VOX

by Nicholson Baker

Random House

Good pornography is rare. I mean, anyone can get hold of pictures of naked people doing all sorts of interesting things (hell, I found my dad's stash at age 12), but really intelligent, arousing fiction seems to be in very short supply. Most porn is in such a rush to get you off and is so focused on a few specific organs and orifices that it's nothing more than a cartoon. Where is the unabashedly explicit porn with characters you care ab out and situations a real human being can relate to? I'm not talking about ÒeroticaÓ here, with all those coy euphemisms Ñ please. Why is fiction which deals honestly and creatively with such an integral and powerful part of our lives so hard to find?

I f any of this is sinking in, you might like this book I found at the library Ñ Vox, by Nicholson Baker. Baker's one of my favorite writers, even though I've only read two of his five novels. A friend called him Ògimmicky,Ó and I have to agree, but his gim micks are so good you won't hear me complaining (his first novel, The Mezzanine, follows the amazingly detailed interior monologue of a likable young corporate type on his lunch hour one day, complete with footnotes. It's great).

The plot of V ox is simple: we get to eavesdrop on a phone sex conversation between two unusually observant, smart and very horny people. That's it. 150 pages of conversation, starting with the question, ÒWhat are you wearing?Ó and ending with the sentence ÒThey hu ng up.Ó In between, there's intimacy, embarrassment and, of course, orgasm, though not necessarily in that order. The two of them share fantasies, fetishes (she: ÒAre you 'into' feet?Ó he: Òno no no no no no no no . . . . They're neutral. They're about li ke elbowsÓ), masturbation experiences, odd stories about previous lovers, and general observations about American life (his description of the streetlight outside his window is a major turning point in the relationship). The conversation, never predictabl e, twists and turns smoothly over the broad terrain of sex, but the explicit talk never seems gratuitous because it's obvious that both of them acknowledge the power and importance of sexuality in their lives and aren't ashamed to admit it. The most inte resting aspect of the book (the Ògimmick,Ó I guess) is that this owning up to sexual identity happens easily, with a complete stranger, over the phone. Vox, in a very gentle way, deflates the common view of phone sex as cold, mechanical and sleazy. By sho wing us two real people using technology to connect in a way difficult to imagine them doing in person, Baker reclaims phone sex from the unimaginative, profiteering few and points to its potential as a tool for ordinary folks who find they just aren't ge tting what they need from daily life in America. We all know the deep need to be confided in, the pleasure in sharing taboo thoughts, the thrill of self-revelation . . .

I know, I'm getting too philosophical. Let's return to earth here and marvel that this is the only book that has ever gotten me (ahem) excited and made me laugh out loud on the same page. The jacket says it's sure to become an Òerotic classic,Ó but don't be fooled Ñ this is porn. Good porn. (Todd Morman)