Short Stories

Kink: Stories

Kink: Stories

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  • Create Date：2021-04-18 12:51:26
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：R.O. Kwon
  • ISBN：198211021X
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Summary

A NATIONAL BESTSELLER

Kink is a groundbreaking anthology of literary short fiction exploring love and desire， BDSM， and interests across the sexual spectrum， edited by lauded writers R。O。 Kwon and Garth Greenwell， and featuring a roster of all-star contributors including Alexander Chee， Roxane Gay， Carmen Maria Machado， and more。

A Most-Anticipated book of 2021 as selected by * Marie Claire * O， The Oprah Magazine * Cosmopolitan * Time * The Millions * The Advocate * Autostraddle * Refinery29 * Shape * Town & Country * Book Riot * Literary Hub *

Kink is a dynamic anthology of literary fiction that opens an imaginative door into the world of desire。 The stories within this collection portray love， desire， BDSM， and sexual kinks in all their glory with a bold new vision。 The collection includes works by renowned fiction writers such as Callum Angus， Alexander Chee， Vanessa Clark， Melissa Febos， Kim Fu， Roxane Gay， Cara Hoffman， Zeyn Joukhadar， Chris Kraus， Carmen Maria Machado， Peter Mountford， Larissa Pham， and Brandon Taylor， with Garth Greenwell and R。O。 Kwon as editors。

The stories within explore bondage， power-play， and submissive-dominant relationships; we are taken to private estates， therapists’ offices， underground sex clubs， and even a sex theater in early-20th century Paris。 While there are whips and chains， sure， the true power of these stories lies in their beautiful， moving dispatches from across the sexual spectrum of interest and desires， as portrayed by some of today’s most exciting writers。

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Reviews

Maria ，

For some reason， I thought this would be a light and fun read。 It was anything but， which turned out fine。 These short stories offer intimate portrayals of manipulation， power， love， and pain。 Where does pain end and pleasure begin？ If one party hoards power with another's consent， who actually holds power in that scenario？ Can there be love without ownership？ These stories may focus on sex， but the answers extend to relationships， movements， and social structures。 For some reason， I thought this would be a light and fun read。 It was anything but， which turned out fine。 These short stories offer intimate portrayals of manipulation， power， love， and pain。 Where does pain end and pleasure begin？ If one party hoards power with another's consent， who actually holds power in that scenario？ Can there be love without ownership？ These stories may focus on sex， but the answers extend to relationships， movements， and social structures。 。。。more

Carsen ，

Worth reading for Carmen Maria Machado’s story alone though there are several good ones here （I prefer the back half）。 The front half is violent， so if that’s not your thing start after Greenwell’s short story。

Sarah Glen ，

More queer short story collections for more beach trips please。 For me， the standouts here were: — Safeword by R。O。 Kwon— Impact Play by Peter Mountford — The Voyeurs by Zeyn Joukhadar— Retouch/Switch by Cara HoffmanThese lines stuck with me when I flipped back through to look at the dozens of sections I'd underlined: — "One of the things that she remembered about sleeping with men was that it was hard to stop even if you didn't like it。 Inexplicably， it usually seemed easier to continue than to More queer short story collections for more beach trips please。 For me， the standouts here were: — Safeword by R。O。 Kwon— Impact Play by Peter Mountford — The Voyeurs by Zeyn Joukhadar— Retouch/Switch by Cara HoffmanThese lines stuck with me when I flipped back through to look at the dozens of sections I'd underlined: — "One of the things that she remembered about sleeping with men was that it was hard to stop even if you didn't like it。 Inexplicably， it usually seemed easier to continue than to stop。 Well， inexplicably to her then。 One of the gifts of no longer sleeping with men was that she became capable of seeing clearly many terrible truths of it。 It was easier to just keep fucking them， because then you wouldn't have to emotionally clean up afterward。 It was easier to keep fucking them than to find out how awful they might be when sexually thwarted — a potential she had learned was hard to overestimate。 Masculinity was a glass vase perpetually at the edge of the table。" - The Cure by Melissa Febos— "Life is easier when you take people at their word。 Also， it's good to be wary of people who are afraid of what they desire。" - Best Friendster Date Ever by Alexander Chee— "I found myself resorting again to habits I thought I had escaped， though that's the wrong word for it， escaped， given the eagerness with which I returned to them。" - Gospodar by Garth Greenwell— "Money sanitized our faces and bodies of the moments that built us。" - Retouch/Switch by Cara Hoffman 。。。more

Alicia Monroe ，

This was a mixed bag-a few really excellent stories and the rest were okay。

Lydia ，

For a collection of kinky short stories， this is too Literary and joyless for me。 :/

