This book has a slightly racy title (at least for an economics book) and my initial reaction was that the ‘lust' focus was a bit forced. Greed and gender are associated easily with economic ideas, but lust? Nor was I assuaged by the assertion in the introduction that ‘lust is to feminist theory what greed is to economic theory -- a marker of contested moral boundaries,' an assertion that seemed too convenient and probably not true. Isn't it usually religious ideologues that set moral boundaries with lust?

Marx and Engels had no idea what they were setting loose in 1848 when they wrote The Communist Manifesto -- and they would be the first to admit it. That's the sense you get reading Tariq Ali's The Idea of Communism a short book in the "What Was Communism" series. It is no longer 1991. The Soviet Union is gone. Rather than a communist utopia China resembles aspects of Dickens' England ... on methamphetamine. A few anomalies like Cuba and Korea remain, but the safe money is that they will not remain thus.

The works of seasoned feminist psychotherapist Susie Orbach were never part of the subversive women's studies syllabus that I was taught. A quick scan of her credentials quickly underscores why. Not only did she treat the late Princess of Wales, she is also the consultant and co-originator for the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. Plainly put, Orbach's writings were never featured on my course readings because she's aligned with a brand of liberal feminism discordant with most of the more radical theoretical tendencies of women's studies academics. They believe -- as I do -- that equality can only be achieved through a transformation of existing, oppressive structures.

While reading a thriller, I anticipate -- and usually get -- a twisty, testosterone-ridden plot. If I'm lucky, there's a strong female character; really lucky, a good sex scene. What I don't expect: a theory of socio-political hegemony centered around the idea of dissent. But Rana Bose's The Fourth Canvas is a novel of ideas as much as a thriller, with enough red herrings to make Agatha Christie proud, and enough progressive ideas to satisfy the most ardent activist.