Rating: 
Summary: The Emperor's New Clothes--Again
Review: This book does more than push the envelope of propriety, it blows it away. And true to form, many a "liberal-minded" intellectual rushes to embrace it in lock step with his credo that any subject is warranted, as long as it is not moralistic, does not restrict THEIR freedom, and is treated with even the slightest literary flair. Congratulations, Sade--your book wins the triple crown, and the dupes continue to kneel at your alter.
Rating: 
Summary: The Extraordinary Quest
Review: This is just a quick note upon finishing this novel, and words simply fail me. One surely comes to mind and that is "Whew!" If there is anyone else out there who has succesfully completed this book and was taken so deep for so many good hours, please send me an email and let me know what you thought! For those of you who just happen to be in here and are unfamiliar with Sade, then I really don't think this is the book to start off with! It's frightening 1,205 pages would scare a lot of people away, but I just simply love to get into a huge novel! This was sex scene after perverse and twisted sex scene every page jammed packed with "kink" and loads and loads of sodomy! The amazing thing is, when you come to the last page of this monstrosity, it all comes together and makes sense and you finally realize that there actually WAS a story going on and you were just too wrapped up in Sade's sex, as are the characters, to notice what was going on around you all the time!Incredible read. Maybe I will do it again in a few. . .YEARS
Rating:
Summary: A dark masterpiece
Review: Undoubtedly Sade's chief novel, "Juliette" describes the lengthy adventures of a beautiful young whore who uses her body to obtain the money and power she craves. Her numerous sexual adventures are described in minute detail, as are her equally numerous murders and other less pleasant debaucheries. The whole is punctuated with philosophical discussion regarding the nature of sex, God, and mankind. This is a very intense book, and one which has upset and offended many, many people since it was first published in the 1790's. If the subject of sex offends you, do not read this book. However, if you can stand a cold, dispassionate account of the human sex drive, and its function and meaning, then read "Juliette" immediately. One final comment - Sade's writing is often dismissed as "repetitive," but what could be more repetitive than the physical motions of sexual intercourse?
Rating:
Summary: A dark masterpiece
Review: Undoubtedly Sade's chief novel, "Juliette" describes the lengthy adventures of a beautiful young whore who uses her body to obtain the money and power she craves. Her numerous sexual adventures are described in minute detail, as are her equally numerous murders and other less pleasant debaucheries. The whole is punctuated with philosophical discussion regarding the nature of sex, God, and mankind. This is a very intense book, and one which has upset and offended many, many people since it was first published in the 1790's. If the subject of sex offends you, do not read this book. However, if you can stand a cold, dispassionate account of the human sex drive, and its function and meaning, then read "Juliette" immediately. One final comment - Sade's writing is often dismissed as "repetitive," but what could be more repetitive than the physical motions of sexual intercourse?
Rating:
Summary: The mind of an evil genius!
Review: Vicente Munoz Puelles's The Arch of Desire was an excellent referral to Marquis de Sade's work. This exquisitely dark novel about the workings of an evil genius's mind enthralled me. No sooner did I start reading this book than it consumed me until its final pages.Various arresting matters are brought on in Juliette, and they all mix erotica with dark messages that somehow sound logical. Marquis de Sade states that doing evil leads to personal fulfillment. He relies upon the success of various political dictators and powerful people with no scruples to illustrate his opinion. Also, he assures the reader that acting upon the most taboo subjects - murder, atheism, incest, rape, hatred - will free you from all inhibitions. In other words, crime, not truth, shall set one free. He illustrates the aforementioned horrid details from a young woman's vantage point. Juliette is quite a character. Marquis de Sade was one of the best, albeit underrated, literary authors out there. His work is just as, if not more, controversial than Nietzsche, and he possessed the same sort of disarming genius. This novel's content is not to be agreed upon, but for sheer intellectual stimulation it can't be beaten. I look forward to reading more of his work, especially Justine - the counterpoint of Juliette - with utmost anticipation.
Rating:
Summary: Mon cher Marquis, I am endebted to you...
