Obsession

Gloria Vanderbilt's erotic novel: Will you read it?

Mar 24, 2009, 07:57 PM | by Kate Ward
Categories: Books

We get a lot of strange things in the mail here at EW. Letters from prisoners, an endless supply of inspirational books from Randy Jackson, and drinking paraphernalia from entertainment companies that seem to buy into the stereotype that all journalists are alkies (alkies, no; winos, maybe). Usually, we hardly take a second glance, but a book caught our eye this week: Obsession: An Erotic Tale by socialite/artist/mum-to-Anderson Cooper Gloria Vanderbilt.

True, Vanderbilt is a published author, so it's not that much of a shock to see her penning another novel. But an erotic one? What would her refined alma mater, Miss Porter's School, think? According to the press release, Obsession, which goes on stands in June, surrounds a widow, Priscilla, who gets -- ahem -- excited while reading "with voyeuristic intensity" a bundle of letters about her husband's secret mistress. "Will Priscilla's obsession -- and newly awakened sexuality -- find the satisfaction it seeks?" Oh, my! I'll probably read Obsession out of pure curiosity. Not that it would be that much of an undertaking. The novel's only a short 143 pages long, and boasts a font size more fit for a Goosebumps tale than a piece of naughty literature. Either way, I'm already hooked. Or, obsessed, if you will. What about you, PopWatchers? Will you pick up Obsession?


Photo Credit: Rabbani and Solimene/WireImage.com