Disappointing, 14 Jul 2008
I am, and remain a huge fan of the Marquis De Sade. I bought this book as it professed to gather together all of his most famous erotic writing. Whilst it includes Justine, Juliette and Philosophy In The Bedroom, the greatest disappointment lies in the fact that De Sade's masterpiece, 120 Days Of Sodom, a 500-page opus, has been "summarised" or rather completely butchered! What remains is a couple of hundred pages of literature reduced to a collection of lists. This can never be the "complete" De Sade.

An enlightening introduction, 18 Apr 2008
This is an interesting read, though not for the faint hearted nor those of an overtly religious disposition that may be sensitive to critiques of the same. De Sade was indeed, very ahead of his time in his philosophical argument and was a highly skilled narrator with a broad imagination. Whilst it is easy to state that his views were extremeist, it is however important to read between the lines. De Sade's era was governed by moralist and pious attitudes. You also have to take into account his cultural environment at the time of writing. For example, 120 Days of Sodom, his most controversial works of this collection, was written when he was in the Bastille, when one's imagination could run riot (here he seems highly focused on coprophilia/coprophagia, bestiality, incest and torture). Other works make mention of what would be regarded as edge play (e.g. autoerotic asphyxiation). De Sade was out to shock (and still does) but, by his own admission, all he asks for in return is overall objectivity from his readers, not collusion.

Brilliant, 05 Sep 2007
This is just the perfect book as an introduction to De Sade or if you already know his stories and want a book which contains all the best ones. It is clearly printed and is a must for anyone interested in De Sade.

Disappointing, 14 Jul 2008
I am, and remain a huge fan of the Marquis De Sade. I bought this book as it professed to gather together all of his most famous erotic writing. Whilst it includes Justine, Juliette and Philosophy In The Bedroom, the greatest disappointment lies in the fact that De Sade's masterpiece, 120 Days Of Sodom, a 500-page opus, has been "summarised" or rather completely butchered! What remains is a couple of hundred pages of literature reduced to a collection of lists. This can never be the "complete" De Sade.

An enlightening introduction, 18 Apr 2008
This is an interesting read, though not for the faint hearted nor those of an overtly religious disposition that may be sensitive to critiques of the same. De Sade was indeed, very ahead of his time in his philosophical argument and was a highly skilled narrator with a broad imagination. Whilst it is easy to state that his views were extremeist, it is however important to read between the lines. De Sade's era was governed by moralist and pious attitudes. You also have to take into account his cultural environment at the time of writing. For example, 120 Days of Sodom, his most controversial works of this collection, was written when he was in the Bastille, when one's imagination could run riot (here he seems highly focused on coprophilia/coprophagia, bestiality, incest and torture). Other works make mention of what would be regarded as edge play (e.g. autoerotic asphyxiation). De Sade was out to shock (and still does) but, by his own admission, all he asks for in return is overall objectivity from his readers, not collusion.

Brilliant, 05 Sep 2007
This is just the perfect book as an introduction to De Sade or if you already know his stories and want a book which contains all the best ones. It is clearly printed and is a must for anyone interested in De Sade.

Vile, 01 Apr 2008
This is the only book I have ever thrown away. It is also the only book to ever make me feel physically sick. I ordered this book due mostly to morbid curiosity, and secondly as I was interested (to a degree) in its author and his exploits. Whatever humour may be in this book, I'm afraid, was lost on me. I find it's difficult to appreciate the funny side when childeren are being raped. I couldn't finish the book, so perhaps I'm missing the punchline.

I thought myself relatively unshockable. This book proved otherwise. I found this thoroughly disturbing, and would whole heartedly suggest you buy something else.

Amusing in parts..., 29 Sep 2006
I read the book a few years ago and whilst I agree that the Simple Passions were sometimes amusing (if you like to laugh at other people's foibles), I felt the book got nastier as the passions progressed. By the time I read the third and fourth set of passions, I was glad that they were in outline form and that the detail had been lost. The fictional aspect of the book gives way to a vileness that is not found in Justine, for instance.
In all, I think that the book should be restricted. It is more likely a work of a mind frustrated and tortured by imprisonment than a philisophical work.


Tedium redefined, 30 May 2006
An interesting read, and an insight into a horrific side of human nature; but the repetition is overwhelming and I found myself skipping through endless descriptions of ejaculation, coprophagia and sexual abuse.

I must admit I found some of the author's style interesting as he 'treats' the reader to insights and tries to relay the story in an amusing way.

Worth buying I think, especially if you've watched the film first, then you realise just how mild the film is (and I thought that was off the scale!)

Very overrated, 10 Mar 2003
I read this book really knowing very little about it. I had heard it described as 'a catalogue of perversions', and that probably describes it very well. It is not simply that it is a list of extreme perversions, as it is actually quite well written, and has a lot of comedy in it (as paradoxical as that might seem considering the subject matter).

The problem I have with it is that it has no real direction or meaning; it is like a shopping list of violent sexual crimes with some humour thrown in. It needs something else if it is going to rise above that.

If you like your comedy to include priests bribing pre-pubescent girls to urinate in front of them; pregnant women being rolled down a slope in a barrel that has had nails hammered through it; or early teenage girls being forced to eat excrement and having their eyes poked out and their nipples cut off, then this is for you. I suspect that for the vast majority of people it won't be their cup of tea.

Why this has become a classic is beyond me. If it wasn't for the fact that Sade enjoyed this kind of lifestyle himself (albeit in a milder form), then he may have been able to write a book that didn't come over as something that he wrote because he found extreme sexual perversions, torture and murder as something erotic.

Comic and cruel, 16 Mar 2001
De Sade's opus and no surprise that his name would forever more be synonymous with vicious acts meted out purely for sexual gratification. A catalogue of sexual deviations, degenerating into ever-increasing cruelty as a group of captives (mainly children) are tormented and tortured to death.

An excellent translation. It is a surprisingly comic work which draws the reader in. It is also a subversive work, portraying the horrors as perpetrated by those with the unlimited resources to indulge their murderous tastes and the power or connections to avoid having to answer for them. Often they represent the law, as with the judge who always sentences everyone appearing before him to death, so that he can watch the execution from an overlooking apartment whilst fornicating at the same time.

Written in prison, it is incomplete. Only the first 30 days have been written out in full; the rest being in note form. It still makes for entertaining reading, although it is probably this incompleteness which makes the entire work disproportionately concerned with eating excrement (one of the earlier and milder sexual quirks).

Even in a world largely numbed to horror, some of this stuff is still unbelievable. Essential reading for anyone interested in the human psyche.

Disappointing, 14 Jul 2008
I am, and remain a huge fan of the Marquis De Sade. I bought this book as it professed to gather together all of his most famous erotic writing. Whilst it includes Justine, Juliette and Philosophy In The Bedroom, the greatest disappointment lies in the fact that De Sade's masterpiece, 120 Days Of Sodom, a 500-page opus, has been "summarised" or rather completely butchered! What remains is a couple of hundred pages of literature reduced to a collection of lists. This can never be the "complete" De Sade.

An enlightening introduction, 18 Apr 2008
This is an interesting read, though not for the faint hearted nor those of an overtly religious disposition that may be sensitive to critiques of the same. De Sade was indeed, very ahead of his time in his philosophical argument and was a highly skilled narrator with a broad imagination. Whilst it is easy to state that his views were extremeist, it is however important to read between the lines. De Sade's era was governed by moralist and pious attitudes. You also have to take into account his cultural environment at the time of writing. For example, 120 Days of Sodom, his most controversial works of this collection, was written when he was in the Bastille, when one's imagination could run riot (here he seems highly focused on coprophilia/coprophagia, bestiality, incest and torture). Other works make mention of what would be regarded as edge play (e.g. autoerotic asphyxiation). De Sade was out to shock (and still does) but, by his own admission, all he asks for in return is overall objectivity from his readers, not collusion.

Brilliant, 05 Sep 2007
This is just the perfect book as an introduction to De Sade or if you already know his stories and want a book which contains all the best ones. It is clearly printed and is a must for anyone interested in De Sade.

Vile, 01 Apr 2008
This is the only book I have ever thrown away. It is also the only book to ever make me feel physically sick. I ordered this book due mostly to morbid curiosity, and secondly as I was interested (to a degree) in its author and his exploits. Whatever humour may be in this book, I'm afraid, was lost on me. I find it's difficult to appreciate the funny side when childeren are being raped. I couldn't finish the book, so perhaps I'm missing the punchline.

I thought myself relatively unshockable. This book proved otherwise. I found this thoroughly disturbing, and would whole heartedly suggest you buy something else.

