Affection

Shortlisted for the 2010 Queensland Premier's Award for non-fiction.


A frank, thoughtful and beautifully written erotic memoir by an exciting new Australian writer, Affection is the true story of a woman, her body and the extraordinary adventures they've shared.


Krissy Kneen was brought up in a bizarre, colourful household filled with strong yet eccentric women. Perhaps because talk of sex was strictly off the agenda she was, from a young age, deeply fascinated by her own sexuality. As a young woman she pursued sexual experience voraciously. Now, middle-aged and happily married, she remains driven by the need for orgasm, racked by obsessive lust, constantly in thrall to the temptation of pornography.


And she wonders—could this be a problem?


Krissy Kneen is a bookseller and writer. She is the author of a short collection of erotica, Swallow the Sound, and Triptych: An Erotic Adventure. She lives in Brisbane with her husband and no pets. www.furiousvaginas.com


'That rare beast; a sexual memoir that is not only uniquely interesting and daringly explicit but is also poetic, offbeat, confronting and funny.' Linda Jaivin, Australian


‘Affection’s triumph is that of an assured novelist of any genre. She sets a scene in curt but vivid detail and injects emotional vibrancy into even cursory encounters….From the outset, Kneen is acutely sexual; her journey, rather, is one of reconciling sex with something that is much harder to understand in a world where magazine covers scream their demands for the perfect orgasm, the perfect boyfriend, the perfect body. Learning to live with yourself, perhaps. Learning not to fall in love with your friends. Learning the meaning of affection. No arrogance required.’ Sunday Age


‘In this beautifully written, painfully honest book, Kneen explores sexuality, the body and self-image, and the intersection between the three…Kneen’s stark, sensuous writing style and clear-eyed honesty are immensely appealing. And Affection is not just sensuous in relation to writing about the erotic; her childhood recollections are steeped in smells, colours and textures. This is an assured debut.’ Big Issue


‘Affection goes all the way…[the book] seems like an authentic expression of feminine salaciousness, rather than one a woman thinks may be enjoyed by a man…[Kneen] takes a wild pride in refusing to primp either herself or her story into stereotypical palatability.’ Australian Literary Review