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2.95 AVERAGE
2.95 AVERAGE
challenging
funny
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Miscarriage, Grief, Death of parent
I didn't like this book as much as my classmates did, and I only finished volume 2 a month after class ended (woops). I was never able to get past the impression that this was an older man writing a teenage girl having sex; unlike Pamela, she never felt like a believable character. However my classmates disagreed with me on this and part of that is I guess the genre (porn).
While this novel seems much more in the tradition of French hedonism, it in fact clings to the English bourgeois tradition in some surprising ways. The novel argues that pleasure is pleasure, that sexual love, while separate from romantic love, can coexist with it, and that vice can lead to virtue. Fanny even "reforms" a man who has a fetish for virginity, a kind of subversion of the trope of the gentleman reforming the prostitute. However, men who have fetishes (such as the sado-masochist client) are still depicted as having something fundamentally wrong with them and are physically/mentally unhealthy. And Fanny, after spying on two men having sex, is so furious at their "criminal" actions that she runs to try to summon the whole house against them, apparently intent on a lynching. So much for pleasure being pleasure.
On the other hand, she does this only after watching them the whole time, with the act described in the same erotic detail as other acts, and the men do manage to escape, so...
While this novel seems much more in the tradition of French hedonism, it in fact clings to the English bourgeois tradition in some surprising ways. The novel argues that pleasure is pleasure, that sexual love, while separate from romantic love, can coexist with it, and that vice can lead to virtue. Fanny even "reforms" a man who has a fetish for virginity, a kind of subversion of the trope of the gentleman reforming the prostitute. However, men who have fetishes (such as the sado-masochist client) are still depicted as having something fundamentally wrong with them and are physically/mentally unhealthy. And Fanny, after spying on two men having sex, is so furious at their "criminal" actions that she runs to try to summon the whole house against them, apparently intent on a lynching. So much for pleasure being pleasure.
On the other hand, she does this only after watching them the whole time, with the act described in the same erotic detail as other acts, and the men do manage to escape, so...
funny
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I knew that pre-Victorian literature was not as conservative but my oh my does this give modern smut a run for its money 😂😂 According to one review:
If you've heard one euphemism for penis, you...well, you haven't heard them all. Once you finish this book, then you'll have heard them all.
This is bad but comically so, hence the higher rating
Dear John...let me introduce you to the period.
I know this is an old book, but wow. Every sentence is a run-on, and it's exhausting to read. I'm skipping ahead to the naughty bits as though I'm a virgin schoolchild.
I know this is an old book, but wow. Every sentence is a run-on, and it's exhausting to read. I'm skipping ahead to the naughty bits as though I'm a virgin schoolchild.
I saw a quite of few review say this is just porn and I have to disagree to that. The book is divided in 2 sections which are both letters to the reader. The first is the tale of how she got into the life of a "woman of pleasure". They didnt describe each act of sex but more the highlights and important moments that bring her to the life.
In part 2, she joins a group of woman and we learn about each of the girls and their first moments. Each descriptive encounter makes sense and again play importance in her life.
This is the oldest book I have read being written in 1748. Much of it was quite difficult to follow (for me) and at times I found myself saying "huh" a lot. The descriptive way of talking about the actions and body parts were quite interesting. I think there was much that could have been cut down due to repeativeness. But overall, it was decent. Beware of very long sentences that today would have broken up into like 10 or more.
In part 2, she joins a group of woman and we learn about each of the girls and their first moments. Each descriptive encounter makes sense and again play importance in her life.
This is the oldest book I have read being written in 1748. Much of it was quite difficult to follow (for me) and at times I found myself saying "huh" a lot. The descriptive way of talking about the actions and body parts were quite interesting. I think there was much that could have been cut down due to repeativeness. But overall, it was decent. Beware of very long sentences that today would have broken up into like 10 or more.
I wasn't that surprised or shocked by the content of Fanny Hill. Neither was I shocked by the time period in which it was written. It is after all centered on the oldest profession in the world. However, I was surprised to discover that the author felt the need to end things with a tribute to love and virtue.
It was free on Gutenberg and seventeen year old Anya wanted some sexy fun times. Unfortunately, this book was pure porn with no sexy fun times to be had. Seventeen year old Anya was very disappointed. :c
The following gets a little explicit. If you're not cool with that, best skip it.
I can mostly briefly sum this one up by saying that it reminded me quite a bit of Roxana, but a good deal less whiny and much more explicit. Fortunately, despite the explicitness, I didn't find it particularly sexy, or it would have become rather awkward to read it on the bus. I will say that it's super obvious that this was written by a man, for two reasons. (1) Very few women are as obsessed with cocks — and their size — as men are. Seriously, with one exception every one she encountered was of a prodigious size, and somehow bigger than the last, and, naturally, they were all magnificent. And (2) Allowing for some leeway due to the era in which it was written, only a dude would be so apparently committed to the idea that Tab A into Slot B is all that's required for overwhelming ecstasy to ensue. On the other hand, at least he acknowledges that sex actually can be fun for women, so that's something.
Furthermore, allow me to point out two things for the benefit of any virgins who might be reading, and who will be subject to what passes for sexual education in many places. (1) As implied above, if Tab A into Slot B isn't enough to send you off into the heights of whatever, that is not an indication that anything is wrong with you. (2) The loss of your virginity, while it may being some discomfort and a little blood, should not be as physically difficult as presented here, and it should not be so painful and damaging to your insides that you're out of commission for days afterwards. If it is, there is something wrong, and you should get that checked out.
OK, PSA over.
I can mostly briefly sum this one up by saying that it reminded me quite a bit of Roxana, but a good deal less whiny and much more explicit. Fortunately, despite the explicitness, I didn't find it particularly sexy, or it would have become rather awkward to read it on the bus. I will say that it's super obvious that this was written by a man, for two reasons. (1) Very few women are as obsessed with cocks — and their size — as men are. Seriously, with one exception every one she encountered was of a prodigious size, and somehow bigger than the last, and, naturally, they were all magnificent. And (2) Allowing for some leeway due to the era in which it was written, only a dude would be so apparently committed to the idea that Tab A into Slot B is all that's required for overwhelming ecstasy to ensue. On the other hand, at least he acknowledges that sex actually can be fun for women, so that's something.
Furthermore, allow me to point out two things for the benefit of any virgins who might be reading, and who will be subject to what passes for sexual education in many places. (1) As implied above, if Tab A into Slot B isn't enough to send you off into the heights of whatever, that is not an indication that anything is wrong with you. (2) The loss of your virginity, while it may being some discomfort and a little blood, should not be as physically difficult as presented here, and it should not be so painful and damaging to your insides that you're out of commission for days afterwards. If it is, there is something wrong, and you should get that checked out.
OK, PSA over.