SPINNING WHEELS

Erotica interlaced with fantasy and ruminations on church politics.

In 1963 in North Wales, kindly Mother Superior putters about her convent, a shelter for abused girls. After the untimely death of Father Francis, Mother Superior fears that the convent will be closed, and she decides to ask for a replacement priest. During her meeting with the bishop, the book takes a surprisingly sexual turn, with the bishop engaging in a detailed domination-torture fantasy. Mother Superior's request for additional staff is honored. Soon attractive Father Thomas is installed and quickly makes friends with abused resident Sister Beatrice, who dies of syphilis. The arrival of Sister Margaret strikes an erogenous chord with Sister Joan, sending her into a flurry of intense masturbation with a crucifix. Joan and Margaret begin an affair, resolving to seduce Father Thomas, who has his own erotic fantasies. As the trio's relationship progresses, so does the feeling of loss of faith and belief in God. From time to time, the ghost of Sister Bee appears, offering words of encouragement to those left behind. Father Thomas opines at length on the sad state of the world and of the church, which tolerates same-sex liaisons in its upper echelon while condemning heterosexual relationships between priests and nuns. The ménage à trois is a salvation of sorts and the driving force, in addition to a gale, for a return to the secular world. When the three leave the convent, the novel loses steam–and its erotic charge–as life plays out on ex-priest Thomas' family farm. Readers may wonder why a work of fiction includes a character with the author's name, as if the book is, in part, a fantasy on the sexual adventures of one's parents. "Oh gosh!" and "Atten-shun!" are used in excess to describe sexual and emotional states. But the story is strong and the erotica nicely balanced by the humanity of its characters.

An engaging if overlong tale of an amorous threesome who leave the cloth.