Reviews - The 120 Days of Sodom

The 120 Days of Sodom by Marquis de Sade

256 reviews for:

I completed this novel right before I went to sleep, but before sleeping I had to have a VERY long shower. I was surprised at how profoundly 120 Days of Sodom disgusted me. It's perverted, juvenile, brutal and repulsive. Not only was it exhausting and repetitive, but there was so much violence that towards its conclusion I became numb to all the torture and it just became tedious. Apart from the writing, I couldn't find any pros about this book. The many unfortunate victims in this book are mainly pubescent children, and they are subjected to the vilest, repugnant and demented kinds of torture I have ever read. I'm absolutely adamant no piece of literature or film can be as grotesque as 120 Days of Sodom, and unlike most books I've read - even the ones I completely despise - I'm not happy I read this book at all. I only recommend it to someone who wants to read the most impure, foul thoughts that have actually existed on this planet, or if you wanna see how vile human beings with power can become. Other than that, I highly advise you not to read this. Though it's a waste of time reading, I do think of Marquis De Sade to be a highly eloquent and talented writer who was probably giggling to himself when writing this in prison, and I hope he was being antagonistic on purpose.

Here's what it contains - Coprophilia, pedophilia, ejaculation, sodomy (well duh - it's in the title), incest, nihilism, forced abortion, bestiality, imagery necrophilia (for example, the Duc was having sexual intercourse with his daughter, pretending she was dead), murder, coprophagia, rape, bondage, massacres, cannibalism, rearranging gender private parts, disembowelling, enema, child abuse, molestation and genital mutilation - just to name a few.

In conclusion, just don't read this lol.

zelmani's review against another edition

1.0

dark sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

jetjaguar88's review

3.0

Woof

I feel like I am being generous in saying that this was a lot to take in.

You’re either laughing at how absurd this book was, or getting sick over it.

I did enjoy the writing of the book (mainly the first part) and I enjoyed knowing when the scroll Sade wrote on had to be turned over to continue writing during the 37 days of writing this book in prison.

37 days you ask? Yes, this book was not finished in the sense of being completely fleshed out. There are numerous errors throughout.

Once part 1 is over, however, the real endurance test begins. The poop sequences simmer down only to be replaced with the most heinous (somehow funny at times) tortures take place.

Unfortunately, with the time constraint given, all of the characters fall short and meld into one another (there are a lot by the way). I was rooting for the cooks until even most of them were taken down.

120 Days is THE example of the limits literature can go and is also an example of the savageries of the 1700s (you think he was the only sicko back then?)

I will probably read his other novels which are given more praise. I don’t think I’ll need to read this again.

If you’re unsure on picking this up, watch the movie adaptation “Salo” which pretty much sums up parts 1 & 4.

Reading this is like coming across a Cannibal Corpse album for the first time. Once the initial shock is over, it loses its luster over time.