Sounds more insulting to kinky people than 9 ½ Weeks.

Great review, thanks! I suspected this book would have that tone, after hearing the author interviewed on "Fresh Air" a few weeks ago.

Ms. Febos should neither be condemned for doing something that she doesn't necessarily enjoy nor sharing her story. I don't like my office job, even though I'm better at it than most people are passionate about my profession. I don't believe sex work is different.

It's a book about a woman who hated herself so much she decided to get a job where she could take her self-hatred out on others. Glad you left the industry, you stupid bitch!

@5 My thoughts exactly. Ms. Febos can't really expect more of a positive reaction when she's written a kink-negative book.

Where does it say that MM will be interviewing Febos?

@10 They are getting that from reading her blog. MM often publishes blog posts that dovetail with these columns. My hunch is it's a space issue given these articles are so short. http://mistressmatisse.blogspot.com/2010…
They should just link to it, I don't know why they don't.

Great article, but oi!-The random bolding in the latest articles is killing me. Is an editor doing this?

Yeah, the random bolding is a Stranger thing, not something MM does. I never read the paper version so I don't know if they do it in print too. They should stop, it's weird and dumb.

@12 I enjoy pretending it's some sort of mystical code - like, if you combine all the bolded words over the course of a year, the result is a chapter from the Necronomicon.

To the reader who wrote:
"I'm a bit surprised she has consented to be interviewed by a negative reviewer (assuming she is aware of Mistress Matisse's opinion, which I suppose she is)."

You're wrong in assuming this. Febos had no idea of the negative review when she did the live interview. Her father, whom I interviewed for the Port Townsend newspaper, told me this after the fact. Pretty cheap tactic by MM if you ask me. Also I felt that MM came off as "I'm more dom than you are" in her review.

@17 This column was published last Wednesday. MM said the interview was on Saturday. Why didn't MF do her homework?
As for "I'm more dom than you" - if MF says she's not really into the dom/sub stuff for real, she just played on on TV, then she's not a dom at all, is she.

I heard the interview with Terry Gross. I *love* Fresh Air, I love Terry Gross, worship her in fact, and even so I felt that her interview with Ms. Febos was one where she kept saying "EW" in her head and shaking her hands like a 5 year old playing with worms. Febos came across sounding intelligent, but definitely judgmental and pretty kink- and sex-negative.

I think this review by MM, given the tone of the interview on Fresh Air and the position taken in the book ("I was so damaged I did KINK for a living, I was disgusting but now I'm better") was fair and nicely done. This book probably was written as kind of a titillation for the bored vanilla audience and as such misrepresents much of what MM stands for. I could see Matisse taking a much more offended stance. The fact that she writes a fairly calm and intelligent piece is impressive. As good as Terry Gross *should* have been. I hope the interview with her is recorded and available to us online.

The Fresh Air interview was a woman that didn't know kink very well (Gross) interviewing an author that didn't like kink very much (Febos) about her book on kink(!) and drug use.

In this light, the interview's about what one should expect.

Febos attitudes are quite common for a young sex worker. But that doesn't mean she doesn't potentially make for an interesting character. However, you don't comment much on the quality of the writing, the characterization, or the scenes. Based on your article Mistress Matisse, I still can't tell if I'd want to read this book.

Febos attitudes are quite common for a young sex worker. But that doesn't mean she doesn't potentially make for an interesting character. However, you don't comment much on the quality of the writing, the characterization, or the scenes. Based on your article Mistress Matisse, I still can't tell if I'd want to read this book.