Rating: 
Summary: Great philosophy whom most miss out on
Review: Due to the necessary nature of the violence depicted (maybe a metaphor) in the tales leaves some running for cover. Too bad. One of the greatest literary philosophers who ever lived, one would miss out on some of the greatest thought-provoking lit ever created. Keep the nerve, spend the time, reap the reward.
Rating: 
Summary: This about covers it
Review: I guess that one of the best ways to pass the time when your locked away in a mental institution is to write porn. This is what deSade did. The good people of France had the sense to keep this guy locked in either a prison or a mental hospital for most of his life. I can see why.This is a shocking book. That is its intent and it succeeds. Still it does give you things to think about besides wondering if there is any combination of men, women, boys, girls, animals and so forth that he left out. More seriously, a number of important philosophical and moral points are raised here. The problem is being able to keep your mind unaroused enough to think about them. Reading DeSade is one of my favorite guilty pleasures. The only thing I can think about is to not try to do it this way with your girlfriend or boyfriend. You'll end up in jail if you try. If you want to learn about hte realities of sadism, masochism and bondage try SM 101 by Jay Wiseman, The Loving Dominant by John Warren or Screw the Roses Send Me the Thorns by Phillip Miller and Molly Devon.
Rating: 
Summary: If anything, this is a parody of the modern libertarian.
Review: I quote the Marquis de Sade: "I do not wish to represent vice as being attractive. I do not want to make women adore the men who deceive them, but, rather, to detest them. I have made those of my heroes who tread the pathway of vice so utterly disgusting that they cannot inspire either pity or love. Thus I consider myself justified in claiming that I am more moral than those authors who nervously tone down their work." And indeed, it is somewhat of a relief to find that Sade (a literate and intelligent fellow) did not uphold the childishly atavistic, fundamentally absurdist ideology that Danville/Bressac/whoever lengthily expounds upon. Indeed, Sade's work is very dangerous to those who take him at face value. The more messed up of the Nazi "thinkers" were no doubt steeped in this sort of literature, and much of the twisted, vicious "reasoning" for their vile worldview can be seen in these pages, as many of Sade's "libertines" often like to sit and have themselves a nice metaphysical chat with whoever they're raping. Indeed, Danville's "pit" and his prattle about the survival of the wealthy mirrors Nazi Germany just about perfectly. It's very disappointing to see the looneytarians try to defend this disproportionately callous, animalistic, disgusting rhetoric, but they do, oozing half-baked ideologuing and lymphatic juice when slightly squeezed. But Sade, despite being bitter, cynical and highly sexed (the stories of his debaucheries are greatly exaggerated, by the bye), strongly opposed capital punishment and man's inhumanity to man in general. It is that fact that makes his work redeemable, even if it isn't all that literary (indeed, no character has more than one dimension...this was the intent, true, but still that fact remains) or if people have the tendency to ignore that underlying truth in favor of the deliberately perverted, distended, bestial "intellectual reasoning" that many of the characters spew - reasoning that Sade intended to have shown how vile its proponents truly were!
Rating:
Summary: Justine pityful? I don't think so.
Review: I rated this novel four stars. I would have given it more, however, I thought it was very, very wordy. I did not have the slightest sympathy for Justine. I just kept thinking as I was reading, "What a stupid girl!" I would have cut his throat with that knife, and/or let the S.O.B. hang in that cellar. As always, I feel DeSade is an eloquent writer, and his style is superb, but this time his heroine, or lack thereof, was not pityful, only ignorant.
Rating:
Summary: Centuries ahead of its time
Review: It is little wonder that the Marquis De Sade spent the last years of his life in a madhouse. Anyone as far ahead of his time as he was is sure to be considered insane by his contemporaries. This collection of his work is exhaustive, and deliciously exausting. You not only get "Justine" and "Philosophy in the Bedroom", there are many shorter works and a collection of De Sade's letters. All of these paint a picture of a man and a philosophy that was at least 150 years ahead of the morals and thought of his period. Sade not only anticipates Freud and Niezche, he goes beyond them. He declares homosexuality natural and advocates a woman's right to choose. The cruelty Sade is known for is the natural outgrowth of his philosophy and the pervailing attitude toward Nature during his life. Nature is the only real ruler of man, he says. Nature is sometimes cruel, indeed in the view of Western Civilization, Nature is always cruel. Therefore, says the Marquis, humans, if they are to be in harmony with the only true governing force, must allow themselves to at least imagine being cruel. Now, while one might criticize the Marquis for not being able to cross the rubicon with his views on Nature as he did with homosexuality, the fact remains that the conclusion is logical within De Sade's framework. This is not a collection for those seeking light erotica. Indeed, some of the situations described are the exact opposite of erotic. Read as philosophy, as the Marquis intended, his work is an earth shattering precursor to the modern and post modernist movement. This colection goes a long way in wresting Sade's name away from the pathology that unfortunatly bears his name.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting Philosophy
Review: Sades philosophy, that virtue by its very nature cannot withstand against vice, is thought provoking and it is for this that these stories are worth taking a look at. The writing style, though, can be a bit tiresome. The characters are all one-dimensional and many times Sade writes pages and pages of descriptive narrative that goes absolutely nowhere except right back to where it began. Not for the impatient.
