About this title: This classic work of erotic literature (which was partly modeled on the Marquis de Sade's JUSTINE) follows the sexual adventures of a young photographer who, in an effort to please her lover, agrees to submit to his every whim and desire.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: New. Orders placed after Dec. 7 cannot be guaranteed delivery before Christmas. GREAT BUY. Brand New From US Distributor. WE ARE A 5 STAR SELLER with OVER 3, 500, 000 BOOKS SOLD. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Edition: Re-issue
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Book-of-the-Month Club
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9780965240963ISBN:0965240967
Description: Very Good. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. This is a new translation of a book originally published in 1954. How the publishing world has changed since then in that the Book-of-the-Month Club would publish this classic "dirty book. " It is a novel about a woman known only as "O", who is emotionally enslaved, first to one man, then to another, and who is led into a life of sadomasochistic sex. "Pauline Reage" is a pseudonym, and the actual author has never been conclusively identified, though it seems ... read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: book of the month club, N ew York
Date Published: 1993
Description: cover by monica elias and richard merkin. Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 208 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Description: Acceptable. No DJ. Acceptable/mass Market Paperba Ballentine, 1980, well-worn and read, pgs are discolored slightly, spine creased, book leans from wear but still intact and very readable. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Grove Press, New York
Date Published: n.d.
Description: Paperback. Shelfwear, rubbing to covers. Good. 199pp., trans. and with a note by Sabine d'Estree, preface by Jean Paulhan, note by Andre Pieyre de Mandiargues. The classic story of a beautiful young woman who wants nothing more than to be a slave to her lover. The identity of Sabine D'Estree, rumored to be Richard Seaver, was confirmed by Seaver's wife in his obituary (New York Times, 7 January 2009). GP4003. read more
"It's a classic in the erotic genre - and for that reason alone I wanted to read it. I really enjoyed both the tale and the way in which it is crafted, the offering of alternative options for how the story might have turned out, the exploraiton of powerlessness. There's much less overtly erotic content than readers of modern erotica might expect, but its intense, and O's journey is strange, engaging. Odd details have stayed with me (I read it a few years ago) that she must always arrange her skirts so that her bare bottom is in contact with what she's sitting on, and the using rubber bands to hold up her stockings because she's not allowed to wear underwear. It's a book I mean to go back and read again some time."
I didn't care about anyone in this story, not even the tortured "slave", O. She wanted to be treated that way and got off on it, so how can one feel sorry for her. But I don't think feeling sorry for her was the point....I think the point was supposed to be "erotic". It wasn't. It was totally like watching a movie through a smoke screen - distant and unconnected from the story.
And the terms the author used to describe sexual acts:
"she caressed her for hours" referred to O's relationship with another woman
"he took her fore and aft" referred to both vaginal and anal sex
"he moved until he discharged into her orifice" BJ
Ugh. Not that I want a foul mouthed, no holds barred book to read that describes sex acts in such great detail, but come ON. I know, I know, it was written a long, long time ago, before I was even born.
Honestly, I only read this book because it was mentioned in Perfect Victim as the methodology behind that the kidnapper/torturer did to the victim he kidnapped. He used this book as his "manual". Honestly, this book has so few details about HOW to enslave someone, that I don't know how he even took THIS book as his guidance.
I think that to enjoy this book you have to really, really be into SM/BDSM and understand the thinking behind WHY someone would want to either enslave someone or be enslaved and be OK with it. I'm not and would never be.
And what's up with the suppressed chapter??? The book just ends in the middle of a scene with no conclusion, no ending, no nothing.
"This book was not what I was led to believe it was but that didn't make it necessarily bad. I think a lot of people believe it is a work of erotic literature. I found it in the erotic literature section of the book shop. I don't particularly consider it erotic literature. Although there are erotic moments in the book, it is essentially a book of love and the things people are willing to do for the person they love.
O is not a natural submissive but allows herself to be subjected to certain pain, humiliations and even pleasure at points for the man that she loves. Well - she is naturally submissive I suppose to allow these things but I don't think she would have become involved if it weren't for her lover. I don't think she would have sought out this life for herself.
It is an interesting story. I did find the narrative a bit dry and long-winded at times and found myself skipping pages. I think the long long paragraphs didn't help. I thought the characters were good though and the story was interesting.
"Not for the faint-hearted or the closed-minded, this novel is a strangely romantic tale of willing enslavement. I suspect anyone who has even a hint of Dom/sub tendencies would appreciate and enjoy this book - it may not be brilliantly written, but it is the most real published account (ie. not blogs) of female submission from the female perspective that I have ever read.
I do wish that the final chapter had not been lost, as the end leaves you hanging and a bit confused. However, I have read reviews of the second published "O" novel, which is supposed to be that lost final part, and most seem to think that it simply doesn't fit with the original novel. Perhaps it was "lost" with purpose?"
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.
rating
