What’s better than a New York City novel about cheating husbands and swinger wives, Brooklyn sex clubs, Manhattan real estate, and waiting in line for cronuts? Maybe nothing, which is why debut novelist Taylor Hahn’s “The Lifestyle” will probably be the beach read of the summer, from Coney Island to the Hamptons.
Hahn lives in Los Angeles now, but not long ago, she was a Manhattan lawyer at a cocktail party listening to a conversation about swinging. She was the “eureka” moment of hers, realizing that the idea of a married couple becoming a wife swapper was perfect fodder for a novel.
“He had the potential for a lot. Sex, drama, love, jealousy. But I did my research and realized it was something bigger, so I wanted to write a sex-positive, feminist novel about this woman who unashamedly explores her sexuality.”
One Friday night, the novelist’s protagonist, Georgina Wagman, decides to visit her husband at the law office they share. She discovers her supposedly loyal spouse of hers in a compromising position with a colleague. After some initial pain, the pragmatic Georgina tries to fix her marriage by enlisting her husband (and all her friends!) to explore New York’s sex club scene. The resulting antics are described in hilarious detail.
Not too explicit, “The Lifestyle” is actually a novel for the faint of heart, according to Hahn.
Hahn, who now resides in Los Angeles, was inspired while overhearing a conversation about swinging at a Manhattan cocktail party.
“I would say the book is changing for the masses,” she says. “Everyone should feel comfortable taking it, regardless of their lifestyle experience or comfort with their own sexuality.”
By the end of the novel, Georgina, an avid feminist, is such a fan of swinging that she considers herself a “coitus crusader” or a “swinger suffragette.”
It’s a view Hahn also has, as by the end of “The Lifestyle” his characters are better off with their decision to explore, whether that results in stronger marriages for some and divorces for others.
“Swinging helped them grow as people, to explore a side of themselves that they hadn’t explored before. While it may have changed their lives in different ways, it was all for the better.”
Source: nypost.com