I wrote a long essay about the fiction of U.S. erotica author Marco Vassi. If you are a reader looking to get started with Marco Vassi’s fiction, let me provide some suggestions. Vassi has published 15+ books (and Open Road Media has digitized 12 of the books into ebooks). These ebooks are regularly discounted every month or two; at any given moment you can expect at least one or two of them to be priced under a dollar. Norman Mailer called Vassi the “foremost erotic writer in America … a sexual explorer … his own experiment, and, ipso facto, a rare mortal.”

In a Nutshell

If I were to categorize Vassi’s fiction, it would be psychedelic explorations of erotic extremes and contemplation about the nature of eroticism and human relationships during the U.S. Sexual Revolution. Sometimes the fiction can be very depressing or a little too cerebral. Sometimes, the amount of sex is just ridiculous. But the writing is always topnotch, and the characters (especially the female characters) are expertly drawn.

The fiction varies a lot in quality and quantity. Some of the novels has so much coupling and throupling going on that there’s barely enough time to keep track. Other books feel like sad soap operas of sexually liberated people unable to deal with the aftereffects of casual sex (and who keep making the same mistakes). Some books seem heavy on philosophy and intellectual rants. Many of Vassi’s books are loosely structured picaresque things; with exceptions as noted, it’s more about characters and how they evolve than about about plot. Special mention needs to be made about the dialogue which is always literary and analytical and even polemical.

Best Literary Novel (The Other Hand Clapping)

Hands down, this is the most interesting and beautiful Vassi work, though ironically it has the least amount of sex. It’s about the estrangement of a Zen-minded bookstore owner from his actress wife.

Most Accessible/Fun Novel (In Touch)

The first time I read this, I regarded this as light-hearted reading that didn’t amount to much. The second time, I enjoyed it a lot more. Tons of sex and sensual descriptions, and I laughed a lot too. But there are also nice moments for reflection, and the plot was full of surprises. The heart of the novel is about a therapist and her screenplay writing boyfriend. There’s a lot of room for satire here. I am a huge fan of the fiction of Milan Kundera, and this book seems the most Kunderesque to me.

Most Readable/ExperimentalExtreme Fiction (The Erotic Comedies)

I mentioned in my longer essay that at least one of the stories in Erotic Comedies would offend people. Possible two or three. This was the first fiction by Vassi I read, and and the stories and characters stay vividly with me. I’m not going to give many plot details (some were mentioned in the longer essay), but these stories cover the widest range of sexual experience. They read like fairy tales or horror stories or Kafkaesque parables. All these stories feel relevant to contemporary life, and actually I think they would work well as audio books.

The second half of the Open Road Media edition includes some really important essays on aesthetics and sexuality. It also includes a series of essays called “Collection of Bones.” This includes his very important essay Metasexual Manifesto (which I describe in detail in my longer Vassi essay). There are also essays about bisexuality, polyamory and spirituality.

Having a good selection of fiction paired with the essays makes this ebook a must buy — and possibly a place for intrepid readers to get started.

Most Amoral/Promiscuous Novel (Tackling the Team & The Devil’s Sperm is Cold)

Some of Vassi’s works are not that noteworthy in terms of literary value, but have wall-to-wall sex (and occasional humor). Here are two works which Vassi probably just cranked out for commercial reasons, but they have moments. Tackling the Team is about a college girl having a wild time.

Introduction to Vassi’s Philosophy (The Erotic Comedies, A Driving Passion)

Philosophy permeates a lot of Vassi’s works — even in the more frivolous fiction. The ebook version of Erotic Comedies contain several essays — including the very interesting and important “Metasexual Manifesto.” This same ebook includes the “Carcass of Dreams” story cycle, which deal with a lot of sexual taboos and present a lot of ideas (especially the story “Thy Kingdom of Come”). A Driving Passion hasn’t been digitalized, but it contains a lot of essays — on bisexuality, meditation, etc.

Biggest Mindfucks (Mind Blower)

Mind Blower is also the first thing Vassi wrote which attracted a lot of attention. It’s about a man who agrees to participate in some sexual/psychological experiments at the Institute for Sexual Metatheater. These experiments expose him to all kinds of extreme sexual fantasies and scenarios in a virtual world. As a sci-fi/fantasy story it is interesting and ground-breaking, though perhaps it seems dated by modern standards.

Most Pessimistic (The Saline Solution)

This is a somber and almost nihilistic work about a couple deciding whether to have an abortion. The reason I decided to cover it in my long Vassi essay was that dealt with several social and political issues at a time when USA was still trying to sort out abortion and sexual ethics. Some of Vassi’s works can get very depressing despite the inordinate amount of sex. I felt this work was the most earnest and expressive and harrowing to read.

Funniest (In Touch)

Vassi is a very clever writer, and humor pervades throughout his works — even in the somber works. For example, despite all its perversity, Erotic Comedies has a lot of comic lines and silly situations.

By far though In Touch has the most humor. I especially savored it during the second readthrough. Compare to Terry Southern’s Candy.

Most Biographical (A Stoned Apocalypse)

This autobiographical work relates the incredible adventures that Vassi had in his twenties. Despite the traditional Catholic upbringing and military career, Vassi was definitely living the life of the freewheeling beatnik/poet/visionary. I’m almost surprised that he never ran into Jack Kerouac or Allen Ginsberg or William Burroughs.

His erotic adventures comprise about 40% of the book, while the other 60% was about experimentation with drugs, communal living and travels across USA. My only complaint is that this memoir covers too short a time period and didn’t real have any direction or great epiphany. I regard it more as an extended journal of youth. Maybe if Vassi wrote about the time period later in life it would have been more meaningful.