The Book of Love: In Search of the Kamasutra Kama Sutra [Hardcover]

The _Kamasutra_ is a misunderstood book, and it has been misunderstood largely because of the censors who have given it a reputation for naughty depictions of sexual variety and athleticism. Not only was the original book without illustrations, it describes only eighteen positions for lovemaking, most of them quite within the realm of execution by non-gymnasts. It has nothing to do with tantric sex and much to do with civilized behavior. It describes an idealized way of life rather than being a practical sex manual for its time or for our own (the excellent _The Guide to Getting It On!_ is much more fun and informative for current purposes). The wild sex that the word "kamasutra" now promises (courtesy of those, especially the censors, who have enabled its sensationalizing) isn't a theme in the book itself. According to James McConnachie in _The Book Of Love: The Story of the Kamasutra_ (Metropolitan Books), the sex in the book is mannered and moral. How the book got the reputation as a repository for sensational sex secrets is McConnachie's elegantly-told tale, and it is fascinating, reaching back to the third century and all the way up into our own.

The author of the _Kamasutra_ was one Vatsyayana, who described himself as a white-haired scholar and thus long past sexual distractions. He was interested in rescuing a sexual tradition from an increasingly ascetic third-century India. Vatsyayana describes the life and surroundings of a smart, young urbanite with plenty of money and leisure. There are seven books within the _Kamasutra_, only one of which has to do with the surprisingly moderate bedroom acrobatics. When eighteenth century translators were eager to go to work on the text, it was surprisingly hard to find a full text to work with. When the text was discovered and gathered, the job was done under the inspiration of Sir Richard Burton, who was quite interested in shocking his fellow Britons into what he felt was a more open discussion of sex. Burton was not, as many assume, the translator, although he was the guiding genius of the project. He provided notes, and his notoriety guaranteed that the text would not be printed in some obscure academic journal. McConnachie writes that not only did Burton ensure the text would be well circulated within his erotomaniac circle, it was his "status as a great explorer and Orientalist that lent the _Kamasutra_ authenticity as a piece of anthropological archaeology, offering a fig-leaf cover of at least semi-respectability." When it was published in 1883, it was in an expensive edition, to avoid charges of corrupting the working classes while it had a good run among their betters.

Pirate publishers, however, had a field day with the text immediately after it was issued, and were especially interested in leaving out everything but the "good" bits, and putting in pictures. With attempts of suppression, it lead a shadowy life as a forbidden book and has been associated in most people's minds with pornography. When the ban against Lady Chatterley collapsed in 1960, it became an over-the-counter commodity. McConnachie praises a scholarly one from 2002, although the Burton edition will always be a landmark, and will always be in print and timely. Furthermore, we have The Bedside Kama Sutra or Red-Hot Sex the Kama Sutra Way, or Deepak Chopra's version (I'm no prude, but I am too inhibited to think of even looking into that one), not to mention a couple of examples of pop-up book versions ("even if the bits that pop up are not necessarily those you'd expect", McConnachie jokes). The book has escaped from grubby, clandestine shelves in dark bookshops, but usually in ways that transformed it from its original content and purpose. McConnachie has written an amusing and instructive history of an important text and its sometimes preposterous interpretations and social effects.