Rating: 
Summary: child porn
Review: This book was a disgusting work of child porn and rape. While Sade had a pretty intresting point. This book seems to me to be a fantasy for the most disturbed morbid minds. If you find this book at all exciting go and register yourself as a sexual predator right now!
Rating: 
Summary: It's no secret that de Sade was a sick f*ck.
Review: What a mind rape. As I lumbered through this novel during my late night hours, I found myself wondering many times over if anybody in eighteenth century France had a warm and loving upbringing. Obviously few parents slept with their progeny (I hope) but it set my mind off to thinking nonetheless. The sexual perversions described are so numerous and so unrelenting that the world one find's his or herself embroiled in is one of utter depravity. Just how much cruel indifference, how much stark immorality can the human soul harbor? I had the feeling I was the only sane person in the world as I read these horrors.
If you can't handle part one don't even bother continuing. The "simple passions" are a walk in the park compared to the debauchery and total madness later on. I'm usually very open-minded but I can't find any redeeming quality in this story. Perhaps this was the point - we will never know.
Rating: 
Summary: It won't take you 120 days to read it
Review: Someone once said that it's important to not only look at the goodness in human nature, but the darkness. Enter this book. Not my usual cup of tea, I decided to try this out on the recommendation of a friend and wow! what an eye-opener! The writing is not the best but the ideas and stories are remarkable. Would also recommend "The Bark of the Dogwood" for those interested in the shocking, the sandalous, the funny, and the bizarre.
Rating:
Summary: I'm Still Waiting For The Pop-Up Book Version
Review: I'm gonna try to get down to the nitty gritty of this book. It's a real love it or hate it book, but I'm somewhere in between. Is it good? Yes and no, it depends on what you're looking for. Is it erotic? Not a chance. If that's what you're looking for, read a Penthouse letter. 120 Days is just interesting and entertaining. It's pretty long winded though, and gets boring kinda fast-this is why I had to take breaks and come back to it periodically. How could it be boring? Being bombarded with one sexual atrocity after another desensitizes you. It's like eating Apple Jacks three times a day for a month-it's just not tasty anymore. All in all, it is fun to read in small doses. Actually, funny if you ask me. The whole thing is so outlandish and overdone that it can't be anything but funny. No, I'm not a fan of physical and sexual abuse towards children(DeSade should have left that out to retain at least some dignity. It's NOT cool, no matter how frickin' "free spirited" you claim to be), and I didn't particularly enjoy that. But as long as it's words on a page and not real actions, that's a big plus. DeSade must have either got tired of the story or was running out of paper coz the last third of the book merely lists the sexual activities and totally does away with the narrative altogether. This list sure isn't Kama Sutra; I wouldn't suggest showing it to your girlfriend or wife for a trial run coz no human being is physically able to perform many these things. If you do though, I salute you coz you're a much braver soul than I. You can look for philosophical and psychological meanings in this book, but lets slice right through the Bull, shall we? Sure those meanings are to be found, but 1 out of 10 people who pick up this book are in it for the sizzle and not the steak. Alot of these people read this and proudly show it to their friends and coworkers coz it's the cool/rebel/freakish, yet intellectual thiing to do. I know people who do this. I don't know if I was trying to be cool exactly when I picked this up, I just wanted to see what the big deal was. In the end, I would suggest this novel. Why? The same reason I tell people to watch Caligula: Just To Say You Did.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Interesting...
