Intercourse - Robert Olen Butler

-What were you thinking?
-When?
-During.
-During.
-Yes. Not what goes where. Thinking deep down.
-About you.
-Liar.
-So what were you thinking?
-About you.

The author imagines what was going on in the minds of fifty historical couples during a sexual encounter. Butler is a great writer who is adept at writing fictionalized first person accounts of famous people. His prior book, Severance, was composed of short monologues of the last thoughts from people about to be decapitated. I liked this book more because of its dark humor and contrasting between the men's and women's minds during intimate moments. The couplings, beginning with Adam and Eve, are purported to have actually occurred and include some unusual pairings--Jefferson and Sally Hemming, J. Edgar Hoover and Clyde Tolson, Milton Berle and Aimee McPherson, Babe Ruth and a prostitute.

This is a very enjoyable read. It struck me how almost none of the people had erotic thoughts during the sex act, but instead pondered their lives and their futures. The men have expansive ideas about their importance while the women seem more aligned with reality about the men and their situation.