The Center of the Universe: Volume 13, Chapters 56-59

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 an orgy circle forms in their sleepy little town in Central Vietnam. In the first episode here, the protagonist falls in love with a photo of an ex-colleague, whom he then visits at the clothing store, where she works. When Douglas asks Nga to put on the outfit she had been wearing in the picture and present herself in a similar pose, she surprisingly invites him to her home, as she lives just around the corner. As bashful and inexperienced as she is, though, can he warm her up? The following three episodes are dedicated to Douglas' muse Nguyet, the center of his universe. After the two of them fill each other in with the steamy details of the past summer, they arrange two role-plays: In the first, which is recounted in the third novella, Nguyet and Douglas re-enact an opportunity he missed at their old workplace. When he tells Nguyet about the hooker-role-play he recently did with Tina, however, his muse is instantly hooked. So, they arrange a 'chance encounter' downtown, during which the freshly-minted harlot has an array of titillating surprises for him. As varied as all stories are, they have one theme in common: the life-affirming efforts on the part of the young Vietnamese women to free themselves from the rigid moral norms of their society. All novellas are told in a light-hearted, very revealing, tongue-in-cheek manner and, in passing, offer glimpses into Vietnamese culture. Without taboos, all 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 erotic 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, all novellas reflect his undying love for young Southeast Asian women.