Review: ...but i do not see why this is a "Masterpiece". I must admit reading The 120 Days of Sodom was a bit confusing, because i was not sure if weather De Sade is encouraging the behavior depicted in the story (as a reversal of the norms: good is bad and bad is good, and all that matters is pleasuring ourselves no matter who gets hurt), or if he is simply painting the most grotesque picture of humanity to try to force us to look dead in the eye of what we refuse to acknowledge about ourselves. I would say that the most horrific thing about this book is that the activities in it are not far-fetched at all, when compared to actual people and events throughout history: The Rape of Nanking, the holocaust, the rape and massacre of Bosnian women and children, The massacre of the East Timorese, Underground child porn/prostitution rings throughout the world, ... Dahmer, Bundy, Tepes, Hitler, Milosovich...i could go on forever. also: Regarding my comments as to why i dont understand why so many consider this to be a masterpiece, it's because halfway through the book, the writing and details become sooo half A**ed. It's like De Sade started out with a great introduction giving us extensive backround to most of the characters, and then after the month of November just decided to completly
rush through everything like : "okaayyy. so this happend, and this, and this...and oh yeah, they did this and this and that, that that that, this this this... and um,ok, thats it, end of story, oh and hey, you'r free to decide for yourself what you think happend in the last 20 days of march for which i give absolutly no account for!! enjoy..." that, and there is not enough character development. Much left to the imagination. Also: one thing that seemed odd to me was that: we know the victims are aged 12-15, but yet they are always refereed to as "little boys/girls". To me, a little boy or girl would be no older than 9. Now I know this may seem pointless, but consider the fact that this book takes place in the 18th century, and in those days children were not regarded as they are today. Children in the old days were merely seen as adults, but younger, and it was not such a big deal for someone to have sex with someone who was say 13 years old. To me the term is also misleading because sexual intercourse with "little boy/girl" sounds a lot worse than it's actuall meaning in the book. Also keep in mind that these "Kid's" in the story are around the age of puberty anyway, and that is also the age which young teens usually start to experiment with sexual activity. Of course in no way am I saying that it's o.k what the libertines are doing to these children, just that it might sound a bit different to us 21st century folk, because I know for me, i kept thinking "Little" as in younger than ten, it just seemed strange for teenagers to be considered "Little children"... Also: I must say that from a medical viewpoint, this book is not very realistic. Take for example, the dreaded Corophillia. It is common knowledge that consuming fecal matter is extremely hazardous to ones health (there is a very good reason it's called "Waste") and these libertines seem to have quite an appetite for it. Yet they are always healthy as a horse... And the torture...
I feel that out of all the victims, Giton and Augustine endure the most and the worst tortures. Giton for example, undergoes such horrid treatment (i cant even describe it here, and do keep in mind that he's only TWELVE!) that would normally cause anyone, especially a twelve year old, to most likely go into shock and die, yet a couple days later, he is tortured yet again, even worse, and a couple days after that, he is even serving the libertines coffee, and tortured yet again before finally being "Dispatched"!!! Man, those 18th century tweenagers must sure have been getting their daily dose of vitamins and minerals...
But in all seriousnes, the affects the tortures had on the victims just were not very realistic. Also: one thing I didn't quite understand was that, out of all the victims, why Zephyr and Adonis (except for a few floggings on Zephyr's part) were almost entirely imune to the torture that was being passed out (and most severly, it seemed, to the youngest of the group) to the other boys... One more thing: Underneath all the possible messages De Sade was trying to send to his dear readers, was one (he probably didn't even mean to) that i thought was comparing these all powerful, undisputed libertines and how they rule over their victims and control every aspect of their lives, and none of the victims can defend themselves, they just hopelessly except their situation and deal with it, to the way those high in power in our world do as they please and make decisions over our heads, and we seem hopeless to do anything about it. In conclusion: This is a good book and you must read it, for I feel it's point is to bring to light what we refuse to acknowledge about our selves, and if we continue to ignore this very serious issue, as we have done in the past, and do not come to terms with it, or try to fix it, the results will continue to be catastrophic. of course, this is just from my understanding... The 120 days of sodom's message could be either:
The world is rotten, change it!
or
Live your life the way you want, without any compassion whatsoever for anyone else. Indulge in every sense no matter who gets hurt.!! I would have given this book five star's, but I wanted to commit suicide after reading it.. Although I do think highly of it, it's main flaw is that is dishes up such nastiness, and leaves us with nothing to comfort our forever stained minds. Nothing in the sense of "there is still hope"....no hope, just pain death and suffering. what we do dosnt matter, and it all ends in misery.... i suggest Justine, for someone who is unfamiliar with De Sade, as it is more philosophical, developed, in depth, and altogether enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: The Mirror, Crack'd.
