Bad Sex

Sexual politics in this long-awaited debut novel

Growing up in the ’60s and ’70s in the tough streets of Mayfair, Joburg, Sammy Baptista learnt how to use his fists. But life will teach him that fists cannot defend you against everything. When he scores a plum job and catches the fancy of his sexy boss, Sammy thinks he has landed with his backside in the butter.

A steamy love affair ensues, but Sabina, like others before her, has Sammy by the balls. In vigorous conversations with his shrink, he cuts away layers of ‘bad sex’: between fathers and mothers; men and women; and men and men.

Tracing Sammy’s boyhood to its vulnerable core, rooting for him in this frank and enlightening novel, Leon de Kock breaks new ground to tell the often ignored, raw story of many men. - See more