As her friends in school give the impression that they are sexually active, so Melissa gets curious. She finds herself in a situation where she is alone with an older boy, Daniele. Daniele looks like an angel and his kisses taste of strawberry. Melissa has her first sexual experience, performing uncertain oral sex on the boy. As unenjoyable as it was, Melissa is filled with all of the awkwardness and not-knowing of adolescence, and smitten by Daniele, is eager to give herself to him. Daniele turns out to be less than angelic and his disdainful treatment of Melissa does nothing to cool her ardour for him.

Daniele is just the first of a string of older boys and men with whom Melissa gets involved with. All of them use her as an object for their own gratification. Melissa finds herself in the most unsavoury of situations, and all the while she thinks that she is in control and that it is she who is using the others.

Throughout the course of the short book, our intrepid heroine explores many of the possibilities offered by sex: group sex, bondage/S&M, internet sex, masturbation and lesbianism are all given a lash. In the end she finds what she was looking for all along: the kind of satisfaction which can only come with true love.

And that, after all of the sensationalism surrounding the publication of the book is what lies at the heart of Melissa P.’s account of her awakening. Ultimately the book is a good old fashioned love story, with old fashioned values at its core. First, however, all of the alternatives are explored.

Melissa P. burst onto the literary scene with this, her first book. Aside from the outré nature of the book, it is a brilliant achievement for such a young writer. She writes with a sensitivity and wisdom which far outweighs her tender years. Irrespective of the extent of the autobiographical nature of the plot, the writing is very good. Using a direct unflinching style, she possesses a very good ability to tell a story.

The cold, detached tone of the narrative is indicative of the author’s state of mind. Caught in the no-man’s-land of the teenage wasteland, Melissa has little respect for her self and endures repeated humiliations in the vain hope that she will be loved in return. Each time, though, she only finds hurt.

The book’s title refers to Melissa’s habit of strenuously brushing her hair every night after her dangerous liaisons. Brushing and brushing her hair, she is obviously attempting to brush off all traces of her lover. She is also trying to revert to the “princess” of her childhood, as her mother called her, while brushing her hair. The act points quite clearly to where Melissa is at. She is obviously lost in life and yearns for the security and happiness of her childhood when she knew her parents loved her.

Now all grown up, her relationship with her parents is different. She lies effortlessly to her mother about her whereabouts and her comings-and-goings. Her father appears to be indifferent to her and this no doubt hurts her deeply. Perhaps this might explain her tryst with an older, married man. This affair ends in a bout of S&M, which gives her enormous satisfaction. It could be construed as revenge on an ignoring daddy, inflicting pain on a proxy father, representing the man who causes her a great amount of silent pain. It’s a fine line with S&M, but Melissa aims for the far reaches of what even the most masochistic of perverts could possibly tolerate.

The same amateur psychological reading could be applied to some of Melissa’s other messy rendezvous. The sensitive, hurt little girl using the new-found weapon of her developing sexuality to get back at totems of her misfortune.

Ultimately, ‘One Hundred Strokes...’ is a tragically sad fairy tale. She gives the impression that she has come out the far end of it a better, stronger person, but the subjugation she endures at points throughout the course are tough to take.

Yes, it is a frightening indication of what teenagers get up to and parents will find it hard to swallow. Whatever Melissa P. does next will be interesting. Having arrested the literary world with her shocking tale, the coquettish young scribe must now live up to the challenge of the difficult second book. Whether she succeeds or not, her debut effort will have a lasting reputation.

Sean Walsh lives with his wife and two children near the town Killala in Co. Mayo. As a music and arts writer his work has appeared in publications such as artswest, CAFE News, Céide Review, magpie magazine, Hot Press and Irish Music magazine. He is also currently film critic with the Connaught Telegraph newspaper. After dropping out of college while studying Philosophy, he blagged his way into working in arts administration, which he still does. Currently completing an Open University Hons Degree in Humanities (one more module to go), he hopes to get down to serious writing soon.

© 2006 Laura Hird All rights reserved.