The Center of the Universe: Volume 48, Chapters 177-179 / The Center of the Universe (ePub)

When Douglas begins an affair with his stunning yet prim colleague, Nguyet, neither of them suspects how turbulent their liaison will become. Over the years, not only their intimacy and audacity grow, but also their susceptibility to temptation. On their journey of unbridled lust, they also meet others who are equally liable to sin, so that eventually even an orgy circle forms in their sleepy little town in Central Vietnam.

In the first episode here, Douglas finally meets the enchanting Quynh again, who – together with her friend Emily – had surprised Mira and him three months earlier at the old, vacant hotel. As Mira wants Emily to draw tattoo designs on her naked skin, Douglas and Quynh separate themselves from the others. While he is still wondering how far the young lady is prepared to go, though, the dazzling damsel has one surprise after another for him.

Since their last encounter was such a success, Quynh and Douglas then decide to go to the hot springs together, where they can frolic in a secluded pool paradise. What begins with a charming swimming lesson naturally leads to veritable loin-twirls, with all kinds of juicy debauchery woven into.

When the two of them want to use up the other voucher for the thermal springs, in the final novella, together with their blind friend Hanh, she isn't feeling well. But what her aunt Ly has in store for Douglas, instead, is even hotter than a trip to the hot springs would have been.

As varied as the episodes are, they all have one theme in common: Ultimately, they tell captivating tales of liberation from rigid, confining moral norms. All chapters are meant to entertain, amuse, and – in the best case – stimulate, without slipping into crudity.

All light-hearted novellas here are told in a very revealing, tongue-in-cheek manner and, in passing, also offer insight into Vietnamese culture. Without taboos, the episodes explore the sources and dynamic of erotic desire and lure the reader under the spell of an exotic world.

The author of this extensive series of ribald stories has been enjoying Southeast Asia for ten years now. After living in Germany and the U.S. for most of his life, Douglas ventured in the opposite direction in 2010: first, he taught at a community college in the South Seas for three years, before settling in Vietnam. Naturally, his writing reflects his undying love for Southeast Asian women.