The Position
Encyclopedia
The Position: A Novel is a 2005 novel
by Meg Wolitzer
. It tells the story of a book
titled Pleasuring: One Couple's Journey to Fulfillment and the effects it has on a family
.
The fictional book
is a sex manual, much like The Joy of Sex
. It was written by the parents and is full of detailed illustrations of them engaged in numerous sexual positions. One day while the parents are out, the children discover it and their lives are changed forever. The story looks at the effect the book has on their lives over the course of many decades, jumping forward decade by decade. For example, it looks at the effect it has on the child at 10, then when they are 20 and so on.
The author tells the story by switching among the different points of view of the members of the family. The parents are unaware the children have discovered the book, so their story is very different from the children's. It also explores how each character feels about the others. For example, the husband thinks his wife is the most sexually desirable woman to him on the Earth and feels he is the luckiest man alive. On the other hand, she feels her husband is too mechanical when it comes to lovemaking, approaching it as some sort of scientific experiment.
The author
of the book, Meg Wolitzer, was a guest on NPR's program Fresh Air
on May 10, 2005 discussing the book and her life as an author.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Meg Wolitzer
Meg Wolitzer
Meg Wolitzer is an American writer, born on Long Island, New York. She is the daughter of novelist Hilma Wolitzer.She studied creative writing at Smith College and graduated from Brown University in 1981. She wrote her first novel, Sleepwalking, a story of three college girls obsessed with...
. It tells the story of a book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
titled Pleasuring: One Couple's Journey to Fulfillment and the effects it has on a family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
.
The fictional book
Fictional book
A fictional book is a book that sometimes provides the basis of the plot of a story, a common thread in a series of books, or the works of a particular writer or canon of work. A fictional book may also be used as a mode of conceit to illustrate a story within a story.-Prominent fictional...
is a sex manual, much like The Joy of Sex
The Joy of Sex
The Joy of Sex is an illustrated sex manual by Alex Comfort, M.B., Ph.D., first published in 1972. An updated edition was released in September, 2008.-Overview:...
. It was written by the parents and is full of detailed illustrations of them engaged in numerous sexual positions. One day while the parents are out, the children discover it and their lives are changed forever. The story looks at the effect the book has on their lives over the course of many decades, jumping forward decade by decade. For example, it looks at the effect it has on the child at 10, then when they are 20 and so on.
The author tells the story by switching among the different points of view of the members of the family. The parents are unaware the children have discovered the book, so their story is very different from the children's. It also explores how each character feels about the others. For example, the husband thinks his wife is the most sexually desirable woman to him on the Earth and feels he is the luckiest man alive. On the other hand, she feels her husband is too mechanical when it comes to lovemaking, approaching it as some sort of scientific experiment.
The author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of the book, Meg Wolitzer, was a guest on NPR's program Fresh Air
Fresh Air
Fresh Air is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States. The show is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its longtime host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to 450 stations and claimed 4.5 million listeners. The show...
on May 10, 2005 discussing the book and her life as an author.