what books have you read?

That man is known to be a terrible writer but that's obviously not why he's famous.

I read about half of Juliette, and really had no interest in reading much beyond that. Not because of the things being discussed, but mainly because there really didn't seem to be any sort of plot, character development, or well any story per se. It just seemed to be a lot of pages of blah, a sort of lengthy porn movie

I've read most of his available work, including his plays. I think Henrietta and St. Clair is the best of his theatrical works, as it embodies the feel of his prose fiction. I wish he would have written a novella version as well, although I'm sure the ending would have been different. I think Eugenie de Franval is Sade at his best.

Aline and Valcour is a lengthy read and his only epistolary novel. It's almost like two books in one. It holds my interest, although I wish it focused more on the title characters, as I became very invested in them and their story. It's a unique thing about the book, you become emotionally attached to the two and genuinely care about them and their fate. However, it shifts focus to another couple that fills two-thirds of the book before finally getting back to Aline and Valcour. Despite that, I still enjoy it. The detour story is quite an adventure, with incidents that include cannibals and a run-in with the Inquisition. At the moment, the book is only available in French, so tackling it was quite the experience, having never studied the language. I can say that whether reading in French or English, you know it's Sade. His distinctive voice, or style, is immediately recognizable.

I think Juliette is De Sade's true masterpiece, although I love 120 Days of Sodom also.

"He drank. He fought. He made his ancestors proud!"

'Justine' then I couldn't get past 30 pages of '120 Days of Sodom'. I plan on continuing with his books in the future but for now I'll stick to safer classics.