Literotica: Sophisticated Smut For Highbrow Readers

Rather than reading 50 Shades of Grey, grab one of these 10 highbrow novels for your erotic fix.

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Let’s cut right to the chase: Erotica has gotten a bad rep, and we’re sick of it. You just say the word “ertoica,” and people immediately think of Danielle Steel or 50 Shades of Grey. And sure, there is plenty of sex writing out there that is nothing more than smutty, senseless garbage, but there’s also a great deal of highbrow sex writing. We consider the 10 novels below highbrow not just for their quality of writing, but because they cover more than sex. They speak to issues of gender politics, classicism and cultural differences, and show how those issues affect sexual relationships. In other words: Expect no Fabio.

1. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

The ne plus ultra of highbrow erotica,Lolita has stood the test of time, and for good reason. First published in Paris in 1955, Nabokov’s classic novel tells the story of literature professor Humbert Humbert’s obsession with his stepdaughter, the 12-year-old Dolores Haze, or, as he calls her in private, “Lolita.” The book is told from Humbert’s perspective, drawing on fragmented memories to produce a twisted account of incest and hebephilia.

2. Sexus by Henry Miller

This is the first book in Miller’s The Rosy Crucifixion trilogy, which fictionalizes the six-year period of Miller’s life in Brooklyn, which he spent falling for his second wife and struggling to become a writer. Sexus is about the break-up of Miller’s first marriage and his introduction to the sultry, mysterious dancer who would become his second wife. Of the book, The New York Times wrote, “Miller uses licentious sex scenes to set the stage for his philosophical discussions of self, love, marriage, and happiness.” Take that, romance novels that you buy at the airport!

3. Little Birds by Anais Nin

This is a collection of 13 short stories covering a wide variety of topics. Nin, who jokingly referred to herself as the “madam of this snobbish literary house of prostitution,” writes about everything from lesbianism to pedophilia with stunning clarity. The title is a reference to actual birds that one of the story’s protagonists uses to seduce young schoolgirls up to his attic, as well as the young girls themselves, who flee when the protagonist finally exposes his true motives. Little Birds is Nin’s second book of erotica, and it’s worth noting her first book, Delta of Venus, as well; many of Nin’s characters appear in both.

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