Amusing in parts..., 29 Sep 2006
I read the book a few years ago and whilst I agree that the Simple Passions were sometimes amusing (if you like to laugh at other people's foibles), I felt the book got nastier as the passions progressed. By the time I read the third and fourth set of passions, I was glad that they were in outline form and that the detail had been lost. The fictional aspect of the book gives way to a vileness that is not found in Justine, for instance.
In all, I think that the book should be restricted. It is more likely a work of a mind frustrated and tortured by imprisonment than a philisophical work.


Tedium redefined, 30 May 2006
An interesting read, and an insight into a horrific side of human nature; but the repetition is overwhelming and I found myself skipping through endless descriptions of ejaculation, coprophagia and sexual abuse.

I must admit I found some of the author's style interesting as he 'treats' the reader to insights and tries to relay the story in an amusing way.

Worth buying I think, especially if you've watched the film first, then you realise just how mild the film is (and I thought that was off the scale!)

Very overrated, 10 Mar 2003
I read this book really knowing very little about it. I had heard it described as 'a catalogue of perversions', and that probably describes it very well. It is not simply that it is a list of extreme perversions, as it is actually quite well written, and has a lot of comedy in it (as paradoxical as that might seem considering the subject matter).

The problem I have with it is that it has no real direction or meaning; it is like a shopping list of violent sexual crimes with some humour thrown in. It needs something else if it is going to rise above that.

If you like your comedy to include priests bribing pre-pubescent girls to urinate in front of them; pregnant women being rolled down a slope in a barrel that has had nails hammered through it; or early teenage girls being forced to eat excrement and having their eyes poked out and their nipples cut off, then this is for you. I suspect that for the vast majority of people it won't be their cup of tea.

Why this has become a classic is beyond me. If it wasn't for the fact that Sade enjoyed this kind of lifestyle himself (albeit in a milder form), then he may have been able to write a book that didn't come over as something that he wrote because he found extreme sexual perversions, torture and murder as something erotic.

Comic and cruel, 16 Mar 2001
De Sade's opus and no surprise that his name would forever more be synonymous with vicious acts meted out purely for sexual gratification. A catalogue of sexual deviations, degenerating into ever-increasing cruelty as a group of captives (mainly children) are tormented and tortured to death.

An excellent translation. It is a surprisingly comic work which draws the reader in. It is also a subversive work, portraying the horrors as perpetrated by those with the unlimited resources to indulge their murderous tastes and the power or connections to avoid having to answer for them. Often they represent the law, as with the judge who always sentences everyone appearing before him to death, so that he can watch the execution from an overlooking apartment whilst fornicating at the same time.

Written in prison, it is incomplete. Only the first 30 days have been written out in full; the rest being in note form. It still makes for entertaining reading, although it is probably this incompleteness which makes the entire work disproportionately concerned with eating excrement (one of the earlier and milder sexual quirks).

Even in a world largely numbed to horror, some of this stuff is still unbelievable. Essential reading for anyone interested in the human psyche.

For fans and followers only, 27 Sep 2008
What makes de Sade's work facinating and interesting is his philosophy and throught provoking messages.
Yet, he remains a very untalented and boring writer, a fact many of his 'fans' and 'followers' overlook. His writings are mostly used to sell his idea and do not follow a plot or show any imagination.
Individuals who harbour an interest in crime, vice, evil and sadism will enjoy these writings, no doubt. But for the majority it is a boring and a tedious read, full of revolting images and beliefes that make one doubt the conciousness of publishers.

Personally I found his ideas worth of attention, but imposibble to read the book without skipping pages. It is facinating to dip into the mind of a criminal and someone who lost his human nature.

Yet I would not recomend it for anyone who has not a genuin obsession with de Sade or crime.

A book that shows the other side, 22 Jan 2001
People intrested in sadomasochistic sex are often thought of as people who are on the fringe of society, as people who have not learnt the rules and who cannot fit in. Sade however was obviously very intelligent, his philosophies are well thought out and contain ingenious analogies. Having studied numerous similar religeous theologies for several years I found it was very stimulating to read a convincing argument of the contrary. He does a good job of making a life of vice and selfishness sound a excusable path to choose. One last point, I think the Dialogue between a priest and a dying man is one of the most thought provoking pieces I have ever read.

It's funny how a book about eroticism has so many reviews..., 29 Mar 1999
"The supreme value of his testimony lies in its ability to disturb us. It forces us to reexamine thoroughly the basic problem which haunts our age in different forms:the true relation between man and man." - Simone de Beauvoir

"Justine is the most abominable book ever engendered by the most depraved imagination." - Napoleon Bonaparte

Was Napoleon really disturbed by these novels (or did he test out these static plots on his own)? How unsuccessful could this book really be if someone like Naploeon was repulsed by the story of 'Justine'? And why do so many people comment on this book, as opposed to other books that have a higher sales rank according to Amazon.com, when only a mere several thousand copies have been purchased? Aren't you curious?

It's funny how a book about eroticism has so many reviews..., 29 Mar 1999
"The supreme value of his testimony lies in its ability to disturb us. It forces uss to reexamine thoroughly the basic problem which haunts our age in different forms:the true relation between man and man." - Simone de Beauvoir

"Justine is the most abominable book ever engendered by the most depraved imagination." - Napoleon Bonaparte

Was Napoleon really disturbed by these novels (or did he test out these static plots on his own)? How unsuccessful could this book really be if someone like Naploeon was repulsed by the story of 'Justine'? And why do so many people comment on this book, as opposed to other books that have a higher sales rank according to Amazon.com, when only a couple thousand copies have been purchased? Aren't you curious?

Interesting Philosophy, 02 Mar 1999
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.

Disappointing, 14 Jul 2008
I am, and remain a huge fan of the Marquis De Sade. I bought this book as it professed to gather together all of his most famous erotic writing. Whilst it includes Justine, Juliette and Philosophy In The Bedroom, the greatest disappointment lies in the fact that De Sade's masterpiece, 120 Days Of Sodom, a 500-page opus, has been "summarised" or rather completely butchered! What remains is a couple of hundred pages of literature reduced to a collection of lists. This can never be the "complete" De Sade.

An enlightening introduction, 18 Apr 2008
This is an interesting read, though not for the faint hearted nor those of an overtly religious disposition that may be sensitive to critiques of the same. De Sade was indeed, very ahead of his time in his philosophical argument and was a highly skilled narrator with a broad imagination. Whilst it is easy to state that his views were extremeist, it is however important to read between the lines. De Sade's era was governed by moralist and pious attitudes. You also have to take into account his cultural environment at the time of writing. For example, 120 Days of Sodom, his most controversial works of this collection, was written when he was in the Bastille, when one's imagination could run riot (here he seems highly focused on coprophilia/coprophagia, bestiality, incest and torture). Other works make mention of what would be regarded as edge play (e.g. autoerotic asphyxiation). De Sade was out to shock (and still does) but, by his own admission, all he asks for in return is overall objectivity from his readers, not collusion.

Brilliant, 05 Sep 2007
This is just the perfect book as an introduction to De Sade or if you already know his stories and want a book which contains all the best ones. It is clearly printed and is a must for anyone interested in De Sade.

Vile, 01 Apr 2008
This is the only book I have ever thrown away. It is also the only book to ever make me feel physically sick. I ordered this book due mostly to morbid curiosity, and secondly as I was interested (to a degree) in its author and his exploits. Whatever humour may be in this book, I'm afraid, was lost on me. I find it's difficult to appreciate the funny side when childeren are being raped. I couldn't finish the book, so perhaps I'm missing the punchline.

I thought myself relatively unshockable. This book proved otherwise. I found this thoroughly disturbing, and would whole heartedly suggest you buy something else.

Amusing in parts..., 29 Sep 2006
I read the book a few years ago and whilst I agree that the Simple Passions were sometimes amusing (if you like to laugh at other people's foibles), I felt the book got nastier as the passions progressed. By the time I read the third and fourth set of passions, I was glad that they were in outline form and that the detail had been lost. The fictional aspect of the book gives way to a vileness that is not found in Justine, for instance.
In all, I think that the book should be restricted. It is more likely a work of a mind frustrated and tortured by imprisonment than a philisophical work.


Tedium redefined, 30 May 2006
An interesting read, and an insight into a horrific side of human nature; but the repetition is overwhelming and I found myself skipping through endless descriptions of ejaculation, coprophagia and sexual abuse.

I must admit I found some of the author's style interesting as he 'treats' the reader to insights and tries to relay the story in an amusing way.

Worth buying I think, especially if you've watched the film first, then you realise just how mild the film is (and I thought that was off the scale!)

Very overrated, 10 Mar 2003
I read this book really knowing very little about it. I had heard it described as 'a catalogue of perversions', and that probably describes it very well. It is not simply that it is a list of extreme perversions, as it is actually quite well written, and has a lot of comedy in it (as paradoxical as that might seem considering the subject matter).

