When it comes to reviewing, new stories must have the priority. However, it's sometimes worthwhile to dust-off an old one that may have been forgotten. "Castrated for Music's Sake" is dated 2005, the author's name is given as "Bimbo" and it is rated as Fiction.

Fiction can be divited two ways: that which is unashamedly fantasy, like Star Wars, and that which resembles the here-and-now. This story belongs in the latter class.

Writing in the first person, the storyteller is a boy, eight years old when the story opens, gifted with an outstanding singing voice. He has lessons with a music teacher - a woman - whom, despite his young age, he finds sexually exciting. An overtly sexual relationship begins (one which in real life would have landed the music teacher behind bars).

This goes on until the boy reaches the age of ten, when he has his first full orgasm. At this point the music teacher tells him that if he wants to preserve his soprano voice, castration was the only way forward, adding that (1) choirboys always had their balls cut off (2) the pain would quickly pass. The boy readily agrees.

The woman operates on him in her bedroom, the boy sitting on a wooden chair with his legs open. What is done to him can best be answered if you log-on to one of those websites - there are very many - showing horses being gelded. One or two comments are worth repeating:

a) "The pressure on my spermatic cords was not unpleasant" (he had a tourniquet tied round his scrotum)

b) "The pain was divinely sharp" (so much so that it brought him to orgasm again - aged ten!

Now let's be under no illusions - this operation HURTS. If you have the patience to plough through the very verbose "Pilgrimage to Norcia" where after several dozen pages a young boy has his balls removed without anaesthetic, you can figure out how much it hurts. And there are well documented stories of one of the real-life castrati - the name escapes me - whose shrieks were heard all over the village as the barber got to work on his boy-parts.

To sum up, this story doesn't fulfil its promise. There is always something poignant about a young boy being castrated before he has the chance to experience sex, but this story is too short on plausibility to be a good read.

Constructive criticism is so hard to come by these days.

You wouldn't believe some of the things that I've thrown in the virtual trash can over the years.

Now it's Cainanite that has to suffer with it!

here's a 5 min segment from Tony Robinson's Worst Jobs in History. enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuHkDTBGYqw

I've had a few reviews like that. Lots of rejections for various journals or anthologies, too.

Sometimes I give a story to someone and ask very specific questions like is this character necessary or is that situation too awful or does this passage need to be in the story? But I never just give a story to any person and wait for a compliment.

First, my words are precious to me. remember that above all things. Those words are like my precious children. That's probably true for all authors. Criticize at your own risk.

Second, when confronted with unsolicited criticism, I shrug and turn away. Maybe I listen politely. Mostly I ignore it. Unless you have been asked or are a properly named reviewer, then don't venture your opinion. It's not wanted or appreciated.

Third, when an editor or a proper reviewer makes a comment, then I do my best to see what they meant and why they thought that was wrong. I've been published as a researcher and scientist and that meant 6 to 8 reviewers of all my stuff. I have a thick skin from that. However, I also know that those reviewers have to be answered or a journal will not accept a paper. Think the AICHE Journal, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry and journals like that.

Dave (imported) wrote: Sun Oct 20, 2013 5:41 pm I've had a few reviews like that. Lots of rejections for various journals or anthologies, too.

Sometimes I give a story to someone and ask very specific questions like is this character necessary or is that situation too awful or does this passage need to be in the story? But I never just give a story to any person and wait for a compliment.

First, my words are precious to me. remember that above all things. Those words are like my precious children. That's probably true for all authors. Criticize at your own risk.

Second, when confronted with unsolicited criticism, I shrug and turn away. Maybe I listen politely. Mostly I ignore it. Unless you have been asked or are a properly named reviewer, then don't venture your opinion. It's not wanted or appreciated.

Third, when an editor or a proper reviewer makes a comment, then I do my best to see what they meant and why they thought that was wrong. I've been published as a researcher and scientist and that meant 6 to 8 reviewers of all my stuff. I have a thick skin from that. However, I also know that those reviewers have to be answered or a journal will not accept a paper. Think the AICHE Journal, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry and journals like that.

Right, Dave, are you in fact "Bimbo"? If so it would explain your attitude to my (wholly well-intentioned) comments.

You say "Don't venture your opinion". I say, EA has always welcomed - even urged - readers to write reviews, as a guide to what isand what is not worth reading. I'm unsure if EA has any designated reviewers - I've never heard of any. Surely you don't mean beta-readers? They are something else entirely.

I too have carried out research in my own field and know about peer-review and all the rest - in particular how infuriating it is, to read hostile comments from some academic styled (perhaps) "Reader in Management Studies" who has never in his life managed as much as a row of filing cabinets and has not the remotest idea of what I'm talking about.

My friend and mentor Paolo stresses the need for "constructive" criticism. It would have helped the story if we'd been told the dizzy heights of the music world scaled by this little boy - was he a child star of stage, screen and television? That might explain why he was so ready to give up his future manhood.

