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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
AnaÏs Nin's Delta of Venus is a collection of beautifully written erotic short stories. Her prose is vibrant and sensuous, and through it, she explores the various avenues of female sexuality. Most of her stories, however, are hard to read since they do not deal with healthy sexual relationships. Rather, they all involve some sort of toxic or taboo relationship and/or fetish, from incest to necrophilia. Nin conjures dazzling scenes and sexual encounters that one could never have fathomed, both for their creativity and surrealism and for their dark nature. She distracts us with her alluring words from the perversions of the scenes she is describing, trying to beautify things that we consider shocking as a society. Her work is definitely one of the most interesting things I have read so far, not only because her writing style is mesmerising but because she contrasts it with situations we consider to be revolting, treading very thinly on what is permissible and questioning the moral boundaries of the society we inhabit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Sexual harassment
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Revolutionary for its time, really diverse erotic scenarios and well developed sense of place and sensual experiences.
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It's a bit of a challenge to rate. Some of the stories aged very poorly, meanwhile others manage to enchant still (especially the three last ones are noteworthy)
I enjoyed “Little Birds” soooo much more but I think the problem with this one was that the stories just dragged on far too long (especially the one I stopped at with Bijou and the Basque). Simply put, I got bored.
Most of these stories are eviscerating explorations of female sexuality and far ahead of their time.
The tone flips between steamy and philosophical in such a way that the stories flow gracefully, drawing poignancy from even the darkest depths of erotic desire.
However, the collection gradually grows tedious with overly repetitive descriptions and bland characters towards the end.
For such a short book, it's a shame to say that it outstays its welcome.
The tone flips between steamy and philosophical in such a way that the stories flow gracefully, drawing poignancy from even the darkest depths of erotic desire.
However, the collection gradually grows tedious with overly repetitive descriptions and bland characters towards the end.
For such a short book, it's a shame to say that it outstays its welcome.