The allure of a eunuch - fantastical?

Shuki Bolkiah - modern-day eunuch.

From boy of the slums to Oxford Graduate. This is the story of Shuki Bolkiah, modern day eunuch.

"Not a Man' is set in an unnamed country of Arabia. Shuki is aged ten, and a 'bed-boy.' His master wants his beautiful boy to stay beautiful, so arranges for him to have 'a small operation.' This traumatic event changed forever the life of a clever, determined boy.

Shuki learns to manipulate his master. He learns to read and write, he gets his master into the habit of giving him large sums of money, and he makes friends with the master's sons.

Shuki becomes more beautiful with every passing year. His master becomes more possessive, more jealous, and Shuki is guarded. When his master takes him to England, he escapes and starts a new life with the money he's saved. He is fifteen.

'Not a Man' has gained very positive reviews since its release in late 2011. But quite a few of those reviews do contain the criticism that the idea of a eunuch being so irresistably alluring is unlikely or even 'fantastical.'

This book won a position on the 'Editors' Desk' on Authonomy, and therefore was given a review by a Harper Collins Editor.

And while it says,  'as a hero, he is fantastic, evoking not only sympathy, but aspiration and reverence,' it also suggests that I look at the issue of Shuki’s magnetism.

'I am aware of traditional representation of eunuchs as being almost uncannily tempting, and I think you do a good job in creating a hero who is eerily irresistible to the reader. However, I felt that you slightly hyperbolised his allure. I am not convinced that he is so attractive that no man can resist him, nor that men would be pushed against all past instincts to consider or commit acts of violent sexual abuse.'

Other reviews have mentioned the same thing, sometimes critically, and sometimes simply 'by the way.'

'While Shuki sounds most tempting,  it is not quite believable that every single man would find him attractive.'

and  another one - 'it simply isn't believable that Shuki was universally desired by every single man who set eyes on him, regardless of their normal desire for women.'

And 'highly fantastical.'

I can't speak to any realism about the portrayal of either Arab or Oxford cultures, but I will say that I was very content to read this as a novel of epic fantasy. This novel has some highly fantastical elements - which I've become aware of more in hindsight than while I was reading - including how nearly every male who encounters Shuki immediately wants to rape him, and that so many of his "friends" would be willing to betray him without regard to either his humanity or their own.
But this is Shuki's truth, whether merely perceived or real, and I did not question it as I followed the story to its end.

(Note that I'd take issue with the above in that many males who encounter Shuki might want him in bed, but most do not think of rape.)


But highly fantastical?



Set in the faraway and distant Atlas Mountains of North Africa
are the stories of a eunuch - Shuki Bolkiah.

I can point to traditonal depictions of eunuchs as very desirable, and I can point out that it is not true that every man wants him. In regard to the Oxford incident, I can show how  it began as a game or a friendly competition, the idea of taking turns in trying to seduce him. I can show how it worked to make them want him more, even those who hadn't previously thought of  being attracted to him.  And it ended in tragedy.

And I can speak of the theory of Ben, (Shuki's best friend)  that because Shuki did not smell like a man (pheromones)  that maybe men did not get that subconcscious cue that this was a man and not a suitable target for mating. 

But when it comes down to it - yes. The idea that a person can be so universally alluring is fantasy.

To me, it is not important. For most of my readers, it is not important. While over 75% of my reviews are 5-star, I am not going to worry about the less likely aspects of the allure of Shuki, eunuch.

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. It may be long but it doesn't seem that way at all and I flew through each page and I feel more in love with the sweet, remarkable Shuki to more I read. I was hooked, intrigued and drawn in from the first page of this story.

I am sure you have created a seminal work that will inform and enlighten, not only scholars and sociologists concerned in combating sexual and gender slavery but the discerning general reader.

I guarantee you will never forget Shuki. He will be with you long after you click past the last page.   

But actually, if it had been about a woman - the fictional Angelique, for instance, probably it would have  been accepted without a murmur of objection. This is because we're accustomed to having beautiful women spoken of as irresistable. Helen of Troy?  Cleopatra?

Here is another review for 'Not a Man'  

'Any woman reading this will respond on a purely emotional level. Because Shuki is in the same position as many woman have been, he's viewed as a sexual object. Not a person, an object.

Until this particular review, I hadn't considered this aspect - that most women go through a stage when they start to feel themselves as mere prey, the target of any man's lust. Some might relish it, but others feel themselves hunted. I thought I was writing about a fictional character, a male. But maybe there are indeed aspects of the experiences of a young woman, a too-beautiful young woman.

Buy from Smashwords, 

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or other online book retailers such as Amazon:

  

http://www.amazon.com/M.-A.-McRae/e/B008BYWRQ2/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1340847276&sr=1-1