If literature and philosophy are boring, maybe you might like to read some Harry Potter or go watch a Disney movie to ‘entertain’ you better? They have plenty of family friendly products with a happy ending just tailored for you people.
I mean from disgusting to detailed to just dull and a number, , is scary real regarding real violence, it apearently becomes just a thing, i am sure its part of his genius him nailing the worst of human nature :( , we begin seeing violence as just dull and there
Having heard your analysis of this book, I can confidently say that it will never be on my TBR. You gave enough detail to allay any curiosity I may have had. Thanks for this video. Your channel is one of my favorites.
As someone who had read up to about Day 2 (I had to start studying for a life changing test), I found your description of “horrifying” to “repulsed” to “bored” very accurate. And I think I have like 400 pages left. 😂 The most incredible part to me (and not a good incredible) was the amount of detail with which de Sade describes everyone’s buttholes. Like…why? There’s only so many ways to describe one…but he goes out of his way to get pretty creative. 😂 Great review!
I've read several of Sade's works, although not the 120 Days--but Philosophy in the Bedroom, Justine, etc. I think Sade may have developed his writing style with the express intent to inflict pain on his readers, perhaps out of a very real need to torture others while he was imprisoned and therefore unable to do so. The absurdly stacked adjectives addressing all senses, the outrageous, near-comical transgressions that are clearly aimed at pushing everyone's buttons, and, yes, the fastidious and repetitive descriptions that end up boring us with what constitutes unspeakably horrible acts--turning us readers into monsters according to our own morals. I honestly don't know whether this is anywhere close to Sade's intentions, but his writings made me think this was perhaps his intention all along.
I wonder how much of it was based around showing up the limits of liberalism about how allowing complete freedom would result in a strong subjugating the weak scenario.
This kind of book is a good tool to learn to portray villains(for those interested in writing horror of course). It shows how to explore the lack of morals, different forms of violence, and despicable people's backstories. It's actually very useful ... if you can go beyond the disgust and immoral atrocities there.
@Jackal_El_Lobo34 clockwork is intentionally supposed to be over the top and I am no way condoning the horrific things that happened. I'll say Alex deserves free will but should've still been imprisoned for life at the end or stay voluntarily to actually show genuine remorse for his sins in my opinion.
Great video! I got halfway through the book, but chose my sanity in the end and put it back on the shelf. Maybe one day I'll stomach the rest! I understand why many people find his writing profound and have a point, but 120 Days really felt like it's just the ultimate jerk-off material for Sade to use in prison. For him to recall times he did half (wouldn't be surprised if all) these acts in his real life and write a scenario where someone could get away with it all.
It's amazing that people still talk about Sade. I have this odd fascination with him, not with his filthy writing (though I've read excerpts) but with him and the controversy he caused. I do wonder what he'd think of today's society? PS- I recommend the movie "Quills". Very interesting film about Sade.
Ironically despite de Sade's love of the extreme he found menstruation and menstrual blood too disgusting for words. Tells me all I need to know about him. Misogynistic creep.
There's also a 1989 movie called Marquis in which the actors wear these weird animal costumes, similar to a Jim Henson film. REALLY strange! And there's a movie titled De Sade with Keir Dullea in it, which isn't very good.
Thank you for so eloquently summing up my own views on De Sade. I also think that, sadly, as he's undergone a lot of intellectual examination, people have rather lost sight of how awful a person he was in reality :S
Yeah I think too much intellectualising can make us forget the real harm some people have caused. Thanks for watching and sorry for the delay in replying!
My guess is he wrote this book to show the Readers a peek into his mind. I see this book as a gauge of morality: the more this book disturbs You, the less you are like him. For me, I only noticed being phased by the extreme violence in the later parts of the book. The final act was especially disturbing.😖
the power of the infamy of this book. most of the title of this video was cut off, but i saw the words "most obscene book ever" and immediately went "120 days? 120 days." read the book, saw the movie and i've never known peace again. well done on the review!
When I was 25 i wondered how the word sadism came from. My ex, then boyfriend took me to the bookstore and took the book from the shelf. I opened it randomly, I almost threw up right there in the store. Knowing he got away with this for many years all the while many royales knew this was going on. When asked if i wanted to get it i declined. The little i read to this day makes me cringe.
