House of Holes

By: Nicholson Baker

Narrated by: Jeff Woodman

Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Shandee finds a friendly arm at a granite quarry. Ned drops down a hole in a golf course. Luna meets a man made of light bulbs at a tanning parlor. So begins Nicholson Baker's fuse-blowing, sex-positive escapade, House of Holes. Baker, the best-selling author of The Mezzanine, Vox, and The Fermata, who "writes like no one else in America" (Newsweek), returns to erotic territory with a gleefully over-the-top novel set in a pleasure resort, where normal rules don't apply. Visitors, pulled in via their drinking straws or the dryers in laundromats, can undergo crotchal transfers... make love to trees... visit the Groanrooms and the 12-screen Porndecahedron... or pussy-surf the White Lake. It's very expensive, of course, but there are work-study programs. In charge of day-to-day operations is Lila, a former hospital administrator whose breast milk has unusual regenerative properties.

Brimful of good-nature, wit, and surreal sexual vocabulary, House of Holes is a modern-day Hieronymous Boschian bacchanal that is sure to surprise, amuse, and arouse.

©2011 Nicholson Baker (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Wild and hallucinatory.... Every page offers something smart and amusing.... Full of fearlessness, cheerfulness, wit and brio." ( The Washington Post)

"Truly uproarious.... Baker is one of the most consistently enticing writers of our time.... Readers with a fondness for richly ridiculous diction, witty provocation and graphic sexual prose that celebrates desire, frailty and the comedy of life will not be disappointed." ( The New York Times Book Review)

Somebody Help Me Out Here, Please!

Imagine if Richard Brautigan wrote a book about an erotic Disney World. That would be Nicholson Baker's "House Of Holes."

I listened to this entire book (or should I say "hole" book?) waiting to see what the author was getting at, and at the end, it seemed he was getting at nothing. "House Of Holes" is just not about anything. Instead of a strong narrative to pull me along, Baker uses titillation which got quite tedious after a couple of hours.

Jeff Woodman’s narration was good, but his character voices were too cartoony. He made everybody sound like libidinous idiots, especially the women.

And speaking of women, I couldn’t help noticing that all the rave reviews for this book were written by men. I’d be curious to see some reactions from women.

Would somebody on this forum please help me out and tell me what this book is about? Show me what I missed. Let me in on the joke.

Really Graphically Visual

This was a really "FUN" book, to say the least. It was very graphic, but I loved the descriptions of human anatomy. Made me laugh out loud many times. I'd recommend this to a mature audience that isn't highly offended by much.

good literate porn

Would you consider the audio edition of House of Holes to be better than the print version?

handier for me. Easier to listen while running or driving than to sit down and read.

What other book might you compare House of Holes to and why?

Ann Rice's Beauty trilogy, another example of literate porn. Both authors know how to write standard English, and know how to write raunch without sexist or approaches taking me out of the mood. Also, listen to Susie Bright's interview with Nicholson Baker in her In Bed series for a good idea of the tone and approach of the book.

What about Jeff Woodman???s performance did you like?

Clear and easy to understand. A good professional reader.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no. It is a collection of related short stories.

What a waste of time.

I laughed three times. I only finished it because I used a credit on it. It was recommended to me. I think I am letting that friend go.

Hilarious

This was hilarious and entertaining!! The reviews starting this was bad were trying to take this seriously. This i's comedy, enjoy it for a laugh!!

Highly Entertaining

Very entertaining circumstances these characters find themselves exploring. Their sexual desires and actions are articulated to the tenth degree. No detail is spared. Good to the last drop!

Hilarious & weird erotica without any darkness

A book about sex, not romance. you'll love it or hate it. I loved it.

Author may have used mad libs to write this.

The book is sophomoric at best. No true continuity nor actual character development. Nothing close to erotic, just a jumble of disjointed adjectives that at times seems like the author was using a mad libs story as his writing tool. Save yourself the hassle of have to exchange this book and skip it.

A fantastic performance of a very funny book

Would you consider the audio edition of House of Holes to be better than the print version?

I read this in print first and loved it, but Jeff Woodman's performance makes it twice as much fun.

What about Jeff Woodman’s performance did you like?

Jeff Woodman is a genius at quickly characterizing the many, many people who make appearances in this book. He brings out the comedy in ways I'd never imagined when I was reading the book in print.

A Wild Ride!

What made the experience of listening to House of Holes the most enjoyable?

Talk about thinking outside the box! This book is wildly imaginative, cleverly humorous and incredibly sexy.