Permission
A grieving young woman learns something new about love from a dominatrix in this haunting and erotic debut.
Echo is a failing actress who prefers to lose herself in the lives of others rather than examine her own. When her father disappears in a seaside misstep, she and her mother are left grief-stricken, unsure of how to piece back together their family that, it turns out, had never been whole. But then Orly -- a dominatrix -- moves in across the street. And through her, Echo begins to find the pieces that will allow her to carry on. Set among the bright colours and harshly glittering lights of Los Angeles, this is a love story about people addled with dreams and expectations who turn to the erotic for answers.
Reviews
"Saskia Vogel's provocative debut novel, Permission, is like a trick box full of sliding panels. Her protagonist, jarred loose from her life by the accidental death of her father, finds that the boundaries she's always taken as given begin to slide open, revealing secret zones of power and sexuality within the world and within herself. Beautifully written, mysterious and compelling. "
- Janet Fitch