Ellen by Emerson Laken Palmer

Review by Celeste   [other reviews by Celeste]

Reviewed:

I had a brief love affair once. The operative word is brief. We were both too strong willed and selfish to last, at least with each other. Her desires were bistable; she either wanted to get laid or she didn't. There was no middle ground. I'd get amorous and make a move. She'd most likely rebuff me with a comment such as, "You men are all alike. Is that all you think about?"

And the answer was yes. That's all I thought about, besides how I might strangle her and then drop her into the bottomless swamp. Then something would throw the horny switch and she'd make a move on me. I NEVER resisted. Not once did I have a headache. I resented the fact that she could and often did say, "Nothin' doin' dude," while my response was always some variation of, "Sure, sure, you bet."

The story "Ellen" by Emerson Laken-Palmer depicts a similar nineteen- year-old boy, Danny who experiences a sexual awakening with his kid sister, eighteen-year-old Ellen. When Danny wants it, the chances are good that Ellen will freeze him out. But when she wants it, Danny doesn't have a chance. I know what that's like; I've been there.

"Ellen" is a good story. The characters are human and more, they're real. They're both buffeted about by their desires and later, by their guilt. Danny's first person account tells of his intermittent resolve to NOT be sexual with his kid sister. She's sweet and innocent (he would rather believe) and he thinks of himself as single-minded ogre.

There are a couple of very sexy scenes and a couple of pregnancy scares, all of which lend a heightened reality to this story. It's told as a short chapter in their lives, soon over and never to be repeated.

The writer's name, Emerson Laken-Palmer sounds like a musical trio. It reminds me of mishearing the name of a popular duo some years ago. For a long time I thought the group was called "Haulin' Oats."