If Mick Jagger thought his frustrations were bad, he should talk Mara Altman, the 27-year-old author who really can’t get no satisfaction. The Greenpoint resident’s randy and comical (and anti-climactic) first book, “Thanks For Coming: One Young Woman’s Quest for an Orgasm,” was just released on Tuesday, a not-really-coming-of-age story that traces her relationships with underperforming men, dildo-crazy therapists and a network of sexually satisfied friends. On the eve of her April 21 reading in Park Slope, she talked dirty with The Brooklyn Paper’s frisky (and single) senior reporter Mike McLaughlin.
Mike McLaughlin: I like to start all my interviews by saying the word “orgasm.” There. I did it. Whew. At least this time, it’s appropriate. In fact, I’m saying the word “orgasm” more than ever. I haven’t felt like this since seventh-grade health class. So, for my sake, let’s start with an easy one: How’s your love life since finishing the book?
Mara Altman: It’s good. It’s kind of nice not to have a camera on yourself. It’s more relaxed and there’s less pressure.
MM: Why did you choose to document your spectacularly failed quest to get to that special place?
MA: It was part of my career focus. I could advance my career and get the orgasm out of the way.
MM: Yes, spoiler alert, the book has a manually induced happy ending. Who doesn’t love a vibrator? But did that solo climax live up to its hype?
MA: It’s a great thing, the orgasm. It’s amazing, but it’s not the end all be all.
MM: Did the men in your life feel pressure to get you over the hump?
MA: There’s a lot of pressure for men, in general, to show that they have prowess. There were definitely guys who took it as a challenge, who wanted to be the first. But for me, the stance I took was that it was my responsibility to figure it out.
MM: I think we’re about done, so I need to know: was it good for you?
MA: You did great. You didn’t seem embarrassed.
MM: Thanks, normally I can do these interviews for a lot longer, all night if I have to. But, I don’t know, maybe I’ve been a bit stressed out at the office this week. But if you give me 10 minutes to rest, I can interview you all over again. It will be better this time, I promise.
Mara Altman will read on April 21 at Barnes and Noble [267 Seventh Ave. at Sixth Street, (718) 832-9066], 7 pm.