The problem I have with it is that it has no real direction or meaning; it is like a shopping list of violent sexual crimes with some humour thrown in. It needs something else if it is going to rise above that.

If you like your comedy to include priests bribing pre-pubescent girls to urinate in front of them; pregnant women being rolled down a slope in a barrel that has had nails hammered through it; or early teenage girls being forced to eat excrement and having their eyes poked out and their nipples cut off, then this is for you. I suspect that for the vast majority of people it won't be their cup of tea.

Why this has become a classic is beyond me. If it wasn't for the fact that Sade enjoyed this kind of lifestyle himself (albeit in a milder form), then he may have been able to write a book that didn't come over as something that he wrote because he found extreme sexual perversions, torture and murder as something erotic.

Comic and cruel, 16 Mar 2001
De Sade's opus and no surprise that his name would forever more be synonymous with vicious acts meted out purely for sexual gratification. A catalogue of sexual deviations, degenerating into ever-increasing cruelty as a group of captives (mainly children) are tormented and tortured to death.

An excellent translation. It is a surprisingly comic work which draws the reader in. It is also a subversive work, portraying the horrors as perpetrated by those with the unlimited resources to indulge their murderous tastes and the power or connections to avoid having to answer for them. Often they represent the law, as with the judge who always sentences everyone appearing before him to death, so that he can watch the execution from an overlooking apartment whilst fornicating at the same time.

Written in prison, it is incomplete. Only the first 30 days have been written out in full; the rest being in note form. It still makes for entertaining reading, although it is probably this incompleteness which makes the entire work disproportionately concerned with eating excrement (one of the earlier and milder sexual quirks).

Even in a world largely numbed to horror, some of this stuff is still unbelievable. Essential reading for anyone interested in the human psyche.

For fans and followers only, 27 Sep 2008
What makes de Sade's work facinating and interesting is his philosophy and throught provoking messages.
Yet, he remains a very untalented and boring writer, a fact many of his 'fans' and 'followers' overlook. His writings are mostly used to sell his idea and do not follow a plot or show any imagination.
Individuals who harbour an interest in crime, vice, evil and sadism will enjoy these writings, no doubt. But for the majority it is a boring and a tedious read, full of revolting images and beliefes that make one doubt the conciousness of publishers.

Personally I found his ideas worth of attention, but imposibble to read the book without skipping pages. It is facinating to dip into the mind of a criminal and someone who lost his human nature.

Yet I would not recomend it for anyone who has not a genuin obsession with de Sade or crime.

A book that shows the other side, 22 Jan 2001
People intrested in sadomasochistic sex are often thought of as people who are on the fringe of society, as people who have not learnt the rules and who cannot fit in. Sade however was obviously very intelligent, his philosophies are well thought out and contain ingenious analogies. Having studied numerous similar religeous theologies for several years I found it was very stimulating to read a convincing argument of the contrary. He does a good job of making a life of vice and selfishness sound a excusable path to choose. One last point, I think the Dialogue between a priest and a dying man is one of the most thought provoking pieces I have ever read.

It's funny how a book about eroticism has so many reviews..., 29 Mar 1999
"The supreme value of his testimony lies in its ability to disturb us. It forces us to reexamine thoroughly the basic problem which haunts our age in different forms:the true relation between man and man." - Simone de Beauvoir

"Justine is the most abominable book ever engendered by the most depraved imagination." - Napoleon Bonaparte

Was Napoleon really disturbed by these novels (or did he test out these static plots on his own)? How unsuccessful could this book really be if someone like Naploeon was repulsed by the story of 'Justine'? And why do so many people comment on this book, as opposed to other books that have a higher sales rank according to Amazon.com, when only a mere several thousand copies have been purchased? Aren't you curious?

It's funny how a book about eroticism has so many reviews..., 29 Mar 1999
"The supreme value of his testimony lies in its ability to disturb us. It forces uss to reexamine thoroughly the basic problem which haunts our age in different forms:the true relation between man and man." - Simone de Beauvoir

"Justine is the most abominable book ever engendered by the most depraved imagination." - Napoleon Bonaparte

Was Napoleon really disturbed by these novels (or did he test out these static plots on his own)? How unsuccessful could this book really be if someone like Naploeon was repulsed by the story of 'Justine'? And why do so many people comment on this book, as opposed to other books that have a higher sales rank according to Amazon.com, when only a couple thousand copies have been purchased? Aren't you curious?

Interesting Philosophy, 02 Mar 1999
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.

Brutal. Incessent. Ravings. Two part review (part 2), 10 Nov 2003
continued...

–and the strong -after learning the lessons nature loudly proclaims with every deer the lion downs - must reassert the natural power relations between the weak and the strong.

The theory that we are all selfish is, of course, irrefutable. Being as we only see the world through our own eyes and conceptualise it through our own minds, our action will always be driven by our own interests. What is contestable in Sade is the way our utter, never-ending selfishness expresses itself: sometimes selfishness can be best pursued through putting the interest of others first (making the very dichotomy between love of self and love of others somewhat convoluted). Like those who err by considering survival of the fittest to be one and the same as survival of the most aggressive, de Sade conceives selfishness as unrepentant brutality. This is - as people familiar with the concept of the selfish gene will concur – utter rubbish. What the theoretician in his Ivory Tower rightly conceives as selfishness is often indiscernible from what the man or woman on the street sees as selflessness.

But, renowned killers like Stalin – the archetypal sadist who enjoyed dining with friends he knew his goons would be executing the very next day - add historical weight to de Sades arguments. As do countless powerful men who have used their position to torture, abuse, and kill the powerless. Nazi doctors liked to pump their victims veins full of air until their eyes exploded. General Prosper Anvil (a Haitian dictator) liked to butcher dissidents and then have their bodies displayed on television as a warning to others. The Saudi Arabian monarch (the worlds greatest human rights abusers) beheads anyone who questions its legitimacy. The cronies of Suharto (supported by the west, incidentally) liked to dismember their victims penises – and make trails of them through villages the people of which they had just exterminated. The USA wages war on anyone who resists its imperialism, but kills anonymous numbers rather than individuals, and with a technological efficiency that the third world dictators, with their uncivilised machetes, are probably envious of. Serial killers (Dr. Shipman, Albert Fish, the beast of Brazil, Ted Bundy etc) rape, kill, eat and copulate with their dead victims. Everything that de Sade writes in Juliette, and in his other works, has a historical parallel: and this is the truly disturbing feature of this book. De Sade predicts the brutality of humanity, and retrospection (and, perhaps, introspection?) gives us all the evidence we need to certify his philosophy. – we humans have shown ourselves to be cruel, selfish, power driven beings and sitting here, surfing the internet in our luxurious homes, we should not be oblivious to the fact that majority of humans are living in abject poverty so that we can have this lifestyle. We would rather see serial killers as aberrations, but an honest appraisal of human history shows us to be a depraved, war-mongering being who would rather butcher anyone who disagrees with us than seek peaceful resolution. Open your local paper: yet another rape, another murder, another crime. It is not that we are all bad, but that we are not all good: this is the truth Juliette reveals and which we are in collective denial of. The Marquis de Sade is warning us about the horrors which lie behind the charade of virtuousness we all affect, and in doing so, is painting a very worrying picture of human nature which cannot help but shock.

On a lesser level, things like marriage, religion, brotherly love are pure, moronic nonsense we needlessly trap our passions with. For instance, de Sade writes on feminine compassion, "…Instead of taking pity of his sufferings,of mitigating them and turning them ridiculously into a burden to be borne by your own sympathies,besensible,my dear,and view him merely as a creature nature has designed for your entertainment..rather than wipehis tears,redouble the cause of his weeping,if you like,if it amuses you!Here are human beings readied for the scythe of your passions,reap a goodly harvest,dear Juliette:nature is bountiful,emulate the spider,spin your webs and mercilessly devour everything nature'swise and liberal hand casts into the meshes"

It should be evident that, despite what is often thought, de Sade theory of life is not anarchistic (an anarchist believes freedom is not absolute, it ceases at the invasion of anothers freedom) but simply fascistic and totalitarian. His conception of human nature is similar, but more brutal, than Hobbes' was, and whereas the latter came up with a whole political-philosophy to try to control the beast he saw in man, de Sade saw no point in hiding from who we are and in denying the selfish, sick passions nature has brought us into this world with. If we are given these desires – from the female who wants nothing more than emotionless sex, which is behaviour society sadly denigrates with a four letter word, to the man who wants to butcher his neighbours and eat their remains– how can they possibly be wrong in any absolute sense? The disturbing insight de Sade offers is that they cannot, everything which has happened and which will happen under the sun is natural. This book lifts the veil off of human nature, and all that we see underneath is darkness, depravity and death. It is thus a warning against giving power to a minority, and even though this is not what de Sade was striving for, it is a 1200 page argument for meaningful democracy (as opposed to the spectator democracy we have now)

Bland story and superficial, indistinct characters, but compelling, and well-argued philosophy (albeit repeated ad nauseum). Three stars.

