You know those situations, where family members or friends ask "so, what would you like for your birthday?", and you feel that "well actually, I guess what I'd quite like is some incredibly rare, psychedelic-era sleaze paperbacks with strange and fascinating back stories" just doesn't seem an acceptable answer?
Well it's always reassuring to know that you've got friends out there ready to satisfy your needs without even being asked.
I'll let Grant take up the story:
"Ramona Kleff"! Genius!
Such a mysterious and beautifully designed book too. One thing I love about it is that the back cover is completely blank - I've never seen that on a paperback before. Normally these things are covered in lurid hyperbole; its absence implies that the intended audience would just *know the score*, re: the likely subject matter.
Speaking of which, it sure gets straight down to business. Here's the opening page:
Most of the smutty books I've encountered in my travels are just full of innuendo and 'smouldering passions' and 'shuddering lusts' and the like, usually combined with the narrative voice banging on at great length about exciting variations of 'sin' and 'shame'. I guess times had changed a little by 1971... which is kinda sad in some ways. And as with most other straight-up pornography, "Getting Her Rocks" tends to get pretty grim and repetitious pretty quickly, for all its fun acid-era jive and surprisingly readable prose.
Still though, what an amazing artifact.
Mr. Balfour can be traced via his fine musical endeavours, and his ongoing work with The Guild of Scientific Troubadours.
Ms. Kleff remains an enigma.
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