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Book summary:
In Alissa Nutting’s novel Tampa, Celeste Price, a smoldering
26-year-old middle-school teacher in Florida, unrepentantly recounts her
elaborate and sociopathically determined seduction of a 14-year-old
student.
Celeste has chosen and lured the charmingly modest Jack Patrick into her web. Jack is enthralled and in awe of his eighth-grade teacher, and, most importantly, willing to accept Celeste’s terms for a secret relationship—car rides after dark, rendezvous at Jack’s house while his single father works the late shift, and body-slamming erotic encounters in Celeste’s empty classroom. In slaking her sexual thirst, Celeste Price is remorseless and deviously free of hesitation, a monstress of pure motivation. She deceives everyone, is close to no one, and cares little for anything but her pleasure.
Tampa is a sexually explicit, virtuosically satirical, American Psycho–esque rendering of a monstrously misplaced but undeterrable desire. Laced with black humor and crackling sexualized prose, Alissa Nutting’s Tampa is a grand, seriocomic examination of the want behind student / teacher affairs and a scorching literary debut.
Celeste has chosen and lured the charmingly modest Jack Patrick into her web. Jack is enthralled and in awe of his eighth-grade teacher, and, most importantly, willing to accept Celeste’s terms for a secret relationship—car rides after dark, rendezvous at Jack’s house while his single father works the late shift, and body-slamming erotic encounters in Celeste’s empty classroom. In slaking her sexual thirst, Celeste Price is remorseless and deviously free of hesitation, a monstress of pure motivation. She deceives everyone, is close to no one, and cares little for anything but her pleasure.
Tampa is a sexually explicit, virtuosically satirical, American Psycho–esque rendering of a monstrously misplaced but undeterrable desire. Laced with black humor and crackling sexualized prose, Alissa Nutting’s Tampa is a grand, seriocomic examination of the want behind student / teacher affairs and a scorching literary debut.
MY REVIEW:
Rating:
What a story!
Tampa is the story of Celeste Price, female sexual predator. I’ll admit I was actually nervous to read this book. I’ve had Tampa on my radar for years now, but I always hesitated to pick it up. Now, I’m so glad I decided to read this book!
It’s an important book, boys can and are being molested by their female teachers, and in a way Tampa educates us. It also touches upon the subject of looks. Celeste is stunningly beautiful. She says: “People who look like me don’t go to jail.” And it illuminates the issue of how young and beautiful people, because they are young and beautiful are somehow less guilty, in the eyes of the public.
I’ve never read a book quite like this one, where the author went so in-depth, in trying to give us accurate portrayal of the perverted mind of the pedophile. All the while reading this, you’re in Celeste’s mind – and her thoughts are constantly focused on 14-year old boys. Her mind was not a nice place to be in.
While reading reviews, one of them stated that the book was inspired by the case of Debra Lafave. I’m not sure if that’s true, but there are similarities. Google her, but only after you read the book, otherwise it spoils the book.
There is one other book that evoked similar reaction in me, repulsion but at the same time morbid fascination; and it’s Taming the Beast , which was written from victim’s POV and the molester was a male teacher. Tampa was not as dark as Taming the Beast, it was uncomfortable to read because it described all the sexual acts in details, but Nutting’s writing has an almost parodic quality to it, you want to laugh at how absurd Celeste is being, but then you realize what she’s doing, sober up and shudder with horror.
Tampa is the story of Celeste Price, female sexual predator. I’ll admit I was actually nervous to read this book. I’ve had Tampa on my radar for years now, but I always hesitated to pick it up. Now, I’m so glad I decided to read this book!
It’s an important book, boys can and are being molested by their female teachers, and in a way Tampa educates us. It also touches upon the subject of looks. Celeste is stunningly beautiful. She says: “People who look like me don’t go to jail.” And it illuminates the issue of how young and beautiful people, because they are young and beautiful are somehow less guilty, in the eyes of the public.
I’ve never read a book quite like this one, where the author went so in-depth, in trying to give us accurate portrayal of the perverted mind of the pedophile. All the while reading this, you’re in Celeste’s mind – and her thoughts are constantly focused on 14-year old boys. Her mind was not a nice place to be in.
While reading reviews, one of them stated that the book was inspired by the case of Debra Lafave. I’m not sure if that’s true, but there are similarities. Google her, but only after you read the book, otherwise it spoils the book.
There is one other book that evoked similar reaction in me, repulsion but at the same time morbid fascination; and it’s Taming the Beast , which was written from victim’s POV and the molester was a male teacher. Tampa was not as dark as Taming the Beast, it was uncomfortable to read because it described all the sexual acts in details, but Nutting’s writing has an almost parodic quality to it, you want to laugh at how absurd Celeste is being, but then you realize what she’s doing, sober up and shudder with horror.
xoxo,
Beatrix
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