---
Note: in claiming that all motivations derive from sexual-power impulses, de Sade anticipated Freudian psychoanalysis. In noting the relativity of morality, he anticipated existentialism. In seeing man as an animal, he anticipated early Darwinism. He was an intellectual of monstrousstanding.

Brutal. Incessent. Ravings. Two part review (part 1), 09 Nov 2003
I am of the opinion that if the Marquis de Sade had a creative bone in his body he would have much greater influence on western literature than he has had. Most writers of meaningful fiction (think the obvious George Orwell) begin with a premise which they then deconstruct into various literary elements - plot, character, setting, scene etc - all of which are developed and underpinned by the basic, philosophical or social starting point. The idea, in other words, is obscured by the authors creativity. The Marquis de Sade bypassed this process all together - it is clear in Juliette (and in all of his books save for the Gothic Tales) that he was woefully inadequate at writing fiction, and subtle plot constructs and distinct characters are all absent - indeed all his characters are the same, from the homeless prostitute to the king, they all appear as highly educated libertines. He does not wrap his idea - his conception of human nature - in literary creativity and as such, if we wish to understand how he wrote, we really should imagine him locked up in a prison cell filling page after page, night after night, with his perceptive, yet incessant, ravings.

Do not expect a gripping story - there is no beginning, middle or end - but do expect to have your beliefs challenged. If dreadful at telling a story the Marquis de Sade was expert at bringing philosophical ideas to life, in ways which will leave you cornered with the feeling that you must refute what he is writing, but often you cannot. The problem is -as another reviewer noted - he is not a encyclopaedic thinker and, although he has an admirable knack of presenting the same arguments time after time in new ways, the repetition does becoming increasingly tedious.

Is Juliette shocking? Yes and no. The actual manifestation of his philosophy throughout this novel is too artificial, too absurd and too comic to even be believed. It fails to shock because, being the writer he was, de Sade was unable to capture the emotional reaction of his literary victims: there is an utter void of affect in the executed and the executors. The victims come across as simple mannequins, and if raped (for example) they are as passive and emotionless as wooden dolls. Linking in to what I said earlier: if de Sade had the creativity and artistic wherewithal to give his characters real feeling and psychological depth this would be a visually disturbing novel. For the same reason (in case anybody is wondering) this is not pornography, indeed, in my opinion, it is the exact reverse. The sex scenes are so redundant of passion - and I do not mean in the post-modern, J.G. Ballard sense - that they are mostly boring and unbelievable. De Sade seemed to have an (infantile) obsession with - how shall I put this? - connecting as many naked people together as possible, and if you imagine 10 people of unlike sex connected, you will soon appreciate the intentional comic nature in de Sades writings. His understanding of female and male anatomy seems to be little further advanced than that of a schoolboy, and in over-intellectualising human relations, his sex scenes, like the ones of violence, are simply bland.

As I see it, the sex and the violence in Juliette are metaphors for power relations, the illustration for his conception of humankind. Why the Marquis de Sade may shock some is because he takes to task every single cherished western value and every tenet our so-called civilisation is propped up on, and tries to convince us - with unrepentant, bombastic force and poetic precision - that it is all utter nonsense, self-deception and stupidity. There is no love. There is no God. There is no evil. Life has no point. We are all worthless vermin, condemned to die by being born, and nature (the only real judge) is as indifferent to our crimes and vices as it is to our goodness and virtues. We are selfish, depraved animals who would gain so much, says de Sade, from hacking everyone to bits if only we had to guts to overcome our cultural conditioning which dictates to us to act otherwise. The weak are here for the abuses of the strong, and anybody who obstructs us in our pleasures, however trivial they may seem, should be crushed without the slightest touch of sentiment of guilt . Nature is not offended if we rape others, if we kill our children or our parents, if we steal, destroy and pillage: nature does not differentiate matter as human over matter as faeces - it is all the same and all part of the endless (and pointless) cycle of this planets existence. If we have the urge to kill, then what is there to stop us other than cowardly shivering at the feet of the beast of society? The human is but another animal, motivated by the same basic, primal urges - to eat (to stay alive) and to engage in coitus - and to destroy those who get in our way when we are trying to fulfil these urges - and to think otherwise is simply self-deception. His bleak vision offends us for the same reason the suicide does - because it says something about existence we would rather ignore, in fact, it says something our whole culture must refute simple to make sense: that life is worth living and that existence is a positive manifestation. Sade questions this, believing that we waste our finite lives living up to empty, socially created morals which, deep down, we all know are ridiculous and which we all know oppose our natural inclinations. To Sade, society is a conspiracy the parasites of the human race have mounted to the infinite detriment of the strong of mind and body....

continued...

Ultra Sadist Classic, 23 Dec 2002
I'm a bit bemused by the negative reviews on the Amazon site regarding "Juliette" - I consider it one of De Sade's best and miles better than the more popular, but undeniably more repetitive, '120 Days in Sodom'. I can only assume that most people skipped through the pages in a rush or find his style of prose in 'Juliette' too frantic to keep up with. For my money (along with the classic 'Justine'), this tome has the lot. It's an orgy of the Marquis's most extreme fantasises, intermixed with philosophical rants - at times, this combination can be extremely humorous. I think people neglect the fact that De Sade had a wicked sense of humour and this is mostly evident in 'Juliette'. This is probably the most extreme book I've ever read, in terms of sex and violence alone, everything since has appeared tame and mundane. I'd recommend this to anyone who's prepared to go along for the ride.

Bible., 09 Jul 1999
Could care less to say anymore, but anyway... To read a novel for the sake of its language - keep looking and skip this one. The english translations of DeSade are extremely rich, yet will not reflect the depth of his style, mind you, you need to know his other writings and his biography to truly appreciate this masterpiece. If you are looking for a break from everyday's philosophy built on christianity or other dull mind tweakings - this book is for you. read it slow but don't stop. read it early in the morning and before going to sleep. read it in the train and on a bus. stop and re-read what you think is a good fragment. analyze it and chew on it - it will change your life. and if you don't think, your life needs a change, this book won't ask, what you think. there has been no one after this great master to write about these topics with such depth, realism and truth. deSade is worth studying French, (advanced French), since he was publish mostly in his native language throughout Europe, and hardly enough in the "freedom of speech" country.

An interesting dissertation on the philosophy of libertinage, 17 Jun 1999
Being a college student forced to study the humanist philosophers, de Sade's "Juliette" was a refreshing change from the love thy neighbor philosophies I've read before. In no way do I condone the actions of dear Juliette, but it's a good book for the philosophy and historical porn. Some of the long speeches I could have done without, but i enjoyed in none the less. Warning- this book gave me strange dreams, so read at your own risk.

Disappointing, 14 Jul 2008
I am, and remain a huge fan of the Marquis De Sade. I bought this book as it professed to gather together all of his most famous erotic writing. Whilst it includes Justine, Juliette and Philosophy In The Bedroom, the greatest disappointment lies in the fact that De Sade's masterpiece, 120 Days Of Sodom, a 500-page opus, has been "summarised" or rather completely butchered! What remains is a couple of hundred pages of literature reduced to a collection of lists. This can never be the "complete" De Sade.

An enlightening introduction, 18 Apr 2008
This is an interesting read, though not for the faint hearted nor those of an overtly religious disposition that may be sensitive to critiques of the same. De Sade was indeed, very ahead of his time in his philosophical argument and was a highly skilled narrator with a broad imagination. Whilst it is easy to state that his views were extremeist, it is however important to read between the lines. De Sade's era was governed by moralist and pious attitudes. You also have to take into account his cultural environment at the time of writing. For example, 120 Days of Sodom, his most controversial works of this collection, was written when he was in the Bastille, when one's imagination could run riot (here he seems highly focused on coprophilia/coprophagia, bestiality, incest and torture). Other works make mention of what would be regarded as edge play (e.g. autoerotic asphyxiation). De Sade was out to shock (and still does) but, by his own admission, all he asks for in return is overall objectivity from his readers, not collusion.

Brilliant, 05 Sep 2007
This is just the perfect book as an introduction to De Sade or if you already know his stories and want a book which contains all the best ones. It is clearly printed and is a must for anyone interested in De Sade.

Vile, 01 Apr 2008
This is the only book I have ever thrown away. It is also the only book to ever make me feel physically sick. I ordered this book due mostly to morbid curiosity, and secondly as I was interested (to a degree) in its author and his exploits. Whatever humour may be in this book, I'm afraid, was lost on me. I find it's difficult to appreciate the funny side when childeren are being raped. I couldn't finish the book, so perhaps I'm missing the punchline.