Rating: 
Summary: It was so way off base from Erotism that it is just vulger
Review: So much for the Father S-M. To call him that is insane. . . i hope no one takes De Sade to heart or someone will get hurt. . . .
Rating:
Summary: Spank me libertine!
Review: There really can be nothing else said, that hasn't already been said a thousand times before, about the Marquis De Sade. Love him or loathe him, the man was a genius. There are other works that are perhaps technically better, but I picked this collection for its raw, unbridled, and deliciously perverted prose. Philosophy in the Bedroom is most definately the centre-piece here. De Sade goes over the top and truly out does himself, describing the exploits of a handful of true libertines. Never has S&M been this much fun! You really get an insight into the man and the times he lived.
The collection is also worthy for the many letters that De Sade wrote and has a nice chronology of events in and outside of his life. I cannot give this any higher recomendation, buy it now!
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece!
Review: These stories, the best the Marquis ever wrote, are among the finest literary works I've ever read. Justine is a wonderful story about a poor girl who goes through life suffering one misfortune after the other (10 in all.) She has her toe cut off, is abused in a convent, punched by the elderly and forced to do slave labour amongst other things. The book is entertaining and paints a bleak look of a women who has chosen the unwise path of Virtue over Vice. The Philosophy is equally if not more entertaining. The story is a simple tale about a group of libertines who take it upon themselves to corrupt a virgin. The ending with the girls mother is sick and the story follows a predictable pattern rotating sex with philosophy. Eugenie de Franvale, a 70 page story is the true masterpiece of the book. Surprisingly restraines for the Marquis, the plt involves an incestuos affair between a Father and his daughter. Both evil. The character of Clervil is wonderful and the stoy has many moments of exceptional dialogue. Everyone should read this story. It is tame but an absolute masterpiece. Overall, the Marquis seems to me like a wonderful writer, He is extremely intelligent and has a way of convincing the reader to support his atheist leanings. Those who pan the stories clearly haven read them, if not they would realize De Sade is a great writer who only contradicts society's views.
Rating:
Summary: considered Sade's masterpiece
Review: This collection of the Marquis de Sade's writings includes "Justine" and "Philosophy in the Bedroom". The latter is a "dialogue" about a teenage virgin girl's indoctrination into the ways of sex, basically. Some hands-on lessons soon turn this young innocent into a well-trained debauchee. Next, we have the novel "Justine." In this story of virtue vanquished by vice, "good girl" Justine leaves the convent to find herself molested by a wicked outside world of cruelty and perversion. The over-arching idea or message that Sade was trying to get across here was: doing good only leads to bad consequences, and besides, it's more fun to be evil and perverted. I don't believe in Sade's philosophy because even his apologists and sympathizers will admit that it is all about completely unleashing the beast within us, and the 20th century more than any other has taught us that that can only lead to total anarchy, and end in total annihilation. It is a doctrine of extreme nihilism based on selfish and compassionless self-gratification. Another problem is that all of Sade's villains are the same--their sexual proclivities, their philosophies, their social status, etc etc. Not much variety. Another fault some have found is that his plots are quite predictable and repetitous (same thing over and over: Justine meets a man who first seems good and decent on the outside, but turns out to be a real villain, which she only discovers after he has taken her to his secluded mansion, monastery, or some other place from which there is no escape for her). Of course, virtue is always punished by vice, and each time Justine begs for mercy, she is paid back for it with violent abuse and lust. In Sade's works, he makes it look like 9 out of 10 people, particularly men, are wicked, perverse, violent beasts. Also, there is a strong undertone of misogyny, sodomy, sadomasochism, and the hatred of all standard morality. Sade's ideas often have a seemingly convincing evil logic, but they are the thoughts and fancies of a clever and philosophical madman or serial killer, weakened at times by inconsistencies, contradictions, and platitudes. Sade writes from the perspective of a gifted writer who has been babied and pampered all his life, who has never worked, who has been able to satisfy his every desire, who has spent most of his life in jails and an asylum, and thus has lost touch with reality and the human race (and this shows clearly in his writings which are usually much more implausible than realistic), who has lived in complete comfort even in his confinement. Even the food which his wife had sent to him and which he ate behind bars would have suited a king. I believe Sade was an unfeeling, heartless wretch because his mother abandoned him at a very very early age, and he never learned love in childhood, so was unable to give it in adulthood. I give this book 5 stars for its intellectual daring and originality as a documentation of the philosophy of evil, and because it is more or less well-written. I believe Sade's writings can give many insights into the thoughts and behavior of evil, and are important reading for theologians, psychologists, and criminologists. (...)
|
