Abraham Lincoln was once asked to review a romantic novel. 

It may seem absurd to think of a wartime president being asked to do something as trivial as reviewing a romantic novel.  However, whilst America was recently at war with Iraq, George Bush appeared on the TV show Deal or No Deal, so it seems there is a tradition of America’s leaders pursuing trivial pursuits during times of national crisis.

Having read the romantic novel, Lincoln said, “People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like.”  These, I think, are some of the wisest words I have ever read.  As a book reviewer, I consider this pithy summary to be a mantra which I keep at the forefront of my mind when I’m compiling my own thoughts about a piece of fiction.

Trailer Park Nights V: L.A. Women Don’t Wear Underwear by Randall Lang, is the fifth novel in an ongoing series of stories.  There is a prefatory notice, urging readers to start enjoying the series from the beginning.  However, this is followed by an explicit prologue presented as “…a brief introduction and explanation of the events leading up to the beginning of this portion of the story.” 

This prologue involves Randy, Marianne, Linda and Jordan in an entanglement of swapping, swinging, group sex and strap-ons.  The scene concludes with Randy worried about the homoerotic tones of an episode of explicitness that occurred between himself and Jordan.

Randall Lang does a good job of explaining his character’s motives and reactions to such developments.  Randy (the character) is presented as uncomfortable with the cognitive dissonance of receiving pleasure from an experience outside his boundaries of perceived acceptability.  This is shown to the reader with the thoughtful detail of the character’s subsequent confusion.

Fortunately, Randy gains perspective with the help of his old acquaintance Terri.  And, from there, he is able to help Linda move out to L.A. pursuing her dream of becoming a porn movie star.

I can’t criticise Trailer Park Nights V overtly because I haven’t read Trailer Park Nights I, II, III or IV.  I can say that the writing style didn’t particularly work for me.  However, I suspect the readers who have been faithfully following Randy and Linda et al from the beginning will be used to Lang’s authorial voice and comfortable with the tone.  The sex scenes are explicitly detailed and competently paced, to produce an arousing effect as well as to illicit sympathy for the existing characters.

If you’re a follower of the series, and wondering what happens in this instalment, I won’t run the risk of including spoilers.  Instead, I’ll quote Lang from his author’s notes at the conclusion of the novel:

This fifth book was started with the intention of introducing hard core BDSM and homosexual exploration into the storyline. But, as authors always say, the author does not write the story, the characters write the story. These characters were more interested in the pure enjoyment of sex than they were in dominating or being dominated by others.  Instead, in true trailer park fashion, they opened their world to new characters and embarked upon the adventure of chasing a dream, all within a tapestry of exciting sexual encounters.

Perhaps my reservations come because I’m simply not a lover of sequels.  Terminator 2 aside, I have yet to see a follow-up movie, or read a follow-up novel that matched the promise or satisfaction of the original.  Or perhaps, because I came to this series of stories so late, I’m missing out on a lot of the soap-opera style qualities pertinent to the developing narrative as it follows Randy and Linda’s continuing sexual adventures.

Nevertheless, to quote the ineffable Mr Lincoln:

People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like.