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The Pornographer’s Daughter: A Memoir of Childhood, My Dad, and Deep Throat

The Pornographer's Daughter Book Cover The Pornographer's Daughter
Kristin Battista-Frazee
Biography & Autobiography
Skyhorse Publishing Company Incorporated
2014-09-30
280

More than forty years after Deep Throat arrived on the cultural scene and inspired a sexual revolution, questions about the ethics of pornography and its impact on society are still being asked today and remain as controversial as ever. Kristin Battista-Frazee was only four years old in 1974 when her father, Anthony Battista, was indicted by the federal government for distributing the now famous porn film Deep Throat. As her father unexpectedly became an early pioneer in the emerging porn industry and transformed himself from Philadelphia stockbroker to porn broker, this indictment threatened his family’s stability. The stress drove Kristin’s mother, Frances Battista, to worry endlessly if her husband would be put in jail. She became so depressed that she attempted suicide. Kristin survived this family trauma to live a surprisingly normal life. But instead of leaving the past behind her, she developed a burning curiosity to understand her family’s history. Why did the federal government so vehemently prosecute this case? And why did her father get involved in distributing this notorious porn film in the first place? Did the influence of pornography in fact make Kristin a better person? Answering these questions and reconciling her dramatic family history with her life as a wife and mother became her mission. The Pornographer’s Daughter is an insider’s glimpse into the events that made Deep Throat and pornography so popular, as well as what it was like to come of age against the backdrop of the pornography business.

 

Review:

Every single person who wants to write a funny, readable, and memorable memoir needs to read “The Pornographer’s Daughter” before they write a single word.  It is everything anyone could ask of a book, whether it be fiction or non-fiction.

As the title suggests, Kristin Battista-Frazee’s father worked as a distributor of porn, specifically the ever-famous “Deep Throat” starring Linda Lovelace.  The entire story of “Deep Throat” is a fascinating one in and of itself.  Add in the mob, the feds, the morality wars of the times, an extended Italian family, and a cast of characters that includes at least seven variations of “Anthony” and “Tony”, and you have a story that is beyond improbable.  Yet, it is.

Along with all of the above, “The Pornographer’s Daughter” is a beautiful homage to the author’s unusual family and childhood.  None of it is sugar-coated: she puts it all out there, flaws and all.  The love is obvious, even in the context of such a unconventional childhood.

In short, I laughed, I cried from laughing, I cried from beautiful passages, and then I wished I knew most of the eccentric characters in my own life.  I am extremely excited to see the television show that is being developed!

This review is based upon a copy from the Goodreads First Reads program given in exchange for an honest review.

Content Warning:

Do I really need to put one here?  Pornographer is in the title, along with the iconic porn “Deep Throat”.