Illustrations from Melinda Camber Porter's Luminous Bodies Series of Paintings
Forward by Saul Bellow
Frank is set in the early seventies, in an era when sexual license and hallucinogenic drugs had become an accepted part of western mores. In Frank the world of excess is no longer born from a rebellion against the status quo as it had been during the sixties; it has become the fashionable style.
Melinda Camber Porter, in the tradition of a Voltaire or Camus, uses the novel to explore the key questions of our existence, attempting to redefine our concept of human freedom and bondage, as well as our definition of sexuality. The subtleties and originality of Melinda Camber Porter's vision are worthy of a John Stuart Mill or a William Blake. She miraculously creates a world where, undeniably, spiritual infinity springs from sexual desire. But, unlike many "philosophical" novels, Frank is born from the passionate, volcanic imagination of the author, who plunges us into a tactile, sensual world where intuition and vision are our guides.
Read an excerpt from Frank here
Saul Bellow on Frank: “The great “meltdown” of modern sexual anarchy is the real subject of Melinda Camber Porter's novel FRANK. To judge by the electronic speed of her narrative and the Stendhalian decisiveness of her characters she has learned all there is to learn about the anarchic phase (if it is a phase). Nevertheless she has some hope for a post-anarchic future. Even now, she seems to say, love is possible. A kind of love, perhaps. Some kind of love. Readers will understand, without coaching, what she means.”
Mike Nichols on Frank: “FRANK is a pleasure in every way and is extremely well written. I don’t think of it so much as an erotic novel as a romantic one, although I see why it could be considered erotic. I liked the book very much.”