Recognisable. I picked it up in a bookstore once and wish i had not. The fact that this still goesxon today, by people widely respected and revered for their power and/ or glamour. Meanwhile this is the stuff they actually do. I watched Ru Paul's dragrace sometimes, one of the jury member wore a jacket that says "Libertine". Yeah yeah but it's all symbolic...sure...Just his awfull imagination....Sure...
@@CriminOllyBlogYou keep saying that like the only proof of his so-called depravity wasn't one soleqa hooker lying to a kangaroo court in an attempt to extort his family (ie. wife's) wealth. Just because your only biographical knowledge of historical figures comes from pop culture and you can't be bothered to do the hardest minimum of basic research doesn't give you the right to assert yourself as any sort of authority, and honestly you should be embarrassed for misinforming so many people. Dunning-Kruger is alive and well.
FINALLY!!! Oh I've been so excited for this video!! Oh dang, I had *not* known how much of Sade's writing was influenced by his IRL behavior. Just looked it up and am disgusted all over again... Yeah the 💩scenes became so tiresome. I agree this wasn't written for themes or messages, just for the sake of being filthy and getting his rocks off.
Never read the book but I have seen Salo, 120 Days of Sodom by Passolini and it was brutal. I have also seen the film production of the play Marat/Sade which was intense but not as grossly shocking as Salo. I would be hesitant to revisit either and would definitely not have the patience to complete the book itself. Cheers and thank for doing the deed for me.
I must agree on your opinion of salo. In my younger days I felt it was somewhat of a challenge to watch disturbing films. Unfortunately I watched salo, it was very brutal and hard to sit through. It is a film i really do not want to see again. Also I like to warn you folks about A Serbian Film, extremely disturbing.
@@andrewrodgers2180 sorry, but the film by Pasolini doesn't really scratch the surface of the depravity and cruelty of the book. it would be utterly devastating to watch by anybydy who isn't a deviant sadist murderous psychopath. Impossible to make such a movie by actors who have any dignity or genuine humanity left in them. Pasolini's movie has really not much in common with de Sade's despicable scriblings...
There's also a 1989 movie called Marquis in which the actors wear these weird animal costumes, similar to a Jim Henson film. REALLY strange! And there's a movie titled De Sade with Keir Dullea in it, which isn't very good.
I read "Justine, or the misfortunes of virtue" by DeSade for the first time when I was 15. There was a quote in the beginning of my copy saying something like "whoever reads this will be ruined for life." Well, combined with the experiences I was having just from being a teenager (oddball older guys hitting on me, etc) I definitely became quite cynical. Many reviewers say DeSade wrote it as a commentary on the hypocrisy of his class. That makes more sense for this book than it does for 120 Days, imo.
Could be both. Could be a deliberate crucifixion of the aristocrat class or an accidental one. Either way, I think the point is made that they get away with robbery, injustice, rape, incest, pedo rape, murder, mutilation, sheer evil. This reviewer is glossing that over and just repeating the actions and missing the intent. These monster still live among us today.
@@CriminOllyBlog I have a theory, that De Sade may have written this despicable peice of crap as a form of payment for privilege in the prison, providing supply for the sick minds of bored and horny criminals.
They really knew how to write shocking things back then. I would heartily recommend The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore if you haven't read it. The amount of sex and violence for something written that long ago is, or was to me at the age I read it, astounding. Very beautiful writing too, but I don't think I need to include that anymore when I recommend something to you.
The interesting thing about this is that your reaction was exactly what Sade was going for. The life of an absolute Libertine goes through various stages of excitement, disturbing, disgust, and ultimately, boredom.. that's the message. All hedonistic paths lead to an ultimate boredom and a need for bigger and harder thrills. Its like a heroin junkie. This book is in no way his best. Justine, or the dangers of virtue was far more interesting as both a novella and a play( maybe interesting side note, I was at a production of the play in the seedier parts of Hollywood's the night Princess Diana Died...soooo, a doubly interesting night). Sade's works all point to the ultimate banality of even the most severe kinks.
I think this review emphasizes an interesting point that gets overlooked sometimes. Some works of art aren't presevered because they're good or because of the impact they had in their time or because people get off on them. Sometimes things just survive because there is such a WTF factor to them that you just keep it around to try to understand why it exists and in the hope that those who come after you can answer that question if you can't.
