Monday 24 September 2012

Blowing It! ~ Tim Popper. TGL reviews looner fiction.

So, I have read a book called Blowing It! by Tim Popper. You can get it from Amazon here. Only two bux on the kindle. You can get a kindle app for free if you don't have a kindle e-reader. Yes, I recently started getting into e-books as you can probably tell. But I digress.

Isn't it awesome how a looner's last name just happens to be popper? What if he was a non popper, that would be awks. Okay, that was bad I know. Let us get on with this review!

Synopsis

It's basically told from the perspective of two characters in the third person. Henry, who has an excellent marriage to his wife of 25 years, Bonnie. Henry has a balloon fetish, and the couple use it to spice up their sex life. The other is Melanie, who is single and looking for a partner. She also has a balloon fetish. One day her friend films her playing with balloons and puts it on youtube. And guess who finds it? You guessed it. Mr. Happily Married. And he recognizes her as a waitress at a cafe he visits regularly. What happens next...

Opinion

I'd consider this book an erotic (auto)biographical fantasy. The events are actually quite mundane, but I suppose erotic fiction is if you look at it that way.  This book did feel like it was written by somebody like Henry rather than Melanie and I can't put my finger on why exactly.  But perhaps I am biased, assuming Tim Popper is a guy and it is stated he has a balloon fetish. I do think both characters were fairly realistic in their portrayal and the portrayal of the balloon fetish was excellent - in my opinion!

I found the book easy to read, and enjoyed reading it. I read it on the train to work (probably not the best idea) and in bed (a very good idea). I really cannot critique beyond 'I liked reading it'. I am used to reviewing academic papers, not works of fiction. While I liked the book, it may not be so interesting for those who have little interest in the balloon fetish. But for those that do, great. For looners, it appeals on two levels.

1. Erotic content. There are sex 'scenes' between Henry and Bonnie. With balloons involved. There is also balloon play with Melanie. I personally found it mildly arousing but I wasn't creaming my pants.

2. Looner issues. Main one is how to deal with relationship when you have a fetish from both a male and female point of view. For example, Bonnie was willing to have balloons in the bedroom, but banned popping because she was afraid. Although I would have liked to see more non-looner people in the book react to the fetish upon accidentally finding out about it. This did happen, but I would have liked someone from Harry's work find out and read about how it is dealt with. As a fetishist, I am interested in how non fetishists would react. Also the second issue, which is the one I was interested in, is coming into contact with another fetishist for the first time. This is what kept me reading. Will Henry and Melanie meet? How would they feel about it? Would the wife mind? Will she know about it?

For non looners, this book shows the reader what is arousing about balloons and how a fetishist might see them. The book was slightly educational in this regard without being too overbearing. I did find the idea that Henry was also sexually attracted to his wife without balloons probably hammered in a bit too much, but perhaps it was needed. This may be a good book for partners of fetishists.

Conclusion

Decent book, was easy to read and I liked it. Worth mah too bux. But it's not the next 50 Shades of Grey (I haven't even read it) but I recommend it. I believe on Amazon you can preview the first chapter so you can find out for yourself if you like the writing style, etc. Ha, would be funny if this book did actually blow up if it got a larger audience, then I take my words back.