"In a culture that pays clamorous lip service to the ideal of tolerance, Daniel Bergner''s The Other Side of Desire is that rare instance of the real thing. The author levels a curious yet compassionate gaze at his subjects, who grapple with the way desire disfigures and exalts. In their struggles to accept themselves for wanting what they want, they are desperate, and often, heroic figures." - Will Blythe, author of To Hate Like This Is to Be Happy Forever "Daniel Bergner''s characters live in erotic no-go zones where most of us would fear to tread. Their stories will sadden, enlighten, disturb, and move you--for they are completely, intimately human, which is a tribute to Bergner''s great skill as a journalist and his understanding that the normal and perverse exist not in separate worlds but on a discomfiting, even threatening continuum." - George Packer, New York Times bestselling author of THE ASSASSINS'' GATE "In carefully etched prose, Bergner unpacks the tightly twisted roots of desire, power seeking, self-hatred and theatricality that motivate his four pseudonymous subjects.Compassionate wisdom about dark needs." - Kirkus Reviews "Searching, deeply humane.
Our reactions to the stories Daniel Bergner recounts reveal as much about ourselves as they do about his oddly winning subjects." - Jennifer Egan, bestselling author of THE KEEP "Bergner is the kind of author who is able to delve deeply into the darkest and most forbidden realms of the human psyche and behavior. By deftly blending curiosity and compassion in The Other Side of Desire, Bergner shows that, if he had not chosen a career as a journalist, he would have made an exceptionally good psychotherapist." - San Francisco Chronicle "Daniel Bergner''s characters live in erotic no-go zones where most of us would fear to tread. Their stories will sadden, enlighten, disturb, and move you--for they are completely, intimately human." - George Packer, New York Times bestselling author of THE ASSASSIN''S GATE "Bergner gives depth and shadow to his subjects'' longing, never mocking, oversimplifying or vilifying." - Washington Post Book World "What''s remarkable about Bergner''s book is not the way these tales shock or confound or titillate (though they do those things sometimes), but how sympathetic their plights and hungers become. Bergner .
is a keen storyteller but above all a humane one, and in his hands, these characters do not seem like freaks so much as shadows of ourselves." - Salon.com "Unsettling but riveting.what makes [this book] so powerful is that it''s as much about desire and what''s normal as it is an exploration of why we are the way we are, whether we like it or not." - New York Times Book Review "In this fascinating book, Bergner, with a novelist''s eye but a reporter''s grit, examines amputee devotees and S&M fanatics without resorting to sensationalism." - Metro New York "Bergner does an excellent job of humanizing his subjects. Passion is as instinctual as thirst or the need to sleep. While most of us may live on this side of desire, Bergner''s book helps us begin to understand the other side, and what it is like to live with the torture of helplessly desiring what society deems unacceptable.
" - Richmond Times-Dispatch "With a minimum of psychobabble and a maximum of tight-focus unsentimental and unsqueamish reporting, Mr. Bergner tells the story of four people with ''abnormal'' sex lives . the author''s cool authoritative tone and openhearted acceptance of what he''s exposing wash away all taint of kinky vicarious thrill. It''s enough to make you think that in this case, good reporting isn''t just morally neutral. It spreads the love." - New York Observer "Fully immersed in his subjects, Bergner elicits candor while keeping an ear out for those details that make subjects come to life. Sensationalism would be cheap and easy. Bergner instead extends his characters generosity, seeking explanations rather than casting judgment.
His is a meaningful reflection on desire, a need shared by nearly all." - Time Out New York "Girded with scientific data about the nature of sexual identity, The Other Side of Desire is a foray into extreme passion, in quest of the human soul." - O, The Oprah Magazine "Attentive, carefully controlled.[Bergner''s] goal is empathy. He gives depth and shadow to his subjects'' longing, never mocking, oversimplifying or vilifying." - Washington Post Book World "Bergner does what science cannot: He illuminates peculiar longings. His method is at first descriptive and finally poetic. Given the limitations of science, resonant journalism may be the best way to approach paraphilia, and Bergner''s book has a musical quality.
" - Slate.