Review: One wonders what world some reviewers of this book are living in, and whether atrocities similar to (or worse than) the ones employed by de Sade occur in their world. Then it must certainly be a world of sunshine, lollypops and rainbows. Either that, or some simply refuse to take an honest look at the world they live in and the role they play, consciously or not, in it. Another author once suggested that it is the purpose of the artist to hold a mirror to society's face, but that too often society blames the artist when it doesn't like what it sees. If that's the case, the de Sade grabs society by the throat, digs in his nails, and shoves its face into the mirror so hard that the mirror cracks and soceity bleeds. That may, perhaps, be his only crime, the force with which he shows us our reflection, particularly when we would rather not believe we live and contribute to a world in which that kind of cruelty and depravity exists and at the very least we would rather not look at it too closely. Sure, "120 Days of Sodom" is a virtual catalog of man's inhumanity to man, but nothing in its pages is any worse than anything that happened in the world yesterday or that will happen tomorrow. An honest look in the world we live in would reveal that. We live in a world where people have devised countless ways of inflicting pain and misery on one another. Many of us in this country, well-off enough to afford a computer and internet access live in a society very distant from places where very simliar and actual brutality is happening; like Rawanda where people are hacking off one another's limbs, or parts of African where some children are sold into slavery, or parts of the middle east where bombs paid for with our own tax dollars are are falling on people whose only crime is living in a country whose government we despise. And the philosphy espoused by de Sade via his characters can often ring too closely true to our daily actions and decisions both personally and politically. How many of us in this and other affluent Western countries are aware of the degree of misery the "way of life" we consider hearly sacrosanct costs people in less affluent countries in misery and degradation? Not many. How often do we ask ourselves who has to suffer, die or be degraded for us to continue to live the lives we've grown accustomed to? Not often if at all. We may be intellectually aware of it, but not enough to consider any other way of living beyond paying it lip service, and we're highly offended if we're shown the other side of the coin at all, let alone up close and personal. For then we might have to admit our role in the world we live in, and we might have to admit that in some ways we are move like de Sade's characters than we might think, and that his philosphy is reflected in more our our lives than we imagine. Compared to real-world horrors "120 Days of Sodom" is hardly an outrage. And to be outraged by it, but not by the real-world horrors we contribute to every day, and to do nothign to stop them, is perhaps the kind of hypocrisy-masquerading as morality that de Sad criticized. But, be outraged at "120 Day of Sodom." Are you are not so much outraged at what they see in the film as they are at what they see in the mirror that de Sade is holding up to you and the rest of us shows, even if we do not see the mirror? If we wish to turn away from the mirror, we may. But it will not change the reality it reflects. When the book is over, the mirror removed, we would do better to change the reality instead of cursing the reflection.
Rating:
Summary: be hesitant
Review: After having digested the several reviews of this infamous text, it is apparent that this particular author's work continues to be misinterpreted by both his admirers and critics alike. True enough, the tale of "120 Days of Sodom" is abhorrent. True enough, this may well be an understatement. In fact, I found myself so repulsed, I ended my reading prematurely and forwarded to the end for a "just" conclusion. I found none. However vain you may judge my faith in the man's ability to produce a less tragic ending, my faith was still justified. I have read other works by the Marquis and have come to the conclusion that he possesses a certain admiration for the virtuous. Please read "Augustine de Villeblanche or Love's Strategy", which is not as supportive of libertine behavior as once suspected. One need only to analyze the ending (and not much analysis at that) to discern the Marquis' true intentions. I would also implore his readers to check out "Emilie de Tourville or Fraternal Cruelty" for those cynics who doubt that the protagonist (usually the innocent or virtuous) find themselves participants in a just ending. I must also make it abundantly clear to everyone that this text was not finished! It is a fragmented and incomplete story resurrected from the storming of the Bastille, where the Marquis was held before the French Revolution. An event which meant everything of the Marquis' was looted or destroyed. By providing an assessment of this particular work, (by either endorsing it or denigrating it), we have missed the obvious...that we are prejudging it. So, I have in turn rated this tale based on what I know of his other works. I have interpreted "120 days..." to be a wake up call for the sexually capricious who heed the call of the adventurous and bizarre. Keep your extravagances in check, for this is what you too could become. It is a warning. With the explosion of pornography, media's everyday endorsement of the licentious and a growing interest in the prurient, we probably need to be familiar with this tale of horror now more than ever. Do you not see the parallels between the barbaric indulgences of the French aristocracy of yesterday and the way we live today? Be wary. As anti-God as this man has pronounced himself to be, he comes across as a moralist interested in promoting virtue rather than crushing it. Yes, I am familiar with the man's past which is far from angelic. However, I have derived my conclusion by reading his works. A pen weighs more than any critic or admirer. I have approached this man's work looking for a kernal of morality and discovered that he was not as cynical as once thought. Is the Marquis the cynic or are we?
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