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casparb's review against another edition
points for being the only book of erotica I’ve encountered that makes good use of the word ‘sublimation’ there is some kind of applause from the back seats
I’m a fan of the Lilith story and it manages to produce the most unsettling tone even amid some pretty UH OH competition.
Delta of Venus may just be the best title for a work of collected erotica so tributarial so many manies. Tell me all about Anna (O).
Anaïs you worry me I think this is so fun historicised though fun is not the word but I mean in the frame of Miller whom she really could stomp and this mysterious client who requested , this. I like Anaïs I should wander further though we’re careful with dosage
I’m a fan of the Lilith story and it manages to produce the most unsettling tone even amid some pretty UH OH competition.
Delta of Venus may just be the best title for a work of collected erotica so tributarial so many manies. Tell me all about Anna (O).
Anaïs you worry me I think this is so fun historicised though fun is not the word but I mean in the frame of Miller whom she really could stomp and this mysterious client who requested , this. I like Anaïs I should wander further though we’re careful with dosage
bettyg's review
2.0
I just say a review of Delta of Venus and remember reading it many years ago as a high school student. It is a collection of erotic essays that the author might create an uproar by publishing it today. It is an interesting read but not for everyone.
emmacraig's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
tiastillman's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
3.0
This book is a collection of erotica- a lot of it being very hard to digest. Overall very disturbing- but it had to be. I can see the point this book is trying to make but for me personally it was a bit too intense. Very interesting when you realise all of this was sourced for some sickos ‘private collection’.
However I will note this book sent me down an Opium Den rabbit hole. That particular scene was so well written that I had no choice but to learn the entire history of opium + the opioid crisis. Controversial opinion but we need to bring back opium dens.
However I will note this book sent me down an Opium Den rabbit hole. That particular scene was so well written that I had no choice but to learn the entire history of opium + the opioid crisis. Controversial opinion but we need to bring back opium dens.
meadows2020's review against another edition
I cancelled Kindle unlimited and I’m fine not reading this
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence and Incest
martaltg_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
harrietannreads's review against another edition
4.0
TW: sexual violence
This book highlighted the importance of reading a blurb before buying a book aka I didn’t realise I’d bought straight up “high brow” porn (nb: my cover didn’t have erotica written on it so how was I to know).
Anyways this is really well written and I don’t like smut like I hate written sex scenes, I think they suck buuuut Anaïs Nin knows how to do it (apparently this is what she’s kinda know for so quel surpris).
I have a general rule of thumb with this kind of thing which is quite difficult bc it falls under a subjective judgement of tone. For example, I think Lolita is fine because I don’t think it romanticises paedophilia at all, in fact the tone of the book actively condemns Hubert throughout. Comparatively, A Memoir of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel García Márquez does not have any sort of tone suggesting that what the main character is doing is wrong or perverse in any way. For the most part, I felt Nin’s tone when a character was engaging in a perverted sexual act was judgemental and it told the reader she did not endorse that sort of behaviour. However, at other points I felt she was having a bit too much fun with things that literally just fell into the category of rape. To counter this, I know that most if not all of this erotica was written for a man who was paying for the work to be written in a certain way so perhaps Nin was just doing what she needed to do to get her money.
In sum, morally, I feel dubious about giving this book a high rating because at times I felt Nin wasn’t condemning paedophilia or rape when she should have been. In terms of writing, this was one of the best written books I’ve ever read. Does that cancel out morally questionable behaviour? No. Do I know how to rate books? Also, no.
I am just a girl.
This book highlighted the importance of reading a blurb before buying a book aka I didn’t realise I’d bought straight up “high brow” porn (nb: my cover didn’t have erotica written on it so how was I to know).
Anyways this is really well written and I don’t like smut like I hate written sex scenes, I think they suck buuuut Anaïs Nin knows how to do it (apparently this is what she’s kinda know for so quel surpris).
I have a general rule of thumb with this kind of thing which is quite difficult bc it falls under a subjective judgement of tone. For example, I think Lolita is fine because I don’t think it romanticises paedophilia at all, in fact the tone of the book actively condemns Hubert throughout. Comparatively, A Memoir of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel García Márquez does not have any sort of tone suggesting that what the main character is doing is wrong or perverse in any way. For the most part, I felt Nin’s tone when a character was engaging in a perverted sexual act was judgemental and it told the reader she did not endorse that sort of behaviour. However, at other points I felt she was having a bit too much fun with things that literally just fell into the category of rape. To counter this, I know that most if not all of this erotica was written for a man who was paying for the work to be written in a certain way so perhaps Nin was just doing what she needed to do to get her money.
In sum, morally, I feel dubious about giving this book a high rating because at times I felt Nin wasn’t condemning paedophilia or rape when she should have been. In terms of writing, this was one of the best written books I’ve ever read. Does that cancel out morally questionable behaviour? No. Do I know how to rate books? Also, no.
I am just a girl.
ethera's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
vibrant and empowering
tokatczuk's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
2.75
this felt more like an examination of the human sexual psyche than a classic erotica to me — that’s why i picked it up, and in terms of analysis and language, it didn’t disappoint. the languor and hazy atmosphere are vivid, the stories sharp edged and almost brutal in their honestly. it left me with a lingering feeling of both disgust and fascination at human sexuality.