The four prostitutes recounting their tales everyday was especially revolting, dear reader. I've never read anything before or since that forced my gag reflex so intensely. I'm most fascinated by the fact he wrote it in secret while in prison on scrolls of paper he glued together and would hide it in wall of the prison cell. After the Bastille was stormed in 1789 Sade thought it was lost. He never knew it had been found and preserved. It wasn't published until 1904. The 1975 Italian film adaptation Salo is quite an endurance test.
Really interesting to hear about this book. Thanks for doing the hard work for us, will definitely be giving it a miss. Side note - had to read American Psycho at university and it was unpleasant to say the least.
I haven't read AMERICAN PSYCHO, but there are scenes (at least one for sure) in LESS THAN ZERO that practically made me physically ill. So I don't think the Marquis de Sade is for me. Did really like the movie "Quills" however.
I read this book my Freshman year of college. The Hell Libertine was probably my favorite character- I always recommend him to people when this book is mentioned. Those who have read it will know what I mean…On a side note: there is an excellent biography of De Sade that was published in the 1990’s, I believe. I would highly recommend reading it alongside this book. His life story is almost a work of literature In itself.
I read that. lol I do prefer his letters and more philosophical writings. As I recall he's another one that exposed the aristocracy and the things that they do. He was one of them but also ratting them out. That book was meant to mirror certain members of the aristocracy. I enjoy him as an historical character. :) I haven't read him in forever. I think I may read a little soon. He meant to shock people. Kinda like Anton LaVey :)
Happy new year to you. I came across your channel a short time ago and you are always worth listening to. You seem to be a very nice person. Keep up the good work!
I made the mistake of finding this book. I was looking up banned books. There were some (mostly) innocuous books like Hunger Games and Harry Potter. Then, I stumbled across this one. My naive brain said “oh, it can’t be that bad”. I found the translation online and, oh f*ck me, I saw too much. 😖 I don’t usually have a weak stomach when it comes to books, but holy crap.
One of my literature professors assigned an expert from this book, and I thought she was playing a joke on us and we were actually reading something that had been written by a 12-year old who really liked farts. Out of curiosity, I bought the book and read it. Like you, I could only take so much at a time. It didn't make me particularly keen to read de Sade's other works, but I did occasionally appreciate the writing style. I'm a sex-positive person and I try to avoid kink-shaming, but I found absolutely nothing about this "erotic classic" even the slightest bit titillating. And I should mention that I also watched Salo and I steeled myself for sheer depravity. Some of my peers think I'm crazy for not being shocked by Sala, but I found it tame in comparison to the book.
I still haven't got up the guts to watch Salo but I probably will one day. And yeah the book was a strange mix of horrific, ridiculous and dull. Your description of him as a 12 yo who likes farts is pretty spot on
well said. Salo doesn;t even belong in the same universe of depravity that's in this filthy novel.. I might have seen Salo many years ago, just out of curiosity, cause I was really incredulous how would they get away with a film based on this novel. the film is boring, dull, somewhat shocking, but not even close to the original.
This has to be the most polite description of the Marquis de Sade I have ever heard. For some reason listening to people discuss disturbing books I’m intrigued by but don’t want read myself at the moment has become a thing I do to take my mind off dealing with the passing of my father at the moment as a weird food for thought distraction. This playlist is perfect but again as someone very into history “he was a character” and such really made me do a little chuckle so thank you 😂 I also very much agree from what I know if him in life and the book that it’s not really trying to make a statement as much as just writing out his warped fantasy and getting off… dirty old bastard indeed that enjoyed suffering and shit eating
I can highly recommend the very entertaining (but not historically accurate) movie Quills starring Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet and Joaquin Phoenix for all of your Marquis de Sade needs.
It's a fantastic movie, based on a play. There are some great points about artistic and sexual expression, and it is most enjoyable when you forget the Maquis really existed and was a child predator.
One day I was in a used bookstore and I flipped to a random page in 120 Days and read a paragraph that detailed the consumption of…well you know. I assumed I had bad luck, but now I know why, this book is full of shit!
I have had this book for years...and after your review... I'll have to dig it out and give it a try 😜 I had major eye surgery last week and I have been reading my Kindle...but I'm getting my sight back, so onto printed books!!! 😊 I read "Story of the Eye" last summer...in one sitting!!! So good, I just got it out to reread.
I read Dark Eros by Thomas Moore. It's a book about Sade and his philosophy. there's a chapter on shit. I read everything but that chapter. I learned some cool words from that book: numinous, saturnine, anima, chthonic, sublimation, telos.