Lastly, to suggest that a home-castration, as described, would be (a) painless (b) harmless, is dangerous as well as totally untrue. Reading an account like this might tempt someone to try it.

No, I"m not "Bimbo." Any fiction I write goes out under one name - Dave Fragments.

I don't have an "attitude" toward your comments. I don't have disdain or approval or anything. I can't tell you how many times I"ve had to sit in front of a boss or a coworker or an audience and give a talk or run a meeting without an attitude. I mean to say, how much passion can you devote to Ni-Mo-W alumina catalysts or iron sulfide homogeneous catalysis is coal? How about the five levels of maintenance efforts or the proper chemical inventory required by federal law?

All of those papers and presentations required multiple reviews and critiques.

And what is being misunderstood is the difference between a critique and a review.

I give critiques when I act as editor, reviewer, or coauthor. I don't critique the stories of the EA because those stories are here for my enjoyment. Some of the stories that I like the most are abysmal storytelling and rampant with mistakes but they thrill me--so all is forgiven. That's my standard for a story. The standard is different when writing an editor. When I write for a published anthology (Static Movement, Red Skies Press, or Psychopomp) or websites like WIFIles, Perihelion or Kalkion, then my writing standards are very high, damn near literary. A critique is aimed at improving those stories.

I don't give critiques unless asked and then most times I refuse.

I give reviews that I are mostly my views and opinions about movies, TV shows, books and such. You can read quite a few of them down in the "Jokes, Links, and Media" section of the EA. Those are not meant to do anything other than entertain me or the audience.

To my mind, the EA welcomes "reviews."

Dave (imported) wrote: Mon Oct 21, 2013 6:05 am No, I"m not "Bimbo." Any fiction I write goes out under one name - Dave Fragments.

I don't have an "attitude" toward your comments. I don't have disdain or approval or anything. I can't tell you how many times I"ve had to sit in front of a boss or a coworker or an audience and give a talk or run a meeting without an attitude. I mean to say, how much passion can you devote to Ni-Mo-W alumina catalysts or iron sulfide homogeneous catalysis is coal? How about the five levels of maintenance efforts or the proper chemical inventory required by federal law?

All of those papers and presentations required multiple reviews and critiques.

And what is being misunderstood is the difference between a critique and a review.

I give critiques when I act as editor, reviewer, or coauthor. I don't critique the stories of the EA because those stories are here for my enjoyment. Some of the stories that I like the most are abysmal storytelling and rampant with mistakes but they thrill me--so all is forgiven. That's my standard for a story. The standard is different when writing an editor. When I write for a published anthology (Static Movement, Red Skies Press, or Psychopomp) or websites like WIFIles, Perihelion or Kalkion, then my writing standards are very high, damn near literary. A critique is aimed at improving those stories.

I don't give critiques unless asked and then most times I refuse.

I give reviews that I are mostly my views and opinions about movies, TV shows, books and such. You can read quite a few of them down in the "Jokes, Links, and Media" section of the EA. Those are not meant to do anything other than entertain me or the audience.

To my mind, the EA welcomes "reviews."

Dave, forgive my saying so, but you did show an attitude - very clearly - and that was that I had no business to comment on someone else's literary efforts. To me you came across as hostile.

To demonstrate my own standards I'm tempted to refer you to my thesis "A critical appraisal of the changing rôle of UK Local Government Audit, 1979-1995". I'm sure you would find them as high as your own. I'm also sure you would find the subject matter as dull as ditchwater. Horses for courses.

Going on from my last. Children are very impressionable. It's not beyond the bounds of imagination that some unscrupulous person might "groom" a susceptible 11-year-old (say) with the idea that it was "cool" to have "that little procedure that all smart boys have" (or similar words). See that other story "The Chorister" in the EA fiction archive for what happens next - the nightmare scenario when he actually carries it out.

C van D (imported) wrote: Tue Oct 22, 2013 12:15 am Dave, forgive my saying so, but you did show an attitude - very clearly - and that was that I had no business to comment on someone else's literary efforts. To me you came across as hostile.

To demonstrate my own standards I'm tempted to refer you to my thesis "A critical appraisal of the changing rôle of UK Local Government Audit, 1979-1995". I'm sure you would find them as high as your own. I'm also sure you would find the subject matter as dull as ditchwater. Horses for courses.

Going on from my last. Children are very impressionable. It's not beyond the bounds of imagination that some unscrupulous person might "groom" a susceptible 11-year-old (say) with the idea that it was "cool" to have "that little procedure that all smart boys have" (or similar words). See that other story "The Chorister" in the EA fiction archive for what happens next - the nightmare scenario when he actually carries it out.

Yeah, though I think it would've been more of a nightmare, perhaps, if the procedure went on for longer and the boy could feel all of it, like in so many other stories. Great story, by the way! Sensenbender's story Boys Club has a similar scenario, of somebody getting almost tricked into having his nuts destroyed.