BookOfCinz ，

In the introduction for KINK the editors R。O。 Kwon and Garth Greenwell said In many of these stories， kink can also deepen and complicate urgent conversations around how consent is established， negotiated and sometimes broken。 KINK is a collection of short stories written by some of today’s favorite writers。 As stated in the introduction， majority of the stories explores sex， consent， agency， desires， deep dark desires and coping。 Yes！ These stories will have you clutching your pearls and fan In the introduction for KINK the editors R。O。 Kwon and Garth Greenwell said In many of these stories， kink can also deepen and complicate urgent conversations around how consent is established， negotiated and sometimes broken。 KINK is a collection of short stories written by some of today’s favorite writers。 As stated in the introduction， majority of the stories explores sex， consent， agency， desires， deep dark desires and coping。 Yes！ These stories will have you clutching your pearls and fanning yourself， this is not a collection for the prude at heart （which I think I am）。 Overall I think it is a solid collection， I do not think this is a book for everyone but I was insanely curious and I wanted to know what was in this collection。 My favorite stories that really stood out for me were: Oh Youth by Brandon Taylor The Cure by Melissa ForbesSafe Word by R。O。 Kwon Impact Play If you are looking to read about deep desires， take a peak behind the BDSM curtain， this curated collection of short stories is it！ 。。。more

Oli ，

dnf

Justin Murray ，

I just couldn’t connect with these。

Isaiah ，

I was very disappointed about this book。 The majority of the stories are bland， have no depths， and really don’t add a different perspective of kinks。 This book is the epitome of everything I can’t stand in literary fiction: prominent writers writing anything and ppl calling it extraordinary fiction because of who wrote it instead of the actual narrative。 There were a couple stories I liked， one being Alexander Chee’s story （v sexy）。 I LOVED Larissa Pham’s story as I think she’s the only writer I was very disappointed about this book。 The majority of the stories are bland， have no depths， and really don’t add a different perspective of kinks。 This book is the epitome of everything I can’t stand in literary fiction: prominent writers writing anything and ppl calling it extraordinary fiction because of who wrote it instead of the actual narrative。 There were a couple stories I liked， one being Alexander Chee’s story （v sexy）。 I LOVED Larissa Pham’s story as I think she’s the only writer who really understood the assignment。 Brandon Taylor’s story was interesting as well but I don’t think he explored the topic of kinks since there’s isn’t a clear distinction between that story and all the other stories he’s already published。 Overall， this book is very bland and overhyped。 。。。more

Hannah Krueger ，

As a gender inclusive introduction to kink， this collection is pretty solid。 Bonus for some of the first depictions of sex for trans individuals I’ve seen outside of fanfiction and for keeping it kinky （and not implying that sex for trans individuals is itself kinky）。 There is some major communication issues in how consent is approached in some of these stories， and some are pretty vanilla all things considered， so I would go in with a major asterisk， but compared to， say， 50 Shades of Grey， it’ As a gender inclusive introduction to kink， this collection is pretty solid。 Bonus for some of the first depictions of sex for trans individuals I’ve seen outside of fanfiction and for keeping it kinky （and not implying that sex for trans individuals is itself kinky）。 There is some major communication issues in how consent is approached in some of these stories， and some are pretty vanilla all things considered， so I would go in with a major asterisk， but compared to， say， 50 Shades of Grey， it’s a step up。 As another individual mentioned， there are a bunch of stories that have issues focusing deciding whether to tackle kink or characterization。 There are some real stand outs （including the Carmen Maria Machado story， in which I found out she has another short story collection coming！！）， and the fact that almost all of these stories turned me on is the biased part of why I rated this four stars。 This definitely advances getting audiences more comfortable with specific areas， but the editors should consider branching out a bit more and going a bit harder if there’s another volume。 。。。more

Gem Elizabeth Elizabeth ，

five star read， loved loved loved it。'Kink is a groundbreaking anthology of literary short fiction exploring love and desire， BDSM， and interests across the sexual spectrum， edited by lauded writers R。O。 Kwon and Garth Greenwell， and featuring a roster of all-star contributors including Alexander Chee， Roxane Gay， Carmen Maria Machado， and more。' five star read， loved loved loved it。'Kink is a groundbreaking anthology of literary short fiction exploring love and desire， BDSM， and interests across the sexual spectrum， edited by lauded writers R。O。 Kwon and Garth Greenwell， and featuring a roster of all-star contributors including Alexander Chee， Roxane Gay， Carmen Maria Machado， and more。' 。。。more

