In "Tampa," Alissa Nutting plunges readers into the provocative mind of Celeste, a seductive and rebellious middle school teacher with a dangerously obsessive interest in young boys. As she navigates desire and morality, her choices spiral into a web of deceit and thrill, highlighting the dark side of lust. Nutting challenges societal norms with unflinching audacity, leaving readers questioning the boundaries of obsession and taboo. The story is a haunting exploration of power, manipulation, and the complexities of erotic compulsion. Prepare for a gripping ride that blurs the lines between attraction and moral repulsion.
By Alissa Nutting
Published: 2014
""I was determined to cultivate a culture of intimacy, a kind of love where the boundaries between teacher and student blurred into a dance of desire and consequence.""
In Alissa Nutting’s novel Tampa, Celeste Price, a smoldering 26-year-old middle-school teacher in Florida, unrepentantly recounts her elaborate and sociopathically determined seduction of a 14-year-old student. Celeste has chosen and lured the charmingly modest Jack Patrick into her web. Jack is enthralled and in awe of his eighth-grade teacher, and, most importantly, willing to accept Celeste’s terms for a secret relationship—car rides after dark, rendezvous at Jack’s house while his single father works the late shift, and body-slamming erotic encounters in Celeste’s empty classroom. In slaking her sexual thirst, Celeste Price is remorseless and deviously free of hesitation, a monstress of pure motivation. She deceives everyone, is close to no one, and cares little for anything but her pleasure. Tampa is a sexually explicit, virtuosically satirical, American Psycho–esque rendering of a monstrously misplaced but undeterrable desire. Laced with black humor and crackling sexualized prose, Alissa Nutting’s Tampa is a grand, seriocomic examination of the want behind student / teacher affairs and a scorching literary debut.
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“"I was determined to cultivate a culture of intimacy, a kind of love where the boundaries between teacher and student blurred into a dance of desire and consequence."”
Tampa
By Alissa Nutting
Discover a world of knowledge through our extensive collection of book summaries.
Alissa Nutting is an acclaimed American author known for her provocative and innovative storytelling. She is the author of the critically celebrated novels 'Tampa' and 'Made for Love,' which explore complex themes such as desire, identity, and the human experience through a unique blend of dark humor and sharp social commentary. Nutting's writing style is characterized by its boldness and wit, often pushing boundaries while inviting readers to engage with uncomfortable truths about contemporary life. In addition to her novels, she has contributed to various literary magazines and anthologies, establishing herself as a significant voice in modern literature.
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