The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 17 February 1998
Arno Strine finds himself with the astonishing ability to halt the flow of time. Like the twists of many new media (like the Internet!), it soon occurs to him to use this power for sexual gratification, and he is taking off women's clothes in a sort of soft-core violation. Arno also enjoys the effect he can have on people by slipping explicit innuendo into their lives. He writes dirty stories and plants them where women will unknowingly discover them, then observes their reactions. Arno's fantasy life, and his writings are presented here in long explicit passages that I found rather dull (though I suppose some may find them more titillating). Nicholson Baker himself has stated that he set out to see if he could create believable pornographic fiction, and I think he pulled it off far better in Vox. I found myself much more interested in Arno's character and his feeble attempts to justify his actions. Arno's reaction to his power and its results are, indeed, well wrought and interesting. Baker's dirty stories, well, I could have done without them, but I was warned.
Also by Nicholson Baker: