so what marquis' books have you read? and what do you think about them???
ive read philosophy in the bedroom, justine and juliet
philosophy is a funny book, with several funny arguments
the other two are hard to read beacuse all the things that happen to those sisters, specially to juliet
"Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads" Dr. Emmett Brown (BTTF I & II)
120 days of Sodom.
shareI've had the pleasure of casting my eyes over 120 days of Sodom, Philosophy in the Bedroom and Justine. Very fine works. Brilliant stuff. God, I am bitter and twisted...
It's a Geoffrey Rush thing, you wouldn't understand! Captain of Team Barbossa
Are they "terribly erotic"? Which one would you reccomend to a first-timer (not a first time reader of erotica, but of Sade ;-))?
"Blending is the secret"
Yes they are! But in a "ye olde" kind of way. Maybe read Justine first, or Philosophy in the Bedroom. Those are good.
It's a Geoffrey Rush thing, you wouldn't understand! Captain of Team Barbossa
I read Justine and one or two of his short stories from the book Crimes of Love (or of Passion, however they translate it where you're at). I have to say, I didn't find them highly erotic. I quit Justine about half way through because it was so dull. Honestly, he had these speeches which went on and on forever, and then me, I'm tempted to reply to the utter lack of logic in them, and that's the most useless thing ever, arguing with a book. Also, he has a tendency to decribe the same scene over and over again, only with more people. Because more people automatically makes it more erotic, see? So he gets to numbers as ridiculous as 84 women in one massive orgy, all used by what was it, four men? Oh, yeah, and he's also the world's greatest woman-hater. Big surprise there. And it's so apparent that he was somewhat OCD, he really gets off on creating these mini-societies, and he loves to count and recount the numbers and any order that they're based on.
So basically, quite boring.
I think he forces us to face important questions about human sexuality, but not because he was such a great thinker. He was a perv and an intellectual wannabe. Emphasis on the wannabe. But when he's freedom of speech was censured on the one hand, but the masses bought his pornography in quantities unheard of on the other, he made us have to stop and think about human nature, and what it is that exists within all of us and made his books such a success, and whether or not we draw a line, with the last question being, if we do - where?
I used to have a , but damnit do I want a !share
What would you reccomend as an alternative?
"Blending is the secret"
Honestly, I wouldn't rec any of his writings. If you're curious on the intellectual level, I'd rec you read something written about him (or better yet, many things written about it, as the things written about him tend to vary more than your usual type of diverse discussion). If you're looking for something erotic, well, any average porn stories site has better stuff. If you want to experience his writings nonetheless, his short stories show what he wrote like when he tried pretending he's a moral person (so they're of less interest) and Justine is relatively tame (and interesting until he starts repeating himself endlessly). Regarding this book, it had three versions which were completed and one that he started and never finished. The earlier the version, the tamer and more accessible it is. So I'd probably rec one of the earlier versions of Justine (the first or second).
I used to have a , but damnit do I want a !share
I just read "Philosophy of the bedroom "and it had some "interesting" ideas ,and quotes, sex bits get a bit rough !!! but the last chapter is totally evil
shareMantan I think that your forgetting that the Marquis is the father of erotic stories. I mean come on he wrote things that were mostly kept hush hush in society but it was well aware that such eroitc things have been done.
Personally I love his work. I have read Justine/Juilette. Eugenie and her father. I read a book with a collection of his stories. And I thought he was brilliant.
I would like to read 120 days of Sodom. My father has read it and he said it was a great book.
No, he wasn't. Erotic literature was there before him. He was the first one who was not only a financially successful erotic writer, but one who, because of personal scandals was exposed as the author of his own writings (he published his works under a pseduonym), was therefore identified with them and also raised into public consciousness the fact that there has always been a market of erotic literature. He didn't invent the wheel, though.
As for you thinking it's great, well, to each their own. I think it's boring and has the literary value of a nickel, if that nickel was really worn down and useless, but that's not say everyone has to agree with me. At the end of the day, it's like ice cream, yeah? Some people like the chocolate flavour, some like the vanilla, some like the banana punch. If we all liked the same things, it would be boring as well.
I used to have a , but damnit do I want a !share
I love 120 Days of Sodom. So I guess that makes me twisted as well :) Justine was a good one.
---------------------------------------
Don't want the dreams you try to sell
This disease I give to myself
Mind replying to the correct comment, please?
This way, it makes it sound like I stated either that (a) I liked 120 Days of Sodom and that makes me twisted, or that (b) I think anyone who has liked 120 Days of Sodom is twisted.
I said neither, now did I?
Although if I had to reply seriously, I'd say that it depends on what about it made you like it.
I used to have a , but damnit do I want a !share
He was the first one who was not only a financially successful erotic writer, but one who, because of personal scandals was exposed as the author of his own writings (he published his works under a pseduonym), was therefore identified with them and also raised into public consciousness the fact that there has always been a market of erotic literature.
Fabulous train reading aren't they!? Everyone else is flicking through Dan Brown novels or The Secret and here you are, lost in de Sade! Of course, there's always the option of a little cover-adjustment, a la Simone style...
"That's a Turkish weave you idiot, it costs more than you'll earn in a lifetime!"- de Sade
[deleted]
Standing out from the crowd really does wonders sometimes. A few bemused looks here and there to spice things up a bit. Take a leaf out of de Sade's book and kick out hard at the world...always one for testing the boundaries.
"That's a Turkish weave you idiot, it costs more than you'll earn in a lifetime!"- de Sade
I nave read most of Justine, even though it does get very repetitive after a while. I wasn't too fond of the very, very long dialouge parts either, but an interesting read nonetheless.
I also have 120 Days of Sodom. I've read a lot of it, although I have to be in a certain mood to read that book...
For me, a lot of 120 Days just ends up being way too gross. Some of it is diverting, but when he starts describing the smell of unwashed bodies, the consistency of fecal matter, the disgusting deterioration of old men. . . well, it just ain't fun anymore! :) For me, it's just too hygienically depraved to be a turn-on.
Never settle with words what you can accomplish with a flamethrower.
I haven't read any of Marquis, but i do indulge in a rude novel ever so often, hah, they're a bit of fun.
shareI got up to day 5 of the 120 Days of Sodom before giving up on it going anywhere.
I also saw Pier Pasolini's movie, Salo, which is loosely based in it. That thing is messed up.
SHE'S SNUFFED IT! SHE IS NO MORE!
THIS IS AN EX-WEEVIL.
Hey there, nimbleweevil, it's me! I'm guessing you've watched "Quills" by now, too. I enjoyed it immensely; it managed to be properly moving and disturbing, and even fun to watch, despite the limitations of its R-rating.
Alfonso-lover
We have got to live, no matter how many skies have fallen.
I started reading de Sade's books after watching this film. So far I've read 'Retaliation', 'Justine', and I'm currently working my way through 120 Days of Sodom. So far Retaliation is my favourite, as I found it quite humorous and more philosophical than either 120DoS and Justine. Justine was a bit of a drag, but I finally managed to finish it. 120DoS is good if you like a diversity of characters (although it is ok if you forget which ones are which because I think de Sade himself gets a bit mixed up).
Should I bother watching Salo? Is it anything like this movie, or is it purely 'artistic'?
~I used to be schizophrenic, but we're OK now~
[deleted]
I've read "The Misfortunes of Virtue and Other Early Tales" (i.e. an early version of Justine and some short stories)and "Philosophy in the Boudoir", both of which I loved. I've also already bought "The Crimes of Love", but haven't gotten around to reading it yet.
Not by De Sade, but about him, I've read Timo Airaksinen's "The Philosophy of the Marquis de Sade". If you are reading the books for philosophical reasons, rather than erotic, it is a fantastically in-depth - if heavy - read. If you read De Sade as erotica, it'll probably be excessively uninteresting for you though. As it sheds light on many events and particularly undercurrents in the books, it might even explain bits of the philosophy better than De Sade would have been able to.
[deleted]
[deleted]
I love them but I hate the looks I get if I'm reading them on the train or the bus haha.
I've read Justine. It made me feel excited, yet dead inside.
Kind of like life really.
Those are my principals. If you don't like them I have others.~Groucho Marx
The only novel of Sade's I've read is The 120 Days of Sodom; I have also seen the Pasolini film from which it was (loosely) based.
I don't really know what I can say about 120 Days - it's a long, drawn-out piece of literature; it's laden with philosophical discourse which, to my mind, serves no useful purpose as it doesn't actually have a point, and at times doesn't even make sense.
It is, as other readers will agree, incredibly repetitive. In the Introduction to the book, I recall Sade saying something along the lines of:
"While a lot of the passions contained here may seem to be same, if you think about it, they're really not. There are subtle differences which allows them to be distinguishable from one another."
That is me totally paraphrasing him, but the general point of the sentence is the same.
Edit: I looked it up and here is the exact passage:
As for the diversity, it is authentic, you may be sure of it; study closely that passion which to your first consideration seems perfectly to resemble another, and you will see that a difference does exist and that, however slightly it may be, it possesses precisely that refinement, that touch which distinguishes and characterizes the kind of libertinage wherewith we are here involved.It isn't a bad book; though it is tedious in places. It isn't a good book, albeit it is an interesting read.
I have read everything I could get my hands on. Including all that have been mentioned so far in this thread. I liked PHITB the most but would liked to have seen 120 days finished. If De Sade had finished 120 days then I think it would rank in my top ten list for books. De Sade wasn't the greatest writer but was a great wordsmith.
If you are a noobie to De Sade then start with PHITB.
120 Days of Sodom. It puts Pasolini's Salo on the same level as Ponyo.
"In celluloid we trust." -Herzog