I just came across the report on 2011’s Bad Sex Award and had to pass it along. The award was presented back in December, and I missed the story at the time.
American author David Guterson has joined John Updike, Tom Wolfe, Norman Mailer and other literary stars as the recipient of the dreaded Bad Sex in Fiction award.
Guterson won the 2011 "prize" for sex scenes in his new novel "Ed King," which offers a modern take on the Oedipus myth and sets it in the second half of the 20th century.
The acclaimed author of "Snow Falling on Cedars" took the tongue-in-cheek honor in stride: "Oedipus practically invented bad sex, so I'm not in the least bit surprised," Guterson said in a statement released in response to his victory.
The choice was announced at a gala event at the Naval & Military Club in London.
The scene cited by the judges deals with the part of the myth where the son makes loves with his mother. It describes a night of abandon that concludes with a soapy shower interlude and finishes this way: "Then they rinsed, dried, dressed, and went to an expensive restaurant for lunch."
The Literary Review has given out the award each year since 1993. It was established by Auberon Waugh to highlight the "crude, tasteless and often perfunctory" way in which sex is described in modern novels — and to discourage it.
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