THE LIMITS OF PLEASURE
A year after the death of his Holocaust-surviving grandmother, Dave Miller leaves Boston for Amsterdam, the home of Anne Frank, whom his Grandma revered. Dave, feeling undeserving to confront the suffering that Grandma endured, cannot bring himself to visit Anne Frank's house. Angry at himself and the world, Dave seeks out risky erotic trysts that mix sacred ritual with profane hedonism. Then he meets Alexander, a sexually reserved Dutchman of Indonesian heritage, who has identity conflicts of his own. The relationship shakes both men's lives to their core.
Readers' reactions:
“The Limits of Pleasure is a true page-turner.... Tremendously wise, hilariously funny, and supremely sexy, Jaffe’s big-hearted novel affirms our faith in the power of the spirit, the glory of the flesh, to make us more fully human. A thoughtful, deeply satisfying novel.” Karl Woelz, co-editor, Men on Men 2000
"Jaffe is a major talent." Jerry Wheeler, Out in Print.
“By daringly juxtaposing sacred and erotic imageries, the novel presents a courageous portrait of a middle-aged man who slowly learns to define his Jewish identity on his own terms.” The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Multiethnic American Literature.