Friday Book Review: Debra Di Blasi’s What the Body Requires

What the Body Requires (Jaded Ibis Press, $16.99) is to the mind what chocolate is to the tongue — rich and decadent.

In her 2009 novel, Debra Di Blasi aims to indulge. As the title suggests, this is a work focused on the flesh. The sensual Italian landscape of the setting is as much a character as the people who populate its olive groves and medieval villas. Against this exotic backdrop, Di Blasi slowly unveils her mistress, an American artist married to a gorgeous violinist. Flitting back and forth through time and setting, she teases the reader with growing suspense.

Though Di Blasi is coy with her plot twists, she’s not gun-shy. Death makes an appearance in the first paragraph. The word clitoris debuts on page two. Di Blasi is right to call this a “symphonic novel.” The selling aspect is the melody of the words.