What if Boccaccio, the great 14th-century
pioneer of erotic realism were to be transported forward in time to modern day
America? What would the author of the Decameron
make of internet porn, social media, on-line dating, IPhones, e-books and
flash fiction? He might well be pleased to find his droll and rollicking bawdy spirit still
very much alive in the writing of one Yasmine Jones.
In fact, I don’t know if Jones has ever
read Boccaccio, but she seems to have channeled something of the poet’s tone
along with a keenly sardonic attitude towards her characters; libidinous
clergymen, “sweet young things” who aren’t so sweet after all; naïve sugar
daddies asleep on the job; amorous friends in the serendipitous throes of sensual
discovery. Then again, it may be that human nature has barely changed in the
intervening 700 years; human corruption just as rampant and ridiculous; foibles
no less funny; self-serving institutions no less ripe for satire.
And Jones does it all quite well; a
talented newcomer with a gift for highly concentrated story-telling. The five
tantalizing miniature tales in this collection range from as many as 2800 to as
few as 100 words, all deliciously tongue in cheek, spiced with a healthy hint
of cynicism; each with its own satisfying erotic twist at the end. Jones’ humor
can be broad; bordering on adolescent cutesy-ness, yet the writing is never so
undisciplined as to devolve into insufferable banality or mere stroke-book
flippancy.
These little stories were a pleasure to
read, and I can only hope that more will follow soon. How about a flash-fiction
inspired Decameron for the new
century—one hundred stories of 100 to 250 words a piece? In the meantime, Yasmine Jones’ Gratifyingly Graphic is most warmly
recommended.
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