I thought myself relatively unshockable. This book proved otherwise. I found this thoroughly disturbing, and would whole heartedly suggest you buy something else.

Amusing in parts..., 29 Sep 2006
I read the book a few years ago and whilst I agree that the Simple Passions were sometimes amusing (if you like to laugh at other people's foibles), I felt the book got nastier as the passions progressed. By the time I read the third and fourth set of passions, I was glad that they were in outline form and that the detail had been lost. The fictional aspect of the book gives way to a vileness that is not found in Justine, for instance.
In all, I think that the book should be restricted. It is more likely a work of a mind frustrated and tortured by imprisonment than a philisophical work.


Tedium redefined, 30 May 2006
An interesting read, and an insight into a horrific side of human nature; but the repetition is overwhelming and I found myself skipping through endless descriptions of ejaculation, coprophagia and sexual abuse.

I must admit I found some of the author's style interesting as he 'treats' the reader to insights and tries to relay the story in an amusing way.

Worth buying I think, especially if you've watched the film first, then you realise just how mild the film is (and I thought that was off the scale!)

Very overrated, 10 Mar 2003
I read this book really knowing very little about it. I had heard it described as 'a catalogue of perversions', and that probably describes it very well. It is not simply that it is a list of extreme perversions, as it is actually quite well written, and has a lot of comedy in it (as paradoxical as that might seem considering the subject matter).

The problem I have with it is that it has no real direction or meaning; it is like a shopping list of violent sexual crimes with some humour thrown in. It needs something else if it is going to rise above that.

If you like your comedy to include priests bribing pre-pubescent girls to urinate in front of them; pregnant women being rolled down a slope in a barrel that has had nails hammered through it; or early teenage girls being forced to eat excrement and having their eyes poked out and their nipples cut off, then this is for you. I suspect that for the vast majority of people it won't be their cup of tea.

Why this has become a classic is beyond me. If it wasn't for the fact that Sade enjoyed this kind of lifestyle himself (albeit in a milder form), then he may have been able to write a book that didn't come over as something that he wrote because he found extreme sexual perversions, torture and murder as something erotic.

Comic and cruel, 16 Mar 2001
De Sade's opus and no surprise that his name would forever more be synonymous with vicious acts meted out purely for sexual gratification. A catalogue of sexual deviations, degenerating into ever-increasing cruelty as a group of captives (mainly children) are tormented and tortured to death.

An excellent translation. It is a surprisingly comic work which draws the reader in. It is also a subversive work, portraying the horrors as perpetrated by those with the unlimited resources to indulge their murderous tastes and the power or connections to avoid having to answer for them. Often they represent the law, as with the judge who always sentences everyone appearing before him to death, so that he can watch the execution from an overlooking apartment whilst fornicating at the same time.

Written in prison, it is incomplete. Only the first 30 days have been written out in full; the rest being in note form. It still makes for entertaining reading, although it is probably this incompleteness which makes the entire work disproportionately concerned with eating excrement (one of the earlier and milder sexual quirks).

Even in a world largely numbed to horror, some of this stuff is still unbelievable. Essential reading for anyone interested in the human psyche.

For fans and followers only, 27 Sep 2008
What makes de Sade's work facinating and interesting is his philosophy and throught provoking messages.
Yet, he remains a very untalented and boring writer, a fact many of his 'fans' and 'followers' overlook. His writings are mostly used to sell his idea and do not follow a plot or show any imagination.
Individuals who harbour an interest in crime, vice, evil and sadism will enjoy these writings, no doubt. But for the majority it is a boring and a tedious read, full of revolting images and beliefes that make one doubt the conciousness of publishers.

Personally I found his ideas worth of attention, but imposibble to read the book without skipping pages. It is facinating to dip into the mind of a criminal and someone who lost his human nature.

Yet I would not recomend it for anyone who has not a genuin obsession with de Sade or crime.

A book that shows the other side, 22 Jan 2001
People intrested in sadomasochistic sex are often thought of as people who are on the fringe of society, as people who have not learnt the rules and who cannot fit in. Sade however was obviously very intelligent, his philosophies are well thought out and contain ingenious analogies. Having studied numerous similar religeous theologies for several years I found it was very stimulating to read a convincing argument of the contrary. He does a good job of making a life of vice and selfishness sound a excusable path to choose. One last point, I think the Dialogue between a priest and a dying man is one of the most thought provoking pieces I have ever read.

It's funny how a book about eroticism has so many reviews..., 29 Mar 1999
"The supreme value of his testimony lies in its ability to disturb us. It forces us to reexamine thoroughly the basic problem which haunts our age in different forms:the true relation between man and man." - Simone de Beauvoir

"Justine is the most abominable book ever engendered by the most depraved imagination." - Napoleon Bonaparte

Was Napoleon really disturbed by these novels (or did he test out these static plots on his own)? How unsuccessful could this book really be if someone like Naploeon was repulsed by the story of 'Justine'? And why do so many people comment on this book, as opposed to other books that have a higher sales rank according to Amazon.com, when only a mere several thousand copies have been purchased? Aren't you curious?

It's funny how a book about eroticism has so many reviews..., 29 Mar 1999
"The supreme value of his testimony lies in its ability to disturb us. It forces uss to reexamine thoroughly the basic problem which haunts our age in different forms:the true relation between man and man." - Simone de Beauvoir

"Justine is the most abominable book ever engendered by the most depraved imagination." - Napoleon Bonaparte

Was Napoleon really disturbed by these novels (or did he test out these static plots on his own)? How unsuccessful could this book really be if someone like Naploeon was repulsed by the story of 'Justine'? And why do so many people comment on this book, as opposed to other books that have a higher sales rank according to Amazon.com, when only a couple thousand copies have been purchased? Aren't you curious?

Interesting Philosophy, 02 Mar 1999
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.

Brutal. Incessent. Ravings. Two part review (part 2), 10 Nov 2003
continued...

–and the strong -after learning the lessons nature loudly proclaims with every deer the lion downs - must reassert the natural power relations between the weak and the strong.

The theory that we are all selfish is, of course, irrefutable. Being as we only see the world through our own eyes and conceptualise it through our own minds, our action will always be driven by our own interests. What is contestable in Sade is the way our utter, never-ending selfishness expresses itself: sometimes selfishness can be best pursued through putting the interest of others first (making the very dichotomy between love of self and love of others somewhat convoluted). Like those who err by considering survival of the fittest to be one and the same as survival of the most aggressive, de Sade conceives selfishness as unrepentant brutality. This is - as people familiar with the concept of the selfish gene will concur – utter rubbish. What the theoretician in his Ivory Tower rightly conceives as selfishness is often indiscernible from what the man or woman on the street sees as selflessness.

But, renowned killers like Stalin – the archetypal sadist who enjoyed dining with friends he knew his goons would be executing the very next day - add historical weight to de Sades arguments. As do countless powerful men who have used their position to torture, abuse, and kill the powerless. Nazi doctors liked to pump their victims veins full of air until their eyes exploded. General Prosper Anvil (a Haitian dictator) liked to butcher dissidents and then have their bodies displayed on television as a warning to others. The Saudi Arabian monarch (the worlds greatest human rights abusers) beheads anyone who questions its legitimacy. The cronies of Suharto (supported by the west, incidentally) liked to dismember their victims penises – and make trails of them through villages the people of which they had just exterminated. The USA wages war on anyone who resists its imperialism, but kills anonymous numbers rather than individuals, and with a technological efficiency that the third world dictators, with their uncivilised machetes, are probably envious of. Serial killers (Dr. Shipman, Albert Fish, the beast of Brazil, Ted Bundy etc) rape, kill, eat and copulate with their dead victims. Everything that de Sade writes in Juliette, and in his other works, has a historical parallel: and this is the truly disturbing feature of this book. De Sade predicts the brutality of humanity, and retrospection (and, perhaps, introspection?) gives us all the evidence we need to certify his philosophy. – we humans have shown ourselves to be cruel, selfish, power driven beings and sitting here, surfing the internet in our luxurious homes, we should not be oblivious to the fact that majority of humans are living in abject poverty so that we can have this lifestyle. We would rather see serial killers as aberrations, but an honest appraisal of human history shows us to be a depraved, war-mongering being who would rather butcher anyone who disagrees with us than seek peaceful resolution. Open your local paper: yet another rape, another murder, another crime. It is not that we are all bad, but that we are not all good: this is the truth Juliette reveals and which we are in collective denial of. The Marquis de Sade is warning us about the horrors which lie behind the charade of virtuousness we all affect, and in doing so, is painting a very worrying picture of human nature which cannot help but shock.

