More Real Than the Law is the Heart

A long time ago, when I was still in Junior High, I read The Story of O by Pauline Reage. It was the first erotic novel I’d ever read (Us by Anonymous being the second), and I have to say it made an impression on me. While the idea of slavery and BDSM didn’t make a lot of sense to me then (and even after reading through most of the Gor books it still didn’t), reading about it certainly turned me on.

Now that I’m older and exploring BDSM during playtime (for us it’s “only in the bedroom” and not a lifestyle by any means) with a willing partner, I’ve been more actively seeking out both movies and books that deal with the subject. I’ve since read some short story collections that deal with the theme, but I hadn’t read any more novels. When Carrie’s Story was chosen as one of the Sexis Naked Reader Book Club selections for April, however, I knew this was one I had to read.

Carrie’s Story was written by Molly Weatherfield in 1995 (with a preface from 2002) and is published by Cleis Press. This is an oversized paperback with glossy cover and its seven chapters span 198 pages. In the preface, Molly recounts her writing of the book, and how its inspiration came from a Take Back The Night march a friend of hers wanted her to attend. Later, thinking about this conversation with her friend, she decided to reconnect with erotic reading and writing, and learned lessons from many of the boldest fighters for pro-sex feminism, as well as from feminist pornography. Carrie’s Story is the result – an erotic, arousing, and thought-provoking tale.

The book is told from Carrie’s point of view, and it opens with her being Jonathan’s slave. She’s been his slave for about a year, and one day while she’s licking his balls he tells her that he wants to put her up for auction. This revelation and what it means has Carrie thinking back on how she first met Jonathan and how their relationship evolved to its current point: the sessions with Jonathan, the training, the punishment, and Carrie’s willingness and need to please him, always with her eyes open.

Once Carrie has agreed to go auction and the training begins in earnest, she moves in with Jonathan and signs over everything she owns to him. Things are going well until he needs to go on a business trip to Chicago, and Carrie finds herself with a horse-tail dildo up her ass and on her way to Sir Harold’s pony ranch. Carrie’s stay at this place, where women are treated like horses, teaches her a lot about herself and her condition and she finds she needed the experience to prepare for the next stage of her journey.

The story culminates in northern Europe, where Carrie goes before a board of examiners to see if she’s worthy of being auctioned. She passes, and she’s separated from Jonathan for some final preparation before she goes up on the block for the highest bidder.

Carrie’s Story is easy to read, and the author does a good job of drawing you in to Carrie’s situation and the events happening to her. Carrie’s character is well developed, and she’s an intelligent, introspective, and funny woman who accepts and, indeed, longs for what happens to her on her journey to be certifiably owned. I think, in fact, it’s her intelligence more than any other characteristic, that allows her to transform into the slave she can be.

As I read this, I found myself pondering what it would be like to be in her collar, so to speak. I thought about parts of this for days afterwards, and I think, for me, that made this a book that I’ll likely get lost in again and again – an erotic story that will provide fuel to many of my fantasies. This is an erotic novel that aroused me for longer periods of time than I would have thought possible, and just thinking back on what Carrie experiences will be enough, although I expect to reread this a few times.

Carrie’s Story will be discussed at the Naked Reader Book Club April 26^th on the EdenFantasys forums, hosted by Kristina Wright. If you’re interested in BDSM or this book in particular, come join the discussion and then grab a copy of Carrie’s Story at EdenFantasys to read.

$12.99Carrie’s Story Book by Molly Weatherfield Format: Paperback Publisher: Cleis Press Inc. Buy from EdenFantasys
This product was provided free of charge to the reviewer.