A review by enkiiii
Tampa by Alissa Nutting

funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

uhhh what a book. 

Celeste Price is the hot teacher Alissa Nutting has plucked from the fantasies of straight men, given a life outside of pornography and led to a spectacular demise. And well, it turns out that woman is a psychopath, and her antisocial behavior is encouraged by some aspects of our culture. And also, while this fact is frequently glossed over in porn, isn’t it kinda fucked up that she’s having sex with children?

I wouldn’t call this book a good social commentary on sexual violence and consent. Rather, it’s more concerned with femininity. Celeste’s story exposes the contradictions that arise from the way women’s personhood and sexual autonomy are negated under patriarchy. How can a woman be both a placid sexual object and a predator? Perfect and a monster? 

The premise wears thin really fast though, and the novel doesn’t have any compelling characters or a very good plot to make up for it. Celeste’s single minded obsession with teenage boys as well as the preservation of her own youth is all there is to her disordered personality. And the handling of the subject of sexual violence against minors was too callous in my opinion. Celeste’s desires are intense to the point of making her act compulsively which is a classic defense used to justify rape culture. I wish the author fully committed to the satire instead of leaning into psychological thriller territory, because that aspect of Tampa was executed less successfully. 

So yeah this is not my favorite novel with a depraved protagonist. Lolita is a better psychological thriller and Boy Parts did the same kind of gender commentary and both are a better read than Tampa.
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