Thanks for this review. I think I will be for sure not reading the book. The part about the crust on the “male anatomy” made me nauseous and then there are the more horrific things in there that I don’t want going into my head. My everyday imagination would then torture me for it. So, thank you.
Justine and Juliette are superior works compared to the 120 Days, if for no other reason that they're both finished works. I got about halfway through the latter and decided I wasn't gonna let Sade beat me, I finished it and read three more of his books and while I didn't let him beat me, I still feel like I lost.
@CriminOlly I'm a newcomer to your channel so I'm not entirely sure of your literary preferences, but you might find some of the feminist response to Sade interesting. Angela Carter- The Sadeian Woman and Jacques Lacan's essay Kant with Sade might tickle your fancy. Edit: I've also heard people say that Juliette can be seen as one of the first openly feminist novels. If I had to name my favourite of Sade's novels, that would be it
@@objetpetita thank you! I tend to lean more towards popular fiction than the smarter stuff, but I love the Angela Carter I’ve read so might give that one a try
new to your channel and definitely enjoyed hearing you discuss this book. i only hesitated liking the video bc i don’t want the alg*rithm to get any funny ideas…
I own a first English edition of this book. And yes, after reading it once, that was quite enough. It is beyond foul, but, for bibliophiles, it's a must have.
my mother had this book while i was growing up. i have no idea how it made its way into her possession. it was a heavy, hard cover, black book. an interesting read.
Yeaahhhhhhh definitely not gonna read this one lol for the same reasons I never watched the film adaptation either. Doesn't seem like it would make any positive impact on my life, so rather just keep ignoring it
Oh yes, this one is just horrible (in every sense)! I read his work Juliette in college and thought that had a similar descent from transgression that seems titillating through vicious horror and ultimately repetitive violence. The emphasis on violation of innocence makes it so much worse. I never made it through 120 Days as it became clear it was more of the same. Have you read Marat/Sade by Peter Weiss? Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Olly. Cheers, Jack
Legend has it that Desade wrote more as an outlet since there were times he could not act on his impulses, and so he wrote about things instead of doing them. Also, if you read about Desade in any great detail you discover that he was more or less at war with the hypocrites that lived during his Era so thus he was being shocking on purpose.
Now this is what I was looking for. When people use shock it diminishes the offensive act for me . Their words become ridiculous and all I see is just a very miserable disturbed person.
True its been a while but I remember reading that a male relative of his was a priest or holy man that was also willfully sinning without Shame all the time in front of him and the family member never really got punished by anyone for it. So Desade came to a conclusion that if a man of God is not being punished for his immoral impulses he was like eventually I'm about to go super wild with it. Crazy though he was the one who ended up in prison later for that.
I skimmed a lot of this book and I totally agree that it gets boring after a while. Awful to say, as it’s got countless amounts of horrific descriptions of rape and paedophilia, but after the first few pages, it becomes monotone with very little depth. There isnt a storyline apart from old disgusting men living their perverted fantasies over and over again. Yes it’s beyond horrid but I’ve read other books that have shocked me more because of how one dimensional this story is…. I wouldn’t even call it a story!
I became so bored with the book that I only remember one of the 600 pleasures and that was "a man farts on a piece of toast while his dog watches, the dog is involved in no other way" hahahahahahah I laughed so hard
Nous sommes prévenus dans l'introduction qu'on y trouvera la perversion qui nous sied, et beaucoup d'autres, et qu'on est censés laisser celles-là de côté. "C'est ici l'histoire d'un magnifique repas où six cents plats divers s'offrent à ton appétit. Les manges-tu tous? Non, sans doute... "
"He fucks a man from behind, then opens his skull, removes his brain and fills the skull with molten lead". Like he just tried to invent the most absurd acts imaginable.
