soul, and Love Is Life's Ambition." Without emotions one can never be whole, giving ones heart to another is a beautiful treasure. Totally different, well-crafted, full of moral symbolism and Highly recommended.

Courtesy of ImaniVoices.com