On a lesser level, things like marriage, religion, brotherly love are pure, moronic nonsense we needlessly trap our passions with. For instance, de Sade writes on feminine compassion, "…Instead of taking pity of his sufferings,of mitigating them and turning them ridiculously into a burden to be borne by your own sympathies,besensible,my dear,and view him merely as a creature nature has designed for your entertainment..rather than wipehis tears,redouble the cause of his weeping,if you like,if it amuses you!Here are human beings readied for the scythe of your passions,reap a goodly harvest,dear Juliette:nature is bountiful,emulate the spider,spin your webs and mercilessly devour everything nature'swise and liberal hand casts into the meshes"

It should be evident that, despite what is often thought, de Sade theory of life is not anarchistic (an anarchist believes freedom is not absolute, it ceases at the invasion of anothers freedom) but simply fascistic and totalitarian. His conception of human nature is similar, but more brutal, than Hobbes' was, and whereas the latter came up with a whole political-philosophy to try to control the beast he saw in man, de Sade saw no point in hiding from who we are and in denying the selfish, sick passions nature has brought us into this world with. If we are given these desires – from the female who wants nothing more than emotionless sex, which is behaviour society sadly denigrates with a four letter word, to the man who wants to butcher his neighbours and eat their remains– how can they possibly be wrong in any absolute sense? The disturbing insight de Sade offers is that they cannot, everything which has happened and which will happen under the sun is natural. This book lifts the veil off of human nature, and all that we see underneath is darkness, depravity and death. It is thus a warning against giving power to a minority, and even though this is not what de Sade was striving for, it is a 1200 page argument for meaningful democracy (as opposed to the spectator democracy we have now)

Bland story and superficial, indistinct characters, but compelling, and well-argued philosophy (albeit repeated ad nauseum). Three stars.

---
Note: in claiming that all motivations derive from sexual-power impulses, de Sade anticipated Freudian psychoanalysis. In noting the relativity of morality, he anticipated existentialism. In seeing man as an animal, he anticipated early Darwinism. He was an intellectual of monstrousstanding.

Brutal. Incessent. Ravings. Two part review (part 1), 09 Nov 2003
I am of the opinion that if the Marquis de Sade had a creative bone in his body he would have much greater influence on western literature than he has had. Most writers of meaningful fiction (think the obvious George Orwell) begin with a premise which they then deconstruct into various literary elements - plot, character, setting, scene etc - all of which are developed and underpinned by the basic, philosophical or social starting point. The idea, in other words, is obscured by the authors creativity. The Marquis de Sade bypassed this process all together - it is clear in Juliette (and in all of his books save for the Gothic Tales) that he was woefully inadequate at writing fiction, and subtle plot constructs and distinct characters are all absent - indeed all his characters are the same, from the homeless prostitute to the king, they all appear as highly educated libertines. He does not wrap his idea - his conception of human nature - in literary creativity and as such, if we wish to understand how he wrote, we really should imagine him locked up in a prison cell filling page after page, night after night, with his perceptive, yet incessant, ravings.

Do not expect a gripping story - there is no beginning, middle or end - but do expect to have your beliefs challenged. If dreadful at telling a story the Marquis de Sade was expert at bringing philosophical ideas to life, in ways which will leave you cornered with the feeling that you must refute what he is writing, but often you cannot. The problem is -as another reviewer noted - he is not a encyclopaedic thinker and, although he has an admirable knack of presenting the same arguments time after time in new ways, the repetition does becoming increasingly tedious.

Is Juliette shocking? Yes and no. The actual manifestation of his philosophy throughout this novel is too artificial, too absurd and too comic to even be believed. It fails to shock because, being the writer he was, de Sade was unable to capture the emotional reaction of his literary victims: there is an utter void of affect in the executed and the executors. The victims come across as simple mannequins, and if raped (for example) they are as passive and emotionless as wooden dolls. Linking in to what I said earlier: if de Sade had the creativity and artistic wherewithal to give his characters real feeling and psychological depth this would be a visually disturbing novel. For the same reason (in case anybody is wondering) this is not pornography, indeed, in my opinion, it is the exact reverse. The sex scenes are so redundant of passion - and I do not mean in the post-modern, J.G. Ballard sense - that they are mostly boring and unbelievable. De Sade seemed to have an (infantile) obsession with - how shall I put this? - connecting as many naked people together as possible, and if you imagine 10 people of unlike sex connected, you will soon appreciate the intentional comic nature in de Sades writings. His understanding of female and male anatomy seems to be little further advanced than that of a schoolboy, and in over-intellectualising human relations, his sex scenes, like the ones of violence, are simply bland.

As I see it, the sex and the violence in Juliette are metaphors for power relations, the illustration for his conception of humankind. Why the Marquis de Sade may shock some is because he takes to task every single cherished western value and every tenet our so-called civilisation is propped up on, and tries to convince us - with unrepentant, bombastic force and poetic precision - that it is all utter nonsense, self-deception and stupidity. There is no love. There is no God. There is no evil. Life has no point. We are all worthless vermin, condemned to die by being born, and nature (the only real judge) is as indifferent to our crimes and vices as it is to our goodness and virtues. We are selfish, depraved animals who would gain so much, says de Sade, from hacking everyone to bits if only we had to guts to overcome our cultural conditioning which dictates to us to act otherwise. The weak are here for the abuses of the strong, and anybody who obstructs us in our pleasures, however trivial they may seem, should be crushed without the slightest touch of sentiment of guilt . Nature is not offended if we rape others, if we kill our children or our parents, if we steal, destroy and pillage: nature does not differentiate matter as human over matter as faeces - it is all the same and all part of the endless (and pointless) cycle of this planets existence. If we have the urge to kill, then what is there to stop us other than cowardly shivering at the feet of the beast of society? The human is but another animal, motivated by the same basic, primal urges - to eat (to stay alive) and to engage in coitus - and to destroy those who get in our way when we are trying to fulfil these urges - and to think otherwise is simply self-deception. His bleak vision offends us for the same reason the suicide does - because it says something about existence we would rather ignore, in fact, it says something our whole culture must refute simple to make sense: that life is worth living and that existence is a positive manifestation. Sade questions this, believing that we waste our finite lives living up to empty, socially created morals which, deep down, we all know are ridiculous and which we all know oppose our natural inclinations. To Sade, society is a conspiracy the parasites of the human race have mounted to the infinite detriment of the strong of mind and body....

continued...

Ultra Sadist Classic, 23 Dec 2002
I'm a bit bemused by the negative reviews on the Amazon site regarding "Juliette" - I consider it one of De Sade's best and miles better than the more popular, but undeniably more repetitive, '120 Days in Sodom'. I can only assume that most people skipped through the pages in a rush or find his style of prose in 'Juliette' too frantic to keep up with. For my money (along with the classic 'Justine'), this tome has the lot. It's an orgy of the Marquis's most extreme fantasises, intermixed with philosophical rants - at times, this combination can be extremely humorous. I think people neglect the fact that De Sade had a wicked sense of humour and this is mostly evident in 'Juliette'. This is probably the most extreme book I've ever read, in terms of sex and violence alone, everything since has appeared tame and mundane. I'd recommend this to anyone who's prepared to go along for the ride.

Bible., 09 Jul 1999
Could care less to say anymore, but anyway... To read a novel for the sake of its language - keep looking and skip this one. The english translations of DeSade are extremely rich, yet will not reflect the depth of his style, mind you, you need to know his other writings and his biography to truly appreciate this masterpiece. If you are looking for a break from everyday's philosophy built on christianity or other dull mind tweakings - this book is for you. read it slow but don't stop. read it early in the morning and before going to sleep. read it in the train and on a bus. stop and re-read what you think is a good fragment. analyze it and chew on it - it will change your life. and if you don't think, your life needs a change, this book won't ask, what you think. there has been no one after this great master to write about these topics with such depth, realism and truth. deSade is worth studying French, (advanced French), since he was publish mostly in his native language throughout Europe, and hardly enough in the "freedom of speech" country.

An interesting dissertation on the philosophy of libertinage, 17 Jun 1999
Being a college student forced to study the humanist philosophers, de Sade's "Juliette" was a refreshing change from the love thy neighbor philosophies I've read before. In no way do I condone the actions of dear Juliette, but it's a good book for the philosophy and historical porn. Some of the long speeches I could have done without, but i enjoyed in none the less. Warning- this book gave me strange dreams, so read at your own risk.

Great intro to Sade, 27 May 2002
This was the first time I read any of the Marquis de Sade's stories, and I think it was a good introduction. The stories are great examples of the Gothic genre. I was surprised that many of the stories were quite moralistic, the author either directly or indirectly condemning the perpetrators of injustice or vice. In many cases the villains get their comeuppance in a suitable fashion. Definitely worth it if you're into gothic horror, etc. Some of the stories are a bit longwinded though, so I deduct a star for that.

