Fanny
Dear Reader, if the Use of 18th Century Capitalization and Language is Tiresome to You, then turn away from Fanny, for Ms. Jong – author of Fear Of Flying, her more Infamous Tome – makes Thorough Use of her Master’s Degree in the Era. Not only does she insist upon Relentless Capitalization, but on Page 124, the Lady lists 127 Indelicate Expressions for a Woman’s Privates – in Alphabetical Order!
Undaunted, this Reader opened the Novel with Great Enthusiasm, for it promised Tragedy & Comedy, Pirates & Prostitution, Heroics on the High Seas, and other such Grand Adventures. Surely Fanny is More than a Mimic of Defoe; It must be a Parody of the Sweeping Sagas so Fashionable in 1980, the Year of Original Publication! Regard the Clichés – the Seducing Step-Father, a Damsel in Disguise, Lots of Lustful Louts, Amazing Coincidences, Secrets left Unrevealed for no Apparent Reason. And such Debauchery and Vice! Man on Woman, Woman on Woman, Man on Man, Group Delights – & never a Pesky Moral Thought intruding.
Ah, but where is the twinkle? Where is the wink? Alas, It is lost! The Author’s True Purpose is Quickly Revealed. The Wise Witches are murdered by Superstitious Christians; the Homosexual Highwayman crusades against General Tyranny; and Fanny herself is Deflowered, Betrayed, & Abused by Bad White Men. Alack, alack! If the Author had only used Humor and Wit rather than Ponderous Preaching, Fanny might have been a Wildly Entertaining Read.
