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Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'
Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
14 reviews
mijtje's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, and Rape
Moderate: Miscarriage and Pregnancy
lostinthelibrary's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Oh wow, who would have thought something so risqué would have be published 250 years ago. I devoured this! I am a sucker for despicable and nefarious characters and this book has two of them who are just so enjoyable in their villainy. It is all about the rich playing with people because they have nothing else to fulfil their lives and it depicts this so well that I wouldn't be surprised if this book led some people to join the French Revolution!
Even outside of the two villains, the characters are so well drawn and all of their motivations clear. The format of the story through letters is perfect as it forces you to fill in the narrative gaps and makes the reveals all the more shocking. It also adds perfectly to the gossipy nature of the storytelling. All in all, this has been my biggest surprise of the year and a book I will highly recommend to anyone intimidated by classics but not by dark themes.
Even outside of the two villains, the characters are so well drawn and all of their motivations clear. The format of the story through letters is perfect as it forces you to fill in the narrative gaps and makes the reveals all the more shocking. It also adds perfectly to the gossipy nature of the storytelling. All in all, this has been my biggest surprise of the year and a book I will highly recommend to anyone intimidated by classics but not by dark themes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Death, Infidelity, and Adult/minor relationship
jihyeeroy's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5⭐️
Comment faire l’éloge d’une oeuvre qui survit si bien à sa postérité, voire qui a déjà méritée ses lettres de noblesse ? Les liaisons dangereuses de Pierre Choderlos de Laclos met en scène des personnages absolument dépravés qui subissent, à raison, le sort misérable de leurs actions; quoi demander de mieux d’une histoire ? C’est une œuvre choquante et étonnante pour son époque, considérant son exploration crue du libertinage, mais elle en est d’autant plus divertissante pour ces mêmes raisons. C’est une lecture qui, je l’admets, à des longueurs, or lorsque ça dérape… il devient impossible d’en détourner le regard.
Que dire aussi de la scandaleuse Marquise de Merteuil et ses multiples citations toutes aussi cinglante que satisfaites ? «Eh bien, la guerre !» déclare-t-elle comme un refus de soumission aux hommes. Son caractère froid et impétueux était si rafraîchissant; elle demeurera sans doute le personnage féminin le plus marquant que j’aurai lu dans le canon littéraire français. Tout en condamnant ses actions, il me coûte d’admettre qu’elle exécutait sa violence avec une habileté délicieuse. I support women’s right, AND women’s wrongs.
Comment faire l’éloge d’une oeuvre qui survit si bien à sa postérité, voire qui a déjà méritée ses lettres de noblesse ? Les liaisons dangereuses de Pierre Choderlos de Laclos met en scène des personnages absolument dépravés qui subissent, à raison, le sort misérable de leurs actions; quoi demander de mieux d’une histoire ? C’est une œuvre choquante et étonnante pour son époque, considérant son exploration crue du libertinage, mais elle en est d’autant plus divertissante pour ces mêmes raisons. C’est une lecture qui, je l’admets, à des longueurs, or lorsque ça dérape… il devient impossible d’en détourner le regard.
Que dire aussi de la scandaleuse Marquise de Merteuil et ses multiples citations toutes aussi cinglante que satisfaites ? «Eh bien, la guerre !» déclare-t-elle comme un refus de soumission aux hommes. Son caractère froid et impétueux était si rafraîchissant; elle demeurera sans doute le personnage féminin le plus marquant que j’aurai lu dans le canon littéraire français. Tout en condamnant ses actions, il me coûte d’admettre qu’elle exécutait sa violence avec une habileté délicieuse. I support women’s right, AND women’s wrongs.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, and Misogyny
adelekittey's review
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual harassment, Death, Murder, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Infidelity
janeloney's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
bookish_5280's review
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I read this book in French, a language which I'm not fluent in. I think this partly played into the reading experience, which I thought was unpleasant. But while I did not enjoy all the time that I spent reading it, I did enjoy reflecting on it and discussing it afterwards. I think it's important in multiple different ways. In a historical sense, it was a brazen book to write, and it played a critical role in the French Revolution, serving as a biting critique of the bourgeoisie and providing an incredibly progressive perspective on the rights and education of women. I also loved the style (after I got past not being able to understand parts of it :)), and the irony and sarcasm that Laclos used were really enjoyable. He was a genius in the sense that he was able to use the epistolary format to create a world in which the reader always has the upper hand, while also being able to show the world the hypocrisy and cruelty of the culture of "libertinage". I still can't decide what rating to give to this book, just because I was so miserable while reading it, but I do have to admit that it was a fascinating story to discuss and learn about. Maybe I should just reread it in English :).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Adult/minor relationship
theteaisaddictive's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
(This book was read chronologically as part of Dangerous Liaisons Daily)
I think the reasons I didn’t love reading Dangerous Liaisons had more to do with the meta text of Dangerous Liaisons Daily than the text of the novel itself (primarily the frustrations of awkward divisions of text, and the asides from the Editor which read as if written today). However, in all fairness, I still can’t understand how Mme. Tourvel ever fell in love with Valmont, so maybe 18th century morality plays are just something of an acquired taste for me.
I think the reasons I didn’t love reading Dangerous Liaisons had more to do with the meta text of Dangerous Liaisons Daily than the text of the novel itself (primarily the frustrations of awkward divisions of text, and the asides from the Editor which read as if written today). However, in all fairness, I still can’t understand how Mme. Tourvel ever fell in love with Valmont, so maybe 18th century morality plays are just something of an acquired taste for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Toxic relationship
aliquis's review against another edition
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity
Moderate: Pregnancy, Abortion, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Death
sillyduckie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was such a difficult and challenging read. Most of my rating goes towards the epistolary style of the book and how authentic the characters felt. I personally feel a bit icky after reading this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death, Miscarriage, and Grief
audreybelle's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
If you don't like so called "unlikeable characters", do not read this book cause everyone in it is awful. But also if you don't like unlikeable characters, get some taste, cause this book is great! I would highly recommend it to any fan of classic lit who often finds themselves disappointed by a lack of well written female villains, as Madame de Merteuil quickly climbed her way up my list of favourites. Okay now I'm just pissed off thinking about all the awful girlbosses sexist ass authors have deprived me of (looking at you Tolstoy)!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Rape, and Sexual assault
Minor: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Terminal illness, and Grief