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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
slow-paced
So... I've decided not to finish this at 60%. The writing borders on dry, which wouldn't normally stop me from reading on, but I read some reviews a while back that made me put the book down for a long time. Somewhere in that last 40% is a story about a necrophilic encounter and I... just don't want that rattling around in my mind for the rest of my life. I've already read episodes of dubious consent in this collection that made me feel deeply uncomfortable and I don't need to add to that discomfort.
I wouldn't turn people away from reading this book if they're looking for something in the erotica category or to explore Nin's writing, but I would caution them about its contents.
I wouldn't turn people away from reading this book if they're looking for something in the erotica category or to explore Nin's writing, but I would caution them about its contents.
It's important to read the introduction for this book. The stories were written for a very particular market and the author's creativity was stifled. Her ability does shine through, but the constraints give the stories a sameness, and it just wasn't something I felt like picking up after a while.
This is supposed to be one of the greatest and most famous pieces of erotica ever written. This book had it all: pedophilia, rape, bestiality, voyuerism, prostitutes, bondage, you name it. Not bad for 1930s France. I wouldn't let anyone in real like know that I read this.
”You do not know what you are missing by your microscopic examination of sexual activity to the exclusion of others, which are the fuel that ignites it. Intellectual, imaginative, romantic, emotional. This is what gives sex its surprising textures, its subtle transformations, its aphrodisiac elements. You are shrinking your world of sensations. You are withering it, starving it, draining its blood.”
A collection of short stories. Some of them beautiful; some, disturbing; all of them provocative. Just as Erotica should.
Erotica is one of the most underrated, under appreciated, and undervalued genres. In present, it’s also filled with B-rate stories that are recycled ad nauseam.
A collection of short stories. Some of them beautiful; some, disturbing; all of them provocative. Just as Erotica should.
Erotica is one of the most underrated, under appreciated, and undervalued genres. In present, it’s also filled with B-rate stories that are recycled ad nauseam.
a miraculously gifted writer but if freud read her work he would’ve had a lot of support for his theories
It's difficult to choose between 3 and 4 stars with this rating. I think the poetry added enough life to the smut - pure, adulterated smut, I must say - that it felt like reading more than just over-the-top erotic fiction, there was a nonsexual pleasure to be had, and that I feel gives enough of a push to bump it up to four stars. Well, that and the introduction where the author reveals that she doesn't take these stories seriously herself, which added a comedic effect where you feel you and the author are sharing an inside joke at the expense of the "collector" when you get to the parts that are way, way too bizarre to find masturbatory unless you are the "collector". The several parts that made me plead "Make it end!" will not be considered in this review because I'd like to forget I even read them.
this is EROTICA...but some things should have been left unsaid
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Rape
Moderate: Pedophilia
Minor: War
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Great collection of stories but only when the stories were actually short n sweet. Anais nin is masterful at capturing her audiences attention with the taboo, the erotic and the depraved in a small amount of pages however, the longer stories couldn’t keep my attention for long enough and I found them difficult to get through.
I was also surprised at the content in this one. Definitely new to the erotica genre and was unaware of its aim to tackle difficult sexual topics. Requires a bit more tactfulness than I have to discuss, but I will attempt. So simply put the arousal of her characters at the pain of other characters was a challenging read. I’m unsure if she is genuinely trying to arouse the reader themselves or shock them. Anasis has been bold here that’s for sure.
The best short stories were ‘Mathilde’ and ‘Marcel’
I was also surprised at the content in this one. Definitely new to the erotica genre and was unaware of its aim to tackle difficult sexual topics. Requires a bit more tactfulness than I have to discuss, but I will attempt. So simply put the arousal of her characters at the pain of other characters was a challenging read. I’m unsure if she is genuinely trying to arouse the reader themselves or shock them. Anasis has been bold here that’s for sure.
The best short stories were ‘Mathilde’ and ‘Marcel’