The Pornographer's Daughter

A Memoir of Childhood, My Dad, and Deep Throat

By: Kristin Battista-Frazee

Narrated by: Nancy Linari

Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

More than forty years after Deep Throat arrived on the cultural scene and inspired a sexual revolution, questions about the ethics of pornography and its impact on society are still being asked today and remain as controversial as ever.

Kristin Battista-Frazee was only four years old in 1974 when her father, Anthony Battista, was indicted by the federal government for distributing the now famous porn film Deep Throat. As her father unexpectedly became an early pioneer in the emerging porn industry and transformed himself from Philadelphia stockbroker to porn broker, this indictment threatened his family's stability. The stress drove Kristin's mother, Frances Battista, to worry endlessly if her husband would be put in jail. She became so depressed that she attempted suicide. Kristin survived this family trauma to live a surprisingly normal life. But instead of leaving the past behind her, she developed a burning curiosity to understand her family's history. Why did the federal government so vehemently prosecute this case? And why did her father get involved in distributing this notorious porn film in the first place? Did the influence of pornography in fact make Kristin a better person? Answering these questions and reconciling her dramatic family history with her life as a wife and mother became her mission.

The Pornographer's Daughter is an insider's glimpse into the events that made Deep Throat and pornography so popular, as well as what it was like to come of age against the backdrop of the pornography business.

©2014 Kristin Battista-Frazee (P)2014 Audible Inc.

Thoroughly enjoyable listen. Not a dirty book.

The book was written very well for Audible. The narrator was excellent. Although the book went into the distribution process and ensuing criminal prosecution, it did not go into the sexual details of the movie. The one exception was when two older female family members went to see the movie to see what all the fuss was about. They walked out in shock, then exclaimed, “how did she get the penis down her throat,”then laughed. That would seem to make it a dry listen, but the author presented everything so well, going into depth of the effect of the notoriety of the criminal prosecution, and the resultant infamy on the family name that press coverage brings. Divorce, suicide attempts, family moved out of state.

We lived in Florida at the time when a local theatre’s billboard in large type had two words. Deep Throat. We didn’t go to see it but years later bought the DVD. We enjoyed it. It was a clever comedy with very graphic sex. I never expected a comedy, nor the extreme graphic scenes.

Overall a very enjoyable listen and an excellent listen to help you fall asleep. The narrator kept a level tone with no loud outburst to wake you up. I have Audible books best suited for walking, while this is excellent to help you fall asleep.

Good read

It wasn't what I expected. I found myself agreeing with the last paragraphs. Though I'm still processing what I just finished, I'm glad I gave it a listen

Not as much depth as expected

Given the author’s background and the legal challenges her father faced, I expected the book to have more depth to it. The descriptions of her mother’s struggle to maintain her mental health in the face of her father’s suspected infidelity was compelling and as a reader you can really feel for her, especially as she’s being gaslighted into thinking she’s crazy when she’s anything but. Her mother’s portion of the story was the most engaging of the book, everything else was just sort of middle of the road. While Battista-Frazee’s experience must have had much in common with her peers during her teen years, it seemed like the writing could’ve been better to highlight how she was just another kid but also how different her upbringing was from your “average American teenager” during this period. Overall, I struggled to stay engaged evenly throughout the book.