As I recall, Sade is said to have "deliberately written not to be read"... and, with this one in particular, I can agree. Back when I read this, I was curious about Sade, and read several of the pieces published by Grove publishing: Justine, Philosophy in the Bedroom, Conversation Between a Priest and a Dying Man, etc. Made it all the way through those, a couple of others, and this (which, as you say, becomes terrifically boring... deliberately so, I would argue). What I never managed to get through was the enormously long novel, Juliette -- a sort of mirror-image to Justine (in the latter, the heroine is the victim, in the former, she is victimizer, something reflected in the subtitles of the two: "Justine, or the Misfortunes of Virtue" and "Juliette; or, the Triumph of Vice"; as a footnote, Robert Bloch made it quite clear that his eponymous heroine in "A Toy for Juliette" was so named in honor of Sade's heroine... and is modeled on her more than a little... the "Toy" of the title being Leather Apron himself, brought to her by her time-traveling grandfather as a "gift"... actually his way of getting rid of her for various reasons. Bloch makes it quite clear that it is questionable which of the three is the most depraved and disturbing.) From what I know of hiw life and philosophy, Sade chiefly wrote this unfinished work as a way of pleasing himself -- putting his fantasies on paper and making them as extreme as possible. Given the time (leading up to, during, and just following the Revolution), and the fact that his uncle (if memory serves) was a high official in a very corrupt Church, where Sade caqme into contact with quite a lot of the abuses and corruption rife in the society's upper classes and religious orders), it isn't at all surprising that he would turn his "talents" to such themes in his own writing. What I DID find interesting in several of his works (including, here and there, in the novel under consideration) was not the pornographic melange, which quickly became dull as possible, but some of the philosophical and political discussions his various characters engaged in, and (to a lesser degree) the metaphorical or allegorical nature of some of his figures and their behaviors (such as what you outlined within the video). Sade himself was a rather more complex figure; disturbing, yes, but many layered (he has often been called "The Divine Marquis"); a dark version of a rather twisted romantic, if you read some of his letters. And a few of his pieces have been classed as examples of the "Gothic" school of the late 18th century, as well as influences on some of the better-known examples of that school (e.g., M. G. Lewis' "Ambrosio; or, the Monk") Whether or not he had any influence on "Mother" Radclife is doubtful... but it has been argued that he did; possibly in such characters as Montorio and Schedoni. So, whether or not this particular work is "important" literarily, Sade's work certainly has its place in one of the major movements of the late 18th- and early 19th centuries, as well as both the Symbolists and the Decadent schools, from Huysmans and Baudelaire through H. H. Ewers (particularly, perhaps, his novel "Alraune"). It is fitting, in an odd way, that Leonard Wolf included a passage from "Justine" in his original "Complete Book of Terror", which traces the terror tale -- in reverse -- from Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" to the story of Jael from the Book of Judges. A difficult book to go through (The 120 Days), but, yes, I think an important one in several ways.
It was written as a satire against the aristocracy who imprisoned de Sade for their own agendas, political mainly but personal, too. It was meant to be in their faces and intended to be disgusting, along with a celebration of libertine excess. Face it, people are grotesques.
I've always felt that "120 Days" is not only an indictment of the aristocracy and the bourgeois, but an outright condemnation of all structures of power and control. To phrase it another way, it's a calculated and absolute "fuck you!" to the Christian god, the Church, the family, society itself, just EVERYTHING. When I read De Sade, I'm always struck by his inherent rage against systems of control, rather than a sort of juvenile desire to shock or titilate.
I remember browsing through this book a few years ago. I thought, What's all the fuss? I assumed it would be some tawdry and florid pornography, like a 18th century version of 50 Shades of Grey. No, it was a manual on coprophilia and other gross acts that wouldn't get published in a Penthouse forum article. A rote catalog of offensive acts, and as Olly put it, what was the point? I suspect De Sade just wanted to have the pleasure of enraging the reader. I decline.
Being a movie buff, I genuinely thought you were referring to Saló at first, and was confused if I was watching the right video. I had no clue this book existed!
Yeah, I've not seen the film, so don't really know how faithful it is to the book. I get the impression though that Pasolini just used it as a jumping off point
I've read one of his, Philosophy Of The Boudoir. I have seen the film based on 120 Days and that's very disturbing. It has a darkness and imagery that stays with you for life.If you like horror, that;'s real horror.
@@CriminOllyBlog Haha, probably wise. Psychologically, it's a masterpiece. There's no gore as such and it'll stay with you forever but I would still recommend it. I'm rather tired of being empathic and whilst I wouldn't want to sink to his depths, he is an example or study of life beyond fear and guilt. I know plenty like that, in a sort of 21st century kind of way and life has smiled on them somewhat and I get that impression with him too, despite his imprisonments, which were largely for his publications, not his bodily transgressions.
