Take a photo of a barcode or cover
rwcarter 's review for:
The 120 Days of Sodom
by Marquis de Sade
There have been plenty of books that have accrued a lot of controversy and honestly, they're some of my favorite to read. But ultimately, I'm disappointed because what was controversial 30, 40, 50 years ago is no longer so. However this book, written in 18TH CENTURY FRANCE, certainly lives up to its reputation. When I say this book made me sick to my stomach at times, I am being 100% genuine. Excessively grotesque, brutal, and vile, this text is a portrait of the devil in man.
I don't even want to describe the plot because it, in itself, is just astonishingly horrid. Not only that, but it becomes quite repetitive, so one almost becomes accustomed to the atrocity -- something that, if done intentionally, is almost ingenious. One thing that astounded me is the idea of this text as something worthy of scholarly discussion. This edition came with Simone de Beauvoir's "Must We Burn Sade?" which helped give context to the academic lens for this work. I think discussing the intricacies of Sade's mind and the philosophical impact of his work is interesting, but I wonder how valid it is given the hyperbolic nature of the story. Sade only finished the first of four parts but even still, the book is hundreds of pages. If he had finished all four parts, 120 Days may have been over 1000 pages of sadistic, abhorrent, sexual travesties. At this point, is Sade really trying to communicate some intellectual point, or is he just emptying his vile mind onto paper? Either way, this was a crazy read and while gruesome, I do recommend it. It really puts evil into perspective.
The two star rating is largely due to the repetitiveness of the narration, but I truly love the academic potential this novel seems to enjoy.
I don't even want to describe the plot because it, in itself, is just astonishingly horrid. Not only that, but it becomes quite repetitive, so one almost becomes accustomed to the atrocity -- something that, if done intentionally, is almost ingenious. One thing that astounded me is the idea of this text as something worthy of scholarly discussion. This edition came with Simone de Beauvoir's "Must We Burn Sade?" which helped give context to the academic lens for this work. I think discussing the intricacies of Sade's mind and the philosophical impact of his work is interesting, but I wonder how valid it is given the hyperbolic nature of the story. Sade only finished the first of four parts but even still, the book is hundreds of pages. If he had finished all four parts, 120 Days may have been over 1000 pages of sadistic, abhorrent, sexual travesties. At this point, is Sade really trying to communicate some intellectual point, or is he just emptying his vile mind onto paper? Either way, this was a crazy read and while gruesome, I do recommend it. It really puts evil into perspective.
The two star rating is largely due to the repetitiveness of the narration, but I truly love the academic potential this novel seems to enjoy.