Samantha Connor ，

I'm honestly just confused I'm honestly just confused 。。。more

Lacey ，

Thank you NetGalley for a review copy。 I enjoyed this book but I wish it had been more educational around consent and negotiation。 I am glad that a mainstream publisher published Kink Stories but I wish it had been more from a different perspective。

Anna-Lena Dressman ，

some beautiful stories， notably by chris kraus， alexander chee， carmen maria machado and melissa febos。 some others felt like fan fic， and others still relied more on graphic descriptions of sex over plot or character substance

Destiny DeVooght ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I was drawn to this book initially by the contributors that I know and love， like Carmen Maria Machado and Kim Fu。 Those stories certainly did not disappoint， but in the end I was captured by the boldness and sweeping claims about intimacy and sex that some of the pieces of this anthology implied。 I was excited not just in the obvious way， but by the opportunity to read trans stories， queer stories and stories that felt forbidden because they were raw and， well， kinky - which is not a realm most I was drawn to this book initially by the contributors that I know and love， like Carmen Maria Machado and Kim Fu。 Those stories certainly did not disappoint， but in the end I was captured by the boldness and sweeping claims about intimacy and sex that some of the pieces of this anthology implied。 I was excited not just in the obvious way， but by the opportunity to read trans stories， queer stories and stories that felt forbidden because they were raw and， well， kinky - which is not a realm most trans and queer experiences get to shine in （in my experience）。 Of course， some of these pieces were better than others， but all of them were exciting and most of them made me blush - so be ready for that。 。。。more

Jenna ，

These stories were a little all over the place for me。 Some were good， others not so great but I didn't love any of them and I'm not sure I got much out of reading this。 These stories were a little all over the place for me。 Some were good， others not so great but I didn't love any of them and I'm not sure I got much out of reading this。 。。。more

Ashley ，

I LOVED some of these stories and some I was just not that into and skipped through。 I did find some writers I need to check out more from and of course learned about some kinks。 I would definitely recommend this book to someone who wants to read about diverse sexual experiences。

Gemma ，

Listen。 LISTEN。 I really wanted to like this。 I really did。 A properly published collection of stories focusing on kink / sex？ Sign me up。 I was especially excited after reading the introduction and blurb， where Kwon talks about wanting to ‘rescript the larger cultural attitudes that surround [kink]’， something that desperately needs doing in my opinion。 But then I read it。 And it just。。。didn’t do that。 At all。 Not only do the stories have very little to do with kink， but when they do the people Listen。 LISTEN。 I really wanted to like this。 I really did。 A properly published collection of stories focusing on kink / sex？ Sign me up。 I was especially excited after reading the introduction and blurb， where Kwon talks about wanting to ‘rescript the larger cultural attitudes that surround [kink]’， something that desperately needs doing in my opinion。 But then I read it。 And it just。。。didn’t do that。 At all。 Not only do the stories have very little to do with kink， but when they do the people are oftentimes so awful to one another that the book fundamentally fails at its stated goal。 In most stories， the people engaging in the kink （again， if at all mentioned） are emotionally manipulative， terrible communicators， and generally just not very nice people。 I wonder if there was a tiny bit of ‘oh， in order for people to take this collection seriously we have to be SERIOUS writers who only deal with DARK and SERIOUS things’ going on。 But in this context all that means is that kinky people are once again depicted as being emotionally unstable and abusive people with traumatised pasts。 Which ya really didn’t need to do。 I can’t wait for a ‘proper’ publisher to publish something that’s fun and sexy for the sake of it being fun and sexy。 People can have fun and be sexy guys。 Come on。 This collection isn’t all bad。 Removed from the context， a lot of the writing is interesting and enjoyable and I was engaged enough to finish it。 I just wish they’d actually achieved their stated aims。 。。。more

Jo ，

2。5 stars。 Many sad characters。 Not what I expected。

Emily ，

as a fiction anthology， meh。 as insight into kink， slightly less meh but still largely uneven， I think。I did love some of these！ “oh， youth” by brandon taylor， “safeword” by r。o。 kwon， “trust” by larissa pham， and “scissors” by kim fu were standouts for me。 others I found，，，， frustratingly opaque and even pretentious。 a lot of these feel removed and Constructed， which is fascinating in an academic sense since obviously a lot of the time the way we think about kink is very Immediate and Embodied。 as a fiction anthology， meh。 as insight into kink， slightly less meh but still largely uneven， I think。I did love some of these！ “oh， youth” by brandon taylor， “safeword” by r。o。 kwon， “trust” by larissa pham， and “scissors” by kim fu were standouts for me。 others I found，，，， frustratingly opaque and even pretentious。 a lot of these feel removed and Constructed， which is fascinating in an academic sense since obviously a lot of the time the way we think about kink is very Immediate and Embodied。 I’m not convinced the remove DOESN’T work here — in fact I think it’s a good technique in a few of these — but still， I was left wanting more :/ 。。。more

