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2.94 AVERAGE
2.94 AVERAGE
Well. Fuck me. Glad that's off my shelf.
I did not have a clue that in the 18th Century that you could publish something so detailed in it's sexual content. Let alone it survive 275 years of being published with all the censorship and prudishness over the years when it comes to sex. Credit where credit is due, and I will view those Georgians slightly differently from now on.
But oh my god. If you would like male centered porn from a female POV set in the 18C, then this is for you. There is no plot really. The sex, which there is a lot, is very meh. Also then there is the sexual assault, coercion, attempted rape, non-consensual voyeurism, rape, homophobia, etc.
The red flags in this book in 2023 are astounding, and so much so I will be chucking my copy into the bin instead of a little library as there is no way I want any neighbourhood kids picking this up and thinking this is okay. It's not, and any titillation you may feel from it (and I admit there are a couple of hot consensual pages) is DEEPLY overshadowed by the problems.
And by problems I mean rapey-ness.
I did not have a clue that in the 18th Century that you could publish something so detailed in it's sexual content. Let alone it survive 275 years of being published with all the censorship and prudishness over the years when it comes to sex. Credit where credit is due, and I will view those Georgians slightly differently from now on.
But oh my god. If you would like male centered porn from a female POV set in the 18C, then this is for you. There is no plot really. The sex, which there is a lot, is very meh. Also then there is the sexual assault, coercion, attempted rape, non-consensual voyeurism, rape, homophobia, etc.
The red flags in this book in 2023 are astounding, and so much so I will be chucking my copy into the bin instead of a little library as there is no way I want any neighbourhood kids picking this up and thinking this is okay. It's not, and any titillation you may feel from it (and I admit there are a couple of hot consensual pages) is DEEPLY overshadowed by the problems.
And by problems I mean rapey-ness.
Определно не бих казала, че тази книга е просто еротичен роман. Книгата е първата по рода си, основоположник на подобен тип феминистична литература. Изключително ми харесаха бележките под линия от преводача, с които книгата става много по-ясна и читателят паралелно анализира творбата докато я чете.
I asked my daughter to buy me books for my birthday from the '1000 books to read before you die' list. Of course she goes and buys me all the rude ones, so I get Lady's Chatterley's Lover, Lolita, the Golden Ass (possibly not rude but funny title) and Fanny Hill. She didn't buy Delta of Venus, but that's probably because she thought it was a planetary formation.
So I've dutifully read it and yes it's porn, very wordy porn and lots of adventurous words demonstrating admirable verbal dexterity. To give Cleland his due, he did write from the perspective of a woman, and a woman who enjoys herself at that. Fanny manages to squeeze a lot into her youth, she's only turning 19 when the book finishes. Of course Cleland doesn't touch much on pregnancy and not at all on venereal disease. The 18th century prostitute would have been an incubator for virtually every disease known to man, I can't imagine a more unhealthy profession. But fortunately for Fanny she bounces through unscathed, marries her teenage sweetheart and accrues a fortune along the way - oh no, whoops I've given the plot away....
So I've dutifully read it and yes it's porn, very wordy porn and lots of adventurous words demonstrating admirable verbal dexterity. To give Cleland his due, he did write from the perspective of a woman, and a woman who enjoys herself at that. Fanny manages to squeeze a lot into her youth, she's only turning 19 when the book finishes. Of course Cleland doesn't touch much on pregnancy and not at all on venereal disease. The 18th century prostitute would have been an incubator for virtually every disease known to man, I can't imagine a more unhealthy profession. But fortunately for Fanny she bounces through unscathed, marries her teenage sweetheart and accrues a fortune along the way - oh no, whoops I've given the plot away....
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
I’m so glad I finished this book—it took abnormally long because it got to be too much at times.
It’s hard to classify what Cleland’s purpose was in writing this book. Was he trying to redefine virtue? Was he writing out some fantasies he had? Was he just an absolute creep? I have no clue. Fanny Hill is no great heroine. She simply exists and things happen to her. The story line lacked clear continuity and was mostly just episodes/moments. I’m not sure Cleland had a strong plan when he wrote this book and it shows.
Suffice to say, I agree, it is a “book I disdain to defend, and wish, from my soul, buried and forgot” (Cleland).
Don’t think I won’t be using some new silly euphemisms from this book
It’s hard to classify what Cleland’s purpose was in writing this book. Was he trying to redefine virtue? Was he writing out some fantasies he had? Was he just an absolute creep? I have no clue. Fanny Hill is no great heroine. She simply exists and things happen to her. The story line lacked clear continuity and was mostly just episodes/moments. I’m not sure Cleland had a strong plan when he wrote this book and it shows.
