cover image LEASH

LEASH

Jane DeLynn, . . MIT/Semiotext(e), $13.95 (255pp) ISBN 978-1-58435-014-9

A gay Manhattan writer explores her limits in DeLynn's latest, a surreal tale of submission and degradation that begins when the anonymous narrator's girlfriend takes a hiatus in Sweden, giving her a chance to play. She starts by cruising the local dyke bars, but when boredom sets in she dubs herself "Chris" and answers a personal ad from a "domme" who makes her don a blindfold for her first visit. Despite her fears and doubts, the relationship quickly progresses beyond the normal limits of dominance and submission as Chris is collared, forced into canine sex and then subjected to a wide variety of painful, kinky stimuli. Things get weirder when she is transformed into a "dog" by her "owner"; after leaving her normal life behind, Chris participates in a strange performance in which she is covered in plaster by an audience of her owner's peers. That act leads her into a world where women own each other in the manner of canines, and Chris is forced to leave behind her "mistress" and her old life. DeLynn is an ironic, thoughtful narrator who analyzes the psychological dependence and identity breakdown that can occur in such relationships, although her graphic descriptions will challenge the digestive systems of many readers. But the larger problem is that Chris remains one-dimensional despite DeLynn's brief efforts to flesh out her life as a writer, and that absence of contrast makes the s&m material and the book seem lurid and cartoonish rather than alluring and exotic. (Feb.)