Baker, Nicholson

(US, 1957–)

Baker was originally from New York, but moved to northern California. His comedies of contemporary sexual manners may owe something to John Updike but are far more linguistically inventive and digressive. Baker published two novels, The Mezzanine (1988) and Room Temperature (1990), before the sexually explicit books which brought him widespread attention. Vox (1992), reputedly given by Monica Lewinsky to President Clinton, is concerned with phone sex; a long conversation between two people that is titillating and equivocal as to moral consequences. The Fermata (1994) is a brilliant parody of both pornography and science fiction, as temporary office worker Arno Strine enters ‘The Fold’, stopping time to examine the lives and bodies of those around him. The novel fully exploits the comically erotic possibilities of this conceit, and debates the moral issues involved.

John Updike, Will Self  JS