"It was selfless lovemaking, it was the practice of a true vocation, and I am [...] proud of myself for having done such a good job."
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Memories of a Mombasa Gigolo by Krishna Washburn Traffford Publishing
book review by Laura Roberts
Manik Mudigonda is, perhaps, the most unlikely gigolo ever invented. The self-described 'ugliest man to have ever lived" repeatedly bemoans his one red eye, piebald skin tone, and overweight body, yet manages to attract the sexual interest of the best and brightest ladies in Mombasa. His secret? He is a slave to dispensing feminine pleasure in a time of sexual repression. He's also a former Brahmin prince, though he's been cast out by his family for reasons that are never fully explained. Instead of living in a palace in Benares with a cadre of servants to attend to him, he serves as a solicitor in Mombasa alongside his friend and co-worker, Hadleigh.
A lusty and inviting historical tale of romance, seduction, and culture clashes in the pre-WWI era, the book deftly touches on topics as diverse as erotic education, racism, religious differences, and body issues. While Manik is unhappy with his oversized figure, binging and purging to fit an image of beauty he will never achieve, he also realizes his large size paradoxically brings him closer to the ladies he loves. It is, in fact, his enormous personality and love of women that make him the perfect suitor, though perhaps one destined to love many and marry none.
Moody Manik may be an unreliable narrator of his own love and lust, but he offers the reader a wild ride full of vim, vigor and vaginas, and Washburn's salacious depiction of "Mudigondamas" is well worth the cover price.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review