@@tomflynn2912 Really? I can't remember blood actually being spilt. Like many scenes in Texas Chainsaw, It's heavily suggested but you don't actually see it. However, It's been a while haha, I could be wrong. I'll have to drag the DVD out.
@@allisterwhiteheadimo the most terrifying thing about the film is that basically you know the end is only just the beginning of hell for those kids. In terms of gore there is none iirc maybe the cutting off of the tongue bit and in that respect it's very tame for an extreme movie. I agree it's far more psychological and political . Possibly the most disturbed film I've seen is Goretesku(?) or Grotesque...basically torture porn
I would like to recommend reading Rikki Ducornet's The Fan-Maker's Inquisition. It is a fiction but it offers some sharp insights into de Sade and his writings, including this catalog of atrocities. Thank you for your video and engaging with this infamous text.
Before i start to read any de Sade book, i read the excelente biography AT HOME WITH THE MARQUIS DE SADE that gave me a increíble insight on his life and works; a extreme product of his times, a tiene when the moral of the time was increíble loose.
I saw blue velvet at the movies. I was obsessed and disgusted. I thought Dennis Hopper gave a smashing performance. And Isabella Rossellini! Like a fevered nightmare of a dream. One that makes your tummy feel funny.
@@CriminOllyBlogThe Remains of the Day, The Silence of the Lambs, The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction (I don't know if this would be on the list if I hadn't seen it actually in the theater. Having no idea what it was about), Being John Malkovich. Almost anything with Anthony Hopkins. Who by the way, has said he does not really enjoy acting. The Man who Would Be King and Apocalypse Now. Last but not least, Brazil. Which I actually had to watch like five times before I got through it without falling asleep. So strange, I was really interested in it and I never fall asleep during movies! These are a few of my favorite things. Along with hellraiser and Phantasm. I saw Phantasm in the drive-in movies LOL! Awesome. I'd love it if they'd run a double feature with Salem's Lot.
@@CriminOllyBlog Oh my god it was awesome! When my father was alive, he died when I was 11, we would always go to the drive-ins. And he loved the scaries. I saw night of the living Dead the original at the drive-ins when I was like five. It was then I had to have explain to me how movies were not real. Mind you we had a drive past the cemetery on the way home. I also saw such classics as the toolbox murders, 10,001 Maniacs, paint me blood red, count Yorga, dirty Mary and crazy Larry, fantastic voyage. I don't know why but I vomited during that one I think it was the butter on the sandwiches my mother used to make. Salami with butter. I know you people put butter on your sandwiches in England is that right? It's a European thing but my mother used to do it. I don't think salami needs any extra grease! And all of those core puzzles attacking and white blood cells, oy vey! I also saw midnight Express while high on angel dust/PCP. Now that was frightening! I don't do that stuff anymore It was long ago and far away. Sorry for not capitalizing the titles, but it's New Year's Eve and I'm trying to catch up with everyone!
Been on a quest over the past two years to read the most disturbing works of fiction. Tender is the Flesh, No Longer Human, Lolita, and The Vegetarian. I ordered The 120 Days of Sodom yesterday. I'm excited!
I've been tempted to read de Sade but I've gotten the impression that I would dnf his work - not out of disgust, but out of boredom/exhaustion at the catalogging of preversions and attrocities. At this point, I'm content (poor choice of words?) to have sat through a screening of Salo. I've wondered if Geoffrey Rush's portrayal in Quills "Hannibal-Lectorized" the Marquis - i.e. turned him from a dirty old man to a rakish bad boy.
I have only ever skimmed passages of Sade's most notorious novel (not going further due to the feelings of horror the text inspired), but from description, 'Hogg' by Samuel R. Delany, first published in 1995 after decades of writing, could easily rival 'The 120 Days of Sodom' in sheer enervating depravity. Delany is a respected American author specializing in science fiction, but 'Hogg' has been widely dismissed as a work of meaningless, repetitive pornography, the chief character being a child (a rootless denizen of the streets engaging in and subjected to a relentless array of cruel perversions) adding to the sense of outrage this novel provokes in many critics. One novel that is an undeniable literary masterpiece that disturbs in comparable fashion to Sade's and Delany's efforts is 'Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West' by Cormac McCarthy, one of the greatest American novels of the second half of the twentieth century (having been first published in 1985), which is nonetheless sometimes criticized for the numbing litