Let’s Talk About…Nipples
Yes, nipples, the pointy end of breasts. I never thought I would have to read anything so salacious until my Dad passed a book he’d read to me through my brother.
Joseph Edgar’s Anonymous Nipples is one of the two books I read in October. And they were both worth the while (enough to warrant a review). The second was Louis Gerstner’s Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance — more on this in another post.
Anonymous Nipples is a ‘bedside compendium’ meant to be read slowly and with relish. I read it at my desk in two hours — with great relish of course [add a wink there]. The colorful landscape paperback is a no-holds-barred sex manual. Manual? Well, it’s really up to the reader to make of it what you will — erotica, manual, etc.
Me? I just loved that I was reading something unusual by a Nigerian journalist and author. Of course, I enjoyed looking at the bare-breasted models — their nipples, I mean. Which well-rounded male, or female for that matter, wouldn’t.
Joseph Edgar discusses serious sex subjects in a flippant manner. You need to read how he handled his son’s burgeoning Oedipus Complex. It’s a brilliant way to address such touchy subjects especially for young parents like me — and priggish ones who would rather die or resort to their spiritual leaders than discuss sex with their kids.
There’s something for everyone — man, woman, parent, and the artist (the lover of natural art that is women’s nipples, sorry, women’s bodies). Of course, I can imagine sexual partners, married or not who never discuss masturbation, sex toys, rape in a consensual relationship, cheating by either party, fellatio, cunnilingus and so much more. Joseph Edgar just does his thing on these topics in an unassuming way.
Like all social subjects, there are points of divergence, where you disagree with the writer’s point of view. However, I think this is where Edgar’s book begins to be successful. It should spark healthy debates in households, of course only between spouses — the book should be strictly kept out of the reach of under-sixteens or under-eighteens [as you please].
Ultimately, Anonymous Nipples: The Naked Truth is a trailblazer. A first-of-its-kind sex book that can definitely improve communication between couples and also help parents with ‘having the talk’ with their young ones.
Edgar writes the main chapters of the book but the last eleven chapters were contributed by eleven different women on similar topics. I particularly like Elvina Ibru’s entry. That woman, eh! I learned a thing or two from Eunice Thomas’ The Joy Of The Fattening Room. Regina Askia has the foreword — a fitting way to start a quirky book.