Katie ，

*2。7 I was looking forward to being taken into worlds I had never seen and into the minds of people I had never gotten to be inside before。 I wanted an exploration of the taboo and an unveiling of the reasons behind why something is taboo and why people seek it out。 I was sorely disappointed。 While many of these are beautifully written， they don't explore anything really interesting or new。 Where is the puppy play？ The people who are in a sexual relationship with their sofa？ The people who keep *2。7 I was looking forward to being taken into worlds I had never seen and into the minds of people I had never gotten to be inside before。 I wanted an exploration of the taboo and an unveiling of the reasons behind why something is taboo and why people seek it out。 I was sorely disappointed。 While many of these are beautifully written， they don't explore anything really interesting or new。 Where is the puppy play？ The people who are in a sexual relationship with their sofa？ The people who keep their spouse on a leash in the grocery store？ Where are the live sex shows？ The daddy doms？ They were all nowhere to be found。 In their place was an endless stream of boring BDSM being acted out by lifeless characters and hollow plots。 “The Cure” not really kinky at all。 Felt heavy-handed in its message。 1 star。 “Best Friendster Date Ever” was meh。 The sexual aspects were semi-kinky and therefore only semi-interesting。 The characters were not interesting。 1。5 stars。 “Trust” was a realistic depiction of vulnerability in relationships。 of wanting to be seen but afraid of showing anything。 of watching yourself being watched。 2 stars。 “Safeword” I loved the awkwardness of this。 The husbands worry。 The love and sacrifice that’s so intertwined with marriage。 How that connects to pleasing your partner in the bedroom。 Overall， the ending was semi-unsatisfactory but I still enjoyed the story。 Four stars。 “Canada” Beautiful and intriguing but also too short and vague to truly enjoy。 3 stars。 “Oh， Youth” my heart。 Potent human emotion。 Exemplifies the love and power that sex can lead to。 So good。 5 stars。 “Impact Play” A bit strange。 Definitely taboo。 Interesting characters。 4 stars。 “Mirror， Mirror” Beautiful and visceral。 3。5 stars。 “Reach” This lacked substance though the writing was intense。 It lacked the emotional tension that I think it was intended to have。 It felt just average to me。 2。5 stars。 “Gospodar” Tw: Rape。 Raw and terrifying and interesting。 This is scary。 4 stars。 “Scissors” Strange but good。 3 stars。 “The Lost Performance of the High Priestess of the Temple of Horror” disappointing despite how beautifully written this is。 It missed its mark with Maxa。 Her characterization felt hollow compared to the intended poignancy of the story。 Not kinky。 4 stars。 “The Voyeurs” 2。5 stars。 “Retouch/Switch” 1。5 stars。 “Emotional Technologies” Pretentious and uninteresting。 0 stars。 。。。more

Joel Miller ，

Pretty damn dull reading。 It was disappointing considering the expectations created by this assemblage of mostly interesting authors。 Unfortunately it felt as though they dumped random erotic material banged out in their computer notepads during moments of arousal。So much writing that strives to be erotic focuses on sexual mechanics and leaves the elements of human feeling and the question of achieving connection （or disconnection） behind。 And this collection doesn't set itself apart from that u Pretty damn dull reading。 It was disappointing considering the expectations created by this assemblage of mostly interesting authors。 Unfortunately it felt as though they dumped random erotic material banged out in their computer notepads during moments of arousal。So much writing that strives to be erotic focuses on sexual mechanics and leaves the elements of human feeling and the question of achieving connection （or disconnection） behind。 And this collection doesn't set itself apart from that unfortunately。 。。。more

M ，

corny but a couple gems

Emily Dickson ，

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC！My average rating for these stories was 2。96 so a solid 3 seems valid。I think I went into these stories assuming they'd just be fun， sex stories that used different types of kinks in each one and occasionally made a deep comment。 However， this is truly more of an exploration of so much more - gender， sexuality， abuse， trauma。 Once viewed from this angle， it's a far more entertaining collection。Basically this is academic smut， and I was expecting ao3 smut。Obviously Thank you NetGalley for the ARC！My average rating for these stories was 2。96 so a solid 3 seems valid。I think I went into these stories assuming they'd just be fun， sex stories that used different types of kinks in each one and occasionally made a deep comment。 However， this is truly more of an exploration of so much more - gender， sexuality， abuse， trauma。 Once viewed from this angle， it's a far more entertaining collection。Basically this is academic smut， and I was expecting ao3 smut。Obviously， some stories were great and some were not。 But overall， I think this is a lot of excellent writing and fantastic representation （especially trans） with sparse plot and little climax （ba dum tss）。Ratings:The Cure - 2Best Friendster Date Ever - 2。5Trust - 3Safeword - 4Canada - 3Oh， Youth - 2Impact Play - 4。5Mirror， Mirror - 4Reach - 3Gospodar - 2Scissors - 3。5The Lost Performance of the High Priestess of the Temple of Horror - 3。5The Voyeurs - 3。5Retouch/Switch - 2Emotional Technologies - 2 。。。more