Disappointing, 14 Jul 2008
I am, and remain a huge fan of the Marquis De Sade. I bought this book as it professed to gather together all of his most famous erotic writing. Whilst it includes Justine, Juliette and Philosophy In The Bedroom, the greatest disappointment lies in the fact that De Sade's masterpiece, 120 Days Of Sodom, a 500-page opus, has been "summarised" or rather completely butchered! What remains is a couple of hundred pages of literature reduced to a collection of lists. This can never be the "complete" De Sade.

An enlightening introduction, 18 Apr 2008
This is an interesting read, though not for the faint hearted nor those of an overtly religious disposition that may be sensitive to critiques of the same. De Sade was indeed, very ahead of his time in his philosophical argument and was a highly skilled narrator with a broad imagination. Whilst it is easy to state that his views were extremeist, it is however important to read between the lines. De Sade's era was governed by moralist and pious attitudes. You also have to take into account his cultural environment at the time of writing. For example, 120 Days of Sodom, his most controversial works of this collection, was written when he was in the Bastille, when one's imagination could run riot (here he seems highly focused on coprophilia/coprophagia, bestiality, incest and torture). Other works make mention of what would be regarded as edge play (e.g. autoerotic asphyxiation). De Sade was out to shock (and still does) but, by his own admission, all he asks for in return is overall objectivity from his readers, not collusion.

Brilliant, 05 Sep 2007
This is just the perfect book as an introduction to De Sade or if you already know his stories and want a book which contains all the best ones. It is clearly printed and is a must for anyone interested in De Sade.

Vile, 01 Apr 2008
This is the only book I have ever thrown away. It is also the only book to ever make me feel physically sick. I ordered this book due mostly to morbid curiosity, and secondly as I was interested (to a degree) in its author and his exploits. Whatever humour may be in this book, I'm afraid, was lost on me. I find it's difficult to appreciate the funny side when childeren are being raped. I couldn't finish the book, so perhaps I'm missing the punchline.

I thought myself relatively unshockable. This book proved otherwise. I found this thoroughly disturbing, and would whole heartedly suggest you buy something else.

Amusing in parts..., 29 Sep 2006
I read the book a few years ago and whilst I agree that the Simple Passions were sometimes amusing (if you like to laugh at other people's foibles), I felt the book got nastier as the passions progressed. By the time I read the third and fourth set of passions, I was glad that they were in outline form and that the detail had been lost. The fictional aspect of the book gives way to a vileness that is not found in Justine, for instance.
In all, I think that the book should be restricted. It is more likely a work of a mind frustrated and tortured by imprisonment than a philisophical work.


Tedium redefined, 30 May 2006
An interesting read, and an insight into a horrific side of human nature; but the repetition is overwhelming and I found myself skipping through endless descriptions of ejaculation, coprophagia and sexual abuse.

I must admit I found some of the author's style interesting as he 'treats' the reader to insights and tries to relay the story in an amusing way.

Worth buying I think, especially if you've watched the film first, then you realise just how mild the film is (and I thought that was off the scale!)

Very overrated, 10 Mar 2003
I read this book really knowing very little about it. I had heard it described as 'a catalogue of perversions', and that probably describes it very well. It is not simply that it is a list of extreme perversions, as it is actually quite well written, and has a lot of comedy in it (as paradoxical as that might seem considering the subject matter).

The problem I have with it is that it has no real direction or meaning; it is like a shopping list of violent sexual crimes with some humour thrown in. It needs something else if it is going to rise above that.

If you like your comedy to include priests bribing pre-pubescent girls to urinate in front of them; pregnant women being rolled down a slope in a barrel that has had nails hammered through it; or early teenage girls being forced to eat excrement and having their eyes poked out and their nipples cut off, then this is for you. I suspect that for the vast majority of people it won't be their cup of tea.

Why this has become a classic is beyond me. If it wasn't for the fact that Sade enjoyed this kind of lifestyle himself (albeit in a milder form), then he may have been able to write a book that didn't come over as something that he wrote because he found extreme sexual perversions, torture and murder as something erotic.

Comic and cruel, 16 Mar 2001
De Sade's opus and no surprise that his name would forever more be synonymous with vicious acts meted out purely for sexual gratification. A catalogue of sexual deviations, degenerating into ever-increasing cruelty as a group of captives (mainly children) are tormented and tortured to death.

An excellent translation. It is a surprisingly comic work which draws the reader in. It is also a subversive work, portraying the horrors as perpetrated by those with the unlimited resources to indulge their murderous tastes and the power or connections to avoid having to answer for them. Often they represent the law, as with the judge who always sentences everyone appearing before him to death, so that he can watch the execution from an overlooking apartment whilst fornicating at the same time.

Written in prison, it is incomplete. Only the first 30 days have been written out in full; the rest being in note form. It still makes for entertaining reading, although it is probably this incompleteness which makes the entire work disproportionately concerned with eating excrement (one of the earlier and milder sexual quirks).

Even in a world largely numbed to horror, some of this stuff is still unbelievable. Essential reading for anyone interested in the human psyche.

For fans and followers only, 27 Sep 2008
What makes de Sade's work facinating and interesting is his philosophy and throught provoking messages.
Yet, he remains a very untalented and boring writer, a fact many of his 'fans' and 'followers' overlook. His writings are mostly used to sell his idea and do not follow a plot or show any imagination.
Individuals who harbour an interest in crime, vice, evil and sadism will enjoy these writings, no doubt. But for the majority it is a boring and a tedious read, full of revolting images and beliefes that make one doubt the conciousness of publishers.

Personally I found his ideas worth of attention, but imposibble to read the book without skipping pages. It is facinating to dip into the mind of a criminal and someone who lost his human nature.

Yet I would not recomend it for anyone who has not a genuin obsession with de Sade or crime.

A book that shows the other side, 22 Jan 2001
People intrested in sadomasochistic sex are often thought of as people who are on the fringe of society, as people who have not learnt the rules and who cannot fit in. Sade however was obviously very intelligent, his philosophies are well thought out and contain ingenious analogies. Having studied numerous similar religeous theologies for several years I found it was very stimulating to read a convincing argument of the contrary. He does a good job of making a life of vice and selfishness sound a excusable path to choose. One last point, I think the Dialogue between a priest and a dying man is one of the most thought provoking pieces I have ever read.

It's funny how a book about eroticism has so many reviews..., 29 Mar 1999
"The supreme value of his testimony lies in its ability to disturb us. It forces us to reexamine thoroughly the basic problem which haunts our age in different forms:the true relation between man and man." - Simone de Beauvoir

"Justine is the most abominable book ever engendered by the most depraved imagination." - Napoleon Bonaparte

Was Napoleon really disturbed by these novels (or did he test out these static plots on his own)? How unsuccessful could this book really be if someone like Naploeon was repulsed by the story of 'Justine'? And why do so many people comment on this book, as opposed to other books that have a higher sales rank according to Amazon.com, when only a mere several thousand copies have been purchased? Aren't you curious?

It's funny how a book about eroticism has so many reviews..., 29 Mar 1999
"The supreme value of his testimony lies in its ability to disturb us. It forces uss to reexamine thoroughly the basic problem which haunts our age in different forms:the true relation between man and man." - Simone de Beauvoir

"Justine is the most abominable book ever engendered by the most depraved imagination." - Napoleon Bonaparte

Was Napoleon really disturbed by these novels (or did he test out these static plots on his own)? How unsuccessful could this book really be if someone like Naploeon was repulsed by the story of 'Justine'? And why do so many people comment on this book, as opposed to other books that have a higher sales rank according to Amazon.com, when only a couple thousand copies have been purchased? Aren't you curious?

Interesting Philosophy, 02 Mar 1999
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.

Brutal. Incessent. Ravings. Two part review (part 2), 10 Nov 2003
continued...

–and the strong -after learning the lessons nature loudly proclaims with every deer the lion downs - must reassert the natural power relations between the weak and the strong.

The theory that we are all selfish is, of course, irrefutable. Being as we only see the world through our own eyes and conceptualise it through our own minds, our action will always be driven by our own interests. What is contestable in Sade is the way our utter, never-ending selfishness expresses itself: sometimes selfishness can be best pursued through putting the interest of others first (making the very dichotomy between love of self and love of others somewhat convoluted). Like those who err by considering survival of the fittest to be one and the same as survival of the most aggressive, de Sade conceives selfishness as unrepentant brutality. This is - as people familiar with the concept of the selfish gene will concur – utter rubbish. What the theoretician in his Ivory Tower rightly conceives as selfishness is often indiscernible from what the man or woman on the street sees as selflessness.

