Disappointing
|
|
I am, and remain a huge fan of the Marquis De Sade. I bought this book as it professed to gather together all of his most famous erotic writing. Whilst it includes Justine, Juliette and Philosophy In The Bedroom, the greatest disappointment lies in the fact that De Sade's masterpiece, 120 Days Of Sodom, a 500-page opus, has been "summarised" or rather completely butchered! What remains is a couple of hundred pages of literature reduced to a collection of lists. This can never be the "complete" De Sade.
|
|
An enlightening introduction
|
|
This is an interesting read, though not for the faint hearted nor those of an overtly religious disposition that may be sensitive to critiques of the same. De Sade was indeed, very ahead of his time in his philosophical argument and was a highly skilled narrator with a broad imagination. Whilst it is easy to state that his views were extremeist, it is however important to read between the lines. De Sade's era was governed by moralist and pious attitudes. You also have to take into account his cultural environment at the time of writing. For example, 120 Days of Sodom, his most controversial works of this collection, was written when he was in the Bastille, when one's imagination could run riot (here he seems highly focused on coprophilia/coprophagia, bestiality, incest and torture). Other works make mention of what would be regarded as edge play (e.g. autoerotic asphyxiation). De Sade was out to shock (and still does) but, by his own admission, all he asks for in return is overall objectivity from his readers, not collusion.
|
|
|
Brilliant
|
|
This is just the perfect book as an introduction to De Sade or if you already know his stories and want a book which contains all the best ones. It is clearly printed and is a must for anyone interested in De Sade.
|
|
|
Accessible, accurate and entertaining read.
|
Marquis De Sade is one of the most underappreciated thinkers ever; ahead of his time in philosophy, psychology and sociology there are only a handful of people who surpass his achievements. Aesthetically and intellectually stimulating his collected works are undeniably superb and a necessary read for anyone interested in an uncensored reflection of the human condition; few writers have as much honesty and integrity.
The editor's note, introduction and foreword offer an excellent preamble and the works themselves are well presented. This is neither a word-for-word translation nor a summarising of the original texts, but a clarified abridged version that offers the reader an accessible, accurate and entertaining read. Most importantly, as Dr. Paul J. Gillette stresses, this work is not de-sexed as many previous translations have been. The book is decently printed, with the text reasonably large.
I would urge anyone interested in Marquis De Sade to buy this.
|
|
|
United States | 
United Kingdom | 
Canada