Glen Helfand ，

What is kink？ I didn't look to this book with that question in mind， but I always had the impression that it was a wide open generous field that could be home to a whole range of peculiar， perverse practices。 There are a number of really good writers here， though the stories are homogenous in theme--BDSM dominates （hehe）。 The power dynamics generally seem to find writer characters giving up a sense of control， the thing they do for work。 Garth Greenwell's powerful piece， included in his book 'Cl What is kink？ I didn't look to this book with that question in mind， but I always had the impression that it was a wide open generous field that could be home to a whole range of peculiar， perverse practices。 There are a number of really good writers here， though the stories are homogenous in theme--BDSM dominates （hehe）。 The power dynamics generally seem to find writer characters giving up a sense of control， the thing they do for work。 Garth Greenwell's powerful piece， included in his book 'Cleanness'， but it is one of many that track such similar terrain。 Roxanne Gay's story ably shifts the genders and intimacy quotient， but the terrain feels so similar。 It is the stories that pull back a bit to reveal other nuances。 Brandon Taylor's tale of specific sort of sugar baby， or Chris Kraus's balance of sex and theory， which aptly describes SM practices as theater。 Speaking of which， Carmen Maria Machado literally sets her lush yarn in the Grand Guignol theater， and offers something that sparks a more embroidered fantasy， a more satisfying encounter。 。。。more

Amanda Cabrera ，

Meh

Gabriela ，

Not of all of these were great but the good ones were excellent。 Would recommend

Amber ，

Like all story anthologies most are hits and a few miss

Brett ，

The Carmen Maria Machado and Brandon Taylor stories are certainly worth seeking out。 It seems like most of the authors have a pretty uniform idea of what kink is （/is about？）， namely power imbalance through some sort of bdsm lens。 I wouldn’t say I’m knowledgeable on the subject， but even to me the collection seemed a little narrow in scope。 I remember the NYT review of this collection said something along the lines of “like dreams， other people’s kinks are rarely interesting to hear about，” and The Carmen Maria Machado and Brandon Taylor stories are certainly worth seeking out。 It seems like most of the authors have a pretty uniform idea of what kink is （/is about？）， namely power imbalance through some sort of bdsm lens。 I wouldn’t say I’m knowledgeable on the subject， but even to me the collection seemed a little narrow in scope。 I remember the NYT review of this collection said something along the lines of “like dreams， other people’s kinks are rarely interesting to hear about，” and while that’s maybe not always true in life — it’s pretty spot on for how I felt about most of the stories。 。。。more

Calvin ，

I’ve been overdue for a short story collection， and BOY OH BOY did I pick a good one。 First off， the incredible ensemble of writers included speaks for itself， and if you follow me， you know I was already a huge fan of Alexander Chee， Brandon Taylor， and Carmen Maria Machado。 This collection only furthers my devotion！Each of these stories brings an eye-opening and literary perspective into the world of kink。 I loved the diversity of voices （so much lgbtq+ representation！） and appreciated each st I’ve been overdue for a short story collection， and BOY OH BOY did I pick a good one。 First off， the incredible ensemble of writers included speaks for itself， and if you follow me， you know I was already a huge fan of Alexander Chee， Brandon Taylor， and Carmen Maria Machado。 This collection only furthers my devotion！Each of these stories brings an eye-opening and literary perspective into the world of kink。 I loved the diversity of voices （so much lgbtq+ representation！） and appreciated each story’s take on the beauty， daring， longing， and most importantly love that exists across the spectrum of sexual preferences and interests。 Nothing you’ll read here is Twilight fan fiction， rather a creative， respectful， and intimate study of play， power， and vulnerability。My favorite stories from this collection were “Scissors” by Kim Fu， “Oh Youth” by Brandon Taylor， and “Impact Play” by Peter Mountford。 That said， I highly recommend overall， as each story gifts something fresh and new—a smart and seductive curation！ 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Kink: Stories

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Kink: Stories&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Kink: Stories&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0