But, renowned killers like Stalin – the archetypal sadist who enjoyed dining with friends he knew his goons would be executing the very next day - add historical weight to de Sades arguments. As do countless powerful men who have used their position to torture, abuse, and kill the powerless. Nazi doctors liked to pump their victims veins full of air until their eyes exploded. General Prosper Anvil (a Haitian dictator) liked to butcher dissidents and then have their bodies displayed on television as a warning to others. The Saudi Arabian monarch (the worlds greatest human rights abusers) beheads anyone who questions its legitimacy. The cronies of Suharto (supported by the west, incidentally) liked to dismember their victims penises – and make trails of them through villages the people of which they had just exterminated. The USA wages war on anyone who resists its imperialism, but kills anonymous numbers rather than individuals, and with a technological efficiency that the third world dictators, with their uncivilised machetes, are probably envious of. Serial killers (Dr. Shipman, Albert Fish, the beast of Brazil, Ted Bundy etc) rape, kill, eat and copulate with their dead victims. Everything that de Sade writes in Juliette, and in his other works, has a historical parallel: and this is the truly disturbing feature of this book. De Sade predicts the brutality of humanity, and retrospection (and, perhaps, introspection?) gives us all the evidence we need to certify his philosophy. – we humans have shown ourselves to be cruel, selfish, power driven beings and sitting here, surfing the internet in our luxurious homes, we should not be oblivious to the fact that majority of humans are living in abject poverty so that we can have this lifestyle. We would rather see serial killers as aberrations, but an honest appraisal of human history shows us to be a depraved, war-mongering being who would rather butcher anyone who disagrees with us than seek peaceful resolution. Open your local paper: yet another rape, another murder, another crime. It is not that we are all bad, but that we are not all good: this is the truth Juliette reveals and which we are in collective denial of. The Marquis de Sade is warning us about the horrors which lie behind the charade of virtuousness we all affect, and in doing so, is painting a very worrying picture of human nature which cannot help but shock.

On a lesser level, things like marriage, religion, brotherly love are pure, moronic nonsense we needlessly trap our passions with. For instance, de Sade writes on feminine compassion, "…Instead of taking pity of his sufferings,of mitigating them and turning them ridiculously into a burden to be borne by your own sympathies,besensible,my dear,and view him merely as a creature nature has designed for your entertainment..rather than wipehis tears,redouble the cause of his weeping,if you like,if it amuses you!Here are human beings readied for the scythe of your passions,reap a goodly harvest,dear Juliette:nature is bountiful,emulate the spider,spin your webs and mercilessly devour everything nature'swise and liberal hand casts into the meshes"

It should be evident that, despite what is often thought, de Sade theory of life is not anarchistic (an anarchist believes freedom is not absolute, it ceases at the invasion of anothers freedom) but simply fascistic and totalitarian. His conception of human nature is similar, but more brutal, than Hobbes' was, and whereas the latter came up with a whole political-philosophy to try to control the beast he saw in man, de Sade saw no point in hiding from who we are and in denying the selfish, sick passions nature has brought us into this world with. If we are given these desires – from the female who wants nothing more than emotionless sex, which is behaviour society sadly denigrates with a four letter word, to the man who wants to butcher his neighbours and eat their remains– how can they possibly be wrong in any absolute sense? The disturbing insight de Sade offers is that they cannot, everything which has happened and which will happen under the sun is natural. This book lifts the veil off of human nature, and all that we see underneath is darkness, depravity and death. It is thus a warning against giving power to a minority, and even though this is not what de Sade was striving for, it is a 1200 page argument for meaningful democracy (as opposed to the spectator democracy we have now)

Bland story and superficial, indistinct characters, but compelling, and well-argued philosophy (albeit repeated ad nauseum). Three stars.

---
Note: in claiming that all motivations derive from sexual-power impulses, de Sade anticipated Freudian psychoanalysis. In noting the relativity of morality, he anticipated existentialism. In seeing man as an animal, he anticipated early Darwinism. He was an intellectual of monstrousstanding.

Brutal. Incessent. Ravings. Two part review (part 1), 09 Nov 2003
I am of the opinion that if the Marquis de Sade had a creative bone in his body he would have much greater influence on western literature than he has had. Most writers of meaningful fiction (think the obvious George Orwell) begin with a premise which they then deconstruct into various literary elements - plot, character, setting, scene etc - all of which are developed and underpinned by the basic, philosophical or social starting point. The idea, in other words, is obscured by the authors creativity. The Marquis de Sade bypassed this process all together - it is clear in Juliette (and in all of his books save for the Gothic Tales) that he was woefully inadequate at writing fiction, and subtle plot constructs and distinct characters are all absent - indeed all his characters are the same, from the homeless prostitute to the king, they all appear as highly educated libertines. He does not wrap his idea - his conception of human nature - in literary creativity and as such, if we wish to understand how he wrote, we really should imagine him locked up in a prison cell filling page after page, night after night, with his perceptive, yet incessant, ravings.

Do not expect a gripping story - there is no beginning, middle or end - but do expect to have your beliefs challenged. If dreadful at telling a story the Marquis de Sade was expert at bringing philosophical ideas to life, in ways which will leave you cornered with the feeling that you must refute what he is writing, but often you cannot. The problem is -as another reviewer noted - he is not a encyclopaedic thinker and, although he has an admirable knack of presenting the same arguments time after time in new ways, the repetition does becoming increasingly tedious.

Is Juliette shocking? Yes and no. The actual manifestation of his philosophy throughout this novel is too artificial, too absurd and too comic to even be believed. It fails to shock because, being the writer he was, de Sade was unable to capture the emotional reaction of his literary victims: there is an utter void of affect in the executed and the executors. The victims come across as simple mannequins, and if raped (for example) they are as passive and emotionless as wooden dolls. Linking in to what I said earlier: if de Sade had the creativity and artistic wherewithal to give his characters real feeling and psychological depth this would be a visually disturbing novel. For the same reason (in case anybody is wondering) this is not pornography, indeed, in my opinion, it is the exact reverse. The sex scenes are so redundant of passion - and I do not mean in the post-modern, J.G. Ballard sense - that they are mostly boring and unbelievable. De Sade seemed to have an (infantile) obsession with - how shall I put this? - connecting as many naked people together as possible, and if you imagine 10 people of unlike sex connected, you will soon appreciate the intentional comic nature in de Sades writings. His understanding of female and male anatomy seems to be little further advanced than that of a schoolboy, and in over-intellectualising human relations, his sex scenes, like the ones of violence, are simply bland.

As I see it, the sex and the violence in Juliette are metaphors for power relations, the illustration for his conception of humankind. Why the Marquis de Sade may shock some is because he takes to task every single cherished western value and every tenet our so-called civilisation is propped up on, and tries to convince us - with unrepentant, bombastic force and poetic precision - that it is all utter nonsense, self-deception and stupidity. There is no love. There is no God. There is no evil. Life has no point. We are all worthless vermin, condemned to die by being born, and nature (the only real judge) is as indifferent to our crimes and vices as it is to our goodness and virtues. We are selfish, depraved animals who would gain so much, says de Sade, from hacking everyone to bits if only we had to guts to overcome our cultural conditioning which dictates to us to act otherwise. The weak are here for the abuses of the strong, and anybody who obstructs us in our pleasures, however trivial they may seem, should be crushed without the slightest touch of sentiment of guilt . Nature is not offended if we rape others, if we kill our children or our parents, if we steal, destroy and pillage: nature does not differentiate matter as human over matter as faeces - it is all the same and all part of the endless (and pointless) cycle of this planets existence. If we have the urge to kill, then what is there to stop us other than cowardly shivering at the feet of the beast of society? The human is but another animal, motivated by the same basic, primal urges - to eat (to stay alive) and to engage in coitus - and to destroy those who get in our way when we are trying to fulfil these urges - and to think otherwise is simply self-deception. His bleak vision offends us for the same reason the suicide does - because it says something about existence we would rather ignore, in fact, it says something our whole culture must refute simple to make sense: that life is worth living and that existence is a positive manifestation. Sade questions this, believing that we waste our finite lives living up to empty, socially created morals which, deep down, we all know are ridiculous and which we all know oppose our natural inclinations. To Sade, society is a conspiracy the parasites of the human race have mounted to the infinite detriment of the strong of mind and body....

continued...

Ultra Sadist Classic, 23 Dec 2002
I'm a bit bemused by the negative reviews on the Amazon site regarding "Juliette" - I consider it one of De Sade's best and miles better than the more popular, but undeniably more repetitive, '120 Days in Sodom'. I can only assume that most people skipped through the pages in a rush or find his style of prose in 'Juliette' too frantic to keep up with. For my money (along with the classic 'Justine'), this tome has the lot. It's an orgy of the Marquis's most extreme fantasises, intermixed with philosophical rants - at times, this combination can be extremely humorous. I think people neglect the fact that De Sade had a wicked sense of humour and this is mostly evident in 'Juliette'. This is probably the most extreme book I've ever read, in terms of sex and violen