Suffice to say, I agree, it is a “book I disdain to defend, and wish, from my soul, buried and forgot” (Cleland).
Don’t think I won’t be using some new silly euphemisms from this book
不管是以欢场女子的人生作为主线的小说故事，还是各种性场面的描写，都很mid吧，总结一句就是极端浪漫化性行为。比《查泰莱夫人的情人》早了两百年，书出了版作者就被教会判刑了，怀着崇敬的心读，到了后半部分审美疲劳
To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.
I have a not so secret passion for sexuality and gender. If you talk to me more than once then you know this passion. I love historical porn, I love the science behind sexuality, I love the social impacts it has. I am fascinated by it all. This book fell into the need to devour pornography that has shaped the current world of sexuality.
The book itself is very tame. The most extreme scenes being very mild orgies (one at a time coupling while the other couples watched) and a brief caning scene (though the text itself called if flogging). The book is very much porn. There is no mistaking it for anything else, which is why I am disappointed that the book did not go further. I found myself bored by it. I am thankful that there was no philosophy that took dozens of pages at a time to resolve between scenes and that there was no issues of rape/forced infecting of disease like some other books. This book solely existed in the realm of pleasure and non-judgment (outside of the repeated issues with male homosexuality, despite the pretty wonderful sex scene between two males that Fanny spied on).
For the time period, I can see why this book was seen as hardcore and caused issues for the author. Though in modern standards, it is dull and lifeless. It took me a great deal longer to get through than any other erotica or porn novel has ever taken me before. I found myself falling asleep in it. I am thankful I read it for the sheer sake of being able to say I have read it and to add it to my knowledge or sexuality. It did nothing for me that an erotica would brag about doing. This book just wasn’t “sexy” compared to so many other things I have read. Though if I had read it in 1749 then I would probably feel drastically different.
I however did enjoy that the language was never crass. Instead there were hundreds of euphemisms for everything. It kept the scenes from getting repetitive. Though if everyone ever uses any of the names for vagina and penis that this book used in real life, I would laugh and not be able to take them seriously. Machine and Weapon being my two favorites for how ridiculous they were.
I have a not so secret passion for sexuality and gender. If you talk to me more than once then you know this passion. I love historical porn, I love the science behind sexuality, I love the social impacts it has. I am fascinated by it all. This book fell into the need to devour pornography that has shaped the current world of sexuality.
The book itself is very tame. The most extreme scenes being very mild orgies (one at a time coupling while the other couples watched) and a brief caning scene (though the text itself called if flogging). The book is very much porn. There is no mistaking it for anything else, which is why I am disappointed that the book did not go further. I found myself bored by it. I am thankful that there was no philosophy that took dozens of pages at a time to resolve between scenes and that there was no issues of rape/forced infecting of disease like some other books. This book solely existed in the realm of pleasure and non-judgment (outside of the repeated issues with male homosexuality, despite the pretty wonderful sex scene between two males that Fanny spied on).
For the time period, I can see why this book was seen as hardcore and caused issues for the author. Though in modern standards, it is dull and lifeless. It took me a great deal longer to get through than any other erotica or porn novel has ever taken me before. I found myself falling asleep in it. I am thankful I read it for the sheer sake of being able to say I have read it and to add it to my knowledge or sexuality. It did nothing for me that an erotica would brag about doing. This book just wasn’t “sexy” compared to so many other things I have read. Though if I had read it in 1749 then I would probably feel drastically different.
I however did enjoy that the language was never crass. Instead there were hundreds of euphemisms for everything. It kept the scenes from getting repetitive. Though if everyone ever uses any of the names for vagina and penis that this book used in real life, I would laugh and not be able to take them seriously. Machine and Weapon being my two favorites for how ridiculous they were.
It gets three stars only because, as far as I can tell, it's never really been surpassed. For what it is, it's terrific. And what it is, is, smut. Not that I have anything against smut. It's just hard to sustain the mood over an entire novel.
The only reason I finished this book was so I could tick it off a list, if it was any longer i would have given up. I cannot believe it got written. I cannot believe it got published. I cannot believe it made it on to various "books to read before you die" lists. It is literally a bunch of explicitly described sexual encounters glorifying all sorts of immoral and these days illegal pairings. The sentences also were incomprehensible long, I counted more than 20 clauses in 1. The only value of this book was showing me a world I would otherwise not encounter.
Definitely not a book I would recommend. To anyone. Ever.
Definitely not a book I would recommend. To anyone. Ever.
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced