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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
Old timey porn. Thought it'd be right up my alley but there was a lot of shit about "Barons" with boners who try to surreptitiously rub them against unwitting kids. Or young boys in priest school humping their most ladylike classmate without clear permission. I guess since it's written by a lady we're meant to let it slide and file it under art. All women in this tiring collection of short stories have a pulsating, blooming, honey-oozing "sex". Like lots of juices. And quaint BJ descriptions. That was cool I guess. The 40s were different times I guess. They get theirs and I suppose that's empowering. Normally I like horny shit but this was just like reading flowery, steampunk Penthouse letters. Fun for a bit but hard to read as a book. Pull it out during your next salon in your parlor and remind your guests after they get offended that it was written by a female! They will blush at their small minded bigotry! High-fellatin'!
I will review the reviews of this book: the 4/5 star reviews give many excellent insights into why this is such a compelling read and definitely worth your time. The people who complain “ick incest/necrophilia/rape/pedophilia/any other perversion” seem to be people who were looking for porn and are annoyed that instead they got a book about the complex intersection between humanity’s animal nature and our overly evolved and somewhat fucked up brains, all from a brilliant woman’s perspective. If you are looking for sexy smut, the brief parts of her diaries that I have already read seem a better option, although I also found lots more insights into human psychology, fun reads and interesting stories.
PS Nin seems a better, more interesting and still relevant writer than Henry Miller, again from the brief readings of his works I’ve done. In many ways (style, subject matter, genre) she reminds me of George Moore.
PS Nin seems a better, more interesting and still relevant writer than Henry Miller, again from the brief readings of his works I’ve done. In many ways (style, subject matter, genre) she reminds me of George Moore.
lighthearted
medium-paced
anais u intrigue me. i felt. inundated with porn by this book; i think her novels will be more to my taste. wish she had tumblr tho. and ao3. i also appreciate the minimal dialogue when describing intercourse - i feel show not tell tends to go out the window when writing erotica (im thinking specifically of fanfiction. please guys it’s impossible to transcribe a moan and convey its sexiness at the same time . stop trying).
this book is sensual in the literal meaning of the word. the look feel smell touch taste of bodies and their exquisite surroundings are so luxuriously described. thank u ms nin
oh i should mention probably. this book isn’t rlly for me bc im asexual but im sure it’s like super hot as well. i just happen to prefer her descriptions of bedchambers to the actions that take place inside them.
this book is sensual in the literal meaning of the word. the look feel smell touch taste of bodies and their exquisite surroundings are so luxuriously described. thank u ms nin
oh i should mention probably. this book isn’t rlly for me bc im asexual but im sure it’s like super hot as well. i just happen to prefer her descriptions of bedchambers to the actions that take place inside them.
I normally don't read erotica, but I received this collection of short stories as a gift and figured I'd give it a try.
I actually really enjoyed Nin's "no nonsense" style of writing and her descriptions. As for the stories, very few intrigued me. But Nin does preface Delta of Venus that she wrote these stories for the pure pleasure of a particular male client who didn't want any poetry, just the down and dirty sex.
And that's exactly what you'll get. Some stories are funny, many have violence, some have incest. They are indeed across the board.
I might read another Nin novel, but erotic in general doesn't whet my appetite. (Did you see what I did there?!)
I actually really enjoyed Nin's "no nonsense" style of writing and her descriptions. As for the stories, very few intrigued me. But Nin does preface Delta of Venus that she wrote these stories for the pure pleasure of a particular male client who didn't want any poetry, just the down and dirty sex.
And that's exactly what you'll get. Some stories are funny, many have violence, some have incest. They are indeed across the board.
I might read another Nin novel, but erotic in general doesn't whet my appetite. (Did you see what I did there?!)
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Beautifully crafted. Stunning writing. Erotica can be beautiful and not trashy. The fact that this was written in an era where women were not often seen as sexually beings makes the book even more fascinating. Superb.
Some of the most horrifying, taboo subjects written unbearably well. Anais was really like, oh you want erotica? You got it sickos! Iconic. Gorgeous. I love taboo!
When I added this book to my list of must-reads I imagined it would be something like D. H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover, a work I greatly enjoyed. But while Lawrence's Chatterley is a striking modernist novel about the class system, gender disparity, and sexuality with many well written and daring erotic scenes, Nin's Delta of Venus is a book filled with daring erotic scenes, with many well written stories about class, gender disparity, and sexuality thrown in. Delta of Venus is actually a collection of short works written by Nin for a collector of erotica. Her instructions were to eliminate poetic writing in favor of heavily descriptive sex scenes, but Nin melds description and story telling artfully. Her writing, her tendency to delve further and further into the relationships and personal emotions of her characters, reminds me Lawrence's modernist handling of prose, while her characters' sexual abandon reminds me of Martin Amis's more recent novel, The Pregnant Widow, about the feminist and sexual revolution of the 1970s (which, by the way, harks heavily back to Lawrence). This book probably isn't for everyone but Nin is credited with giving literature a language for sex and sensuality, and I think for giving women a place in that language as well. She continued what Lawrence started, and what society in general continued a few decades later.