- ASIN: B0C6YY11JW
- Publication date: June 1, 2023
- Language: English
- Print length: 277 pages
- Page numbers source ISBN: B0C6VTZJV8
- Genre: LGBTQ+ Crime Fiction
The BookViral Review:
Another deliciously over-the-top, debacle-drenched read from wordsmith Robin Anderson, ‘Pits, Privates and Feet’ will have you giggling and aghast in equal measure as you peruse its pages.
With the flawless plot flooded with wildly inappropriate personalities, Anderson’s character composition is second to none – every one larger than life with over-the-top wardrobes, unlikely pairings, furious feuds and forgiveness. Displaying an unashamed talent for sizing up human nature, he delivers them to his reader immaculately packaged in technicolour glory – but with the everyday reptilian qualities of jealously, envy and revenge just peeping through, rendering his characters wholly believable.
Packed full of dastardly inventive deeds, double entendre and designer dropping, Anderson’s razor-sharp wit leaves his reader somewhere between blushing and childish chortling as he gleefully exposes all in a rompish excursion through the very best of London high life, complete with alternative and inventive modes of pleasure, childish one-up-man-ship and back-stabbing.
Anderson’s tale hops backwards and forwards between London and Venice as the reader is treated to some side-splitting treats, such as the very public and inventive exposing of a plethora of very old and very used limp slimy condoms, harvested from the lavender-clad designer Cyril Cristal’s souvenir speciali; his crystalized condom collection.
However, what stands out most of all amongst all the frolicking and fun is the quality of Robin’s writing. His literacy gymnastics are astounding- they ebb and flow in a pattern all of their own, whilst his word choice is nothing short of fabulous, with achingly amusing hyperbole and exquisitely ridiculous metaphor, whilst alliteration drips off the end of his pen like a dream.
In fact, when it comes to the serious business of writing, Robin has it all.
Despite the modernity of his frank and often deliciously naughty narrative, there remains a sense of old-fashioned tittering and double entendre, of boys in the playground speaking about something they ought not, which adds implicitly to the humour, and keeps his work light and playful. Nevertheless, underneath it all is a touching vulnerability in the wonderfully feminine trans supermodel Vestal Verona, and the underlying message that you can be exactly who you wish and your mental health will be significantly better off if you are.
Furthermore, just when you are thinking this a merely a tale of preposterous payback featuring mostly brown stuff of the nether region variety, vendetta takes on an altogether more sinister tone as a horrified Vestal Verona receives the private members of Thaddeus, one of Cristal’s Haute Couture team, nestled lovingly in a gift-wrapped box.
Followed tout suite by other gruesomely harvested body parts, the tale bounds to its conclusion, as a dramatic procession of twists delivers an explosive finale, complete with an elegant cliff-hanger which begs for a revisit, rendering ‘Pits, Privates and Feet’ another 5-star read from Anderson and firmly recommended for those fond of a touch of quality flirty (and sometimes grotesque) fun.