Review: What a magnificent book! This was the first work by the Divine Marquis that I ever read. And I must say, I am not the same person I was before I started it... As an uncompromosing advocate for absolute personal freedom, I was overjoyed to find a philosophy that resonated so profoundly with my own. I would say the work "pushed the envelope," but after reading it, I now know that there is no envelope to push, that humans can reassure and placate themselves to no end with their morals and standards of decency, but underneath it all we are nothing but animals who have trained ourselves to be horrified at our own natural predispositions. We are taught to shudder at the face we glimpse in the mirror of absolute truth, but de Sade tells us to accept it, nay, to embrace it, because it is the truth, and it cannot be altered. I encourage everyone who is hungry for some extreme, invigorating philosophical views that will get under your skin and blow away your preconceived notions about the nature of mankind to read this book, and others by the same author! Especially young people! I am 16 and I have reaped enormous intellectual profit from de Sade's writings, so read them while you are still young and open to new viewpoints. I do not reccomend this book to anyone who is set in their ways and discomfited with the thought of their safe, strait- laced little paradigms being turned upside down and exposed for the fallacies they are. Happy reading!
Rating:
Summary: Mon cher Marquis, I am endebted to you...
Review: What a magnificent book! This was the first work by the Divine Marquis that I ever read. And I must say, I am not the same person I was before I started it... As an uncompromosing advocate for absolute personal freedom, I was overjoyed to find a philosophy that resonated so profoundly with my own. I would say the work "pushed the envelope," but after reading it, I now know that there is no envelope to push, that humans can reassure and placate themselves to no end with their morals and standards of decency, but underneath it all we are nothing but animals who have trained ourselves to be horrified at our own natural predispositions. We are taught to shudder at the face we glimpse in the mirror of absolute truth, but de Sade tells us to accept it, nay, to embrace it, because it is the truth, and it cannot be altered. I encourage everyone who is hungry for some extreme, invigorating philosophical views that will get under your skin and blow away your preconceived notions about the nature of mankind to read this book, and others by the same author! Especially young people! I am 16 and I have reaped enormous intellectual profit from de Sade's writings, so read them while you are still young and open to new viewpoints. I do not reccomend this book to anyone who is set in their ways and discomfited with the thought of their safe, strait- laced little paradigms being turned upside down and exposed for the fallacies they are. Happy reading!
Rating:
Summary: A Slap In Conventions Face
Review: Whatever could have compelled a good decent church going amerikan to read such a deliberate and calculated affront to everything he insipidly believes in. His erudition is very intimidating (ha ha). The Divine Marquis would have found such oafish moral reflexivity amusing.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost his masterpiece
Review: When you are up to reading de Sade this book is perhaps not the best to start with, that is probably Justine. Justine is easier to read since it actually has a story line. Juliette is enormous, monumental and extremely pervers and it has all the elements of Sadistic sexuality. The book consist of two seperate parts. There is the sexual part and there is the philosofical part. We have all heard about the sex, so let's talk about the philosofy. In writing it is mostly Sade's goal to share his thoughts with you and although his reasoning is poor (very poor sometimes), the basic point he's making is an interesting one, especially from an 18th century point of view. Sade wants everyone to do and act as he or her pleases. But, he forgets something, his liberalism limits the freedom of others, so he is not a true liberal in that way, he is totally self centered. And that is his other point, everything you do, you do for yourself, even when you give a beggar some money, then you only give it to him to feel good about yourself. That's something we can all think about. Personally I don't agree with him on a lot of points and that probably goes for most sane people. I would strongly recommend that individuals under 21 and everyone with a young and fragile mind do NOT read this book, because they may perceive it is normal or common reality. Finally, why is it not his masterpiece? His masterpiece would certainly have been the 120 days of Sodom, had he finished it. Unfortunately he lost the manuscript for this book during the French revolution when he was freed from the Bastille prison. Too bad probably since we now only have a basic layout for the 120 days. You just can't have them all. Read de Sade with care and don't be ashamed to put it aside when it gets to you too much.
Rating:
Summary: Monstrous To Da Max!
Review: Yes, this one should have been to an editor, but it explores the mind of an amoral, psychotic female to perfection. Unless you've dated women like this you'll not appreciate the abrasive humor of the villainy of dear, angelic Juliette. She's every man's dream girl, only with a rapist's mentality. Trust me, folks, there are many "real" females in the "real" world, holding down respectable jobs and spreading their legs just as easily. Try dating a ... cop or soldier and then re-read this tome.
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