The Home for the Literarily Bent
Intimate Invasions
Intimate Invasions front cover
by M.R. Strict
Published in 2004 by Greenery Press
Klysmaphilia or enema play is one of those topics that embarrasses most people to talk about, much less express an interest in. Given that, a Greenery Press book devoted to the topic would seem a very worthwhile effort towards expanding everyone’s comfort and familiarity with the topic. Or at least, that’s what I thought prior to reading the book. It pains me to have to say this (for one thing I bristle at the bad pun), but simply put this book is shitty.
One consistently annoying thing about BDSM books in general, and Greenery Press titles in particular, is a writing style that uses fantasy scenes interspersed in between matter of fact discussion. Having endured more of these books than anyone really ought, I have come to the conclusion that most BDSM books would not be published were they written about any other topic. Books about even such potentially mundane topics as gardening, cooking, and sewing are generally better written than even the best BDSM book. It is so bad that I own any number of books that I would be embarrassed to have the coroner find on my bookshelf not because they are dirty but simply because they are poorly written.
But I digress. The most astonishing part about Intimate Invasions is that even though it clocks in at about 140 pages, there are perhaps 20 that contain useful information. Without the awful fantasy sequences this book might have been a good fit for Greenery Press’ “Toybag Guide” series. But even that might be a stretch since even those 20 pages are not reliable because M.R. Strict’s knowledge and advice seems suspect. As bad as the factual sections are, the fantasy sequences are even worse.
Just how bad is this book? It is so bad that I would put more faith in the advice from any number of 1970s enema guides marketed by the same companies that specialized enema themed pornography. Even though they often recommend such potentially dangerous practices as giving wine enemas, they tend to demonstrate a greater passion and knowledge of their subject.
I hope that another BDSM publisher and/or author will devote a book to this worthwhile topic. They certainly will have no trouble writing something better than this.
You’re certainly free to dislike my book, I would be the first to admit that the editor’s requirement that I write about all four sexual combinations (mf, ff, fm, mm) taxed my imagination somewhat as I’m a mf guy myself.
As far as fantasy versus “useful information,” as I said at great length in the intro, I wasn’t going to go into the esoterica of enemata, it’s been covered before and also the editor was extremely concerned about the liability issues surrounding some of the exotic stuff that people inject up their bums. On the other hand, I have a whole chapter about the basics of enema administration , and if that’s not “useful information,” what is?
My whole aim was to flesh out how much can be accomplished with imagination and only basic enema administration — what you refer to as “lame fantasies.” Well, it’s funny to me that your site claims to be “literarily” inclined, yet condemns creative writing and demands fake factuality. Isn’t that a bit of a conundrum? You don’t like what I write because you like different stuff — that’s fine, why not just admit it and then move on.
Finally, with regard to suspect knowledge, I’m not really sure what you’re referring to as the basis for that claim. I’ve been giving enemas for 25 years, so I have hands on experience at least. I haven’t taken a course in enema giving, so I admit I’m an advanced amateur. Ought I have a D.En. before I’m qualified to comment?
M.R. Strict