sadomasochism-for-accountantsBy Rosy Barnes
Marion Boyars, $14.95, 377 pages

Sadomasochism for Accountants is a first-time novel for up and coming Rosy Barnes, who has seized quite an impressive background in the theatrical and writing genre. She takes on the Herculean effort of entertaining her readers with this enjoyable account of Paula and her plight to be anything but boring. Paula has been in an eight-year relationship with her heavyset, balding, accountant boyfriend, Alan. He dumps her for a younger woman, simply telling her it’s because she is boring. All three of these individuals, who work for the same company, have their own motives and storylines. Alan fancy himself a James Bond-type; Belinda, the new girlfriend, needs to be the best at everything; and Paula, who attempts to get Alan back by stalking him, realizes early on that does no good, and neither do her high jinks of scaling his apartment walls or displaying herself naked on his mantel . She desperately turns to the local S & M club to learn how to be exciting and finds a group of misfits – albeit a confident collection of regulars. In reality, the characters are sad and farfetched, but Barnes quite capably pulls you into her story with an unmitigated portrayal of this secret life. What an absolute pleasure to read, escaping our own dull lives into blissful abandon of self-indulgent behavior, laughing all the while.

Reviewed by M. Chris Johnson,