Library Journal

This latest novel from Boyle (Drop City) was inspired by Dr. Alfred Kinsey, who of course pioneered sex research in the United States in the 1940s and 1950s. The story is told by John Milk, Kinsey's first hire, on the day of Kinsey's funeral. Milk was first introduced to Professor Kinsey ("Prok," to his friends) as a student in his marriage class (basically a crash course on sex with graphic slide shows). At the end of the semester, Prok appeals to his students to share their sex histories "as they are absolutely vital to our understanding of human sexuality," and Milk comes forward. Soon after, Prok takes on Milk as his associate, training him to conduct interviews on his own. Thus, the field of sexology has begun, and the novel is propelled forward from there. As the research expands, and the inner circle grows to include Corcoran and Rutledge, Milk is faced with situations that continually threaten his marriage to beautiful young Iris, whom he truly loves. As part of the "research," he is expected to engage in extramarital sex acts with both men and women, on the basis that it has nothing to do with love. This novel considers the conflict between our animal instincts and our human emotions, raising questions about the relationships among sex, marriage, love, and jealousy, and is at once titillating and maddening. Readers everywhere will take a closer look at their own sex lives. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/04.]-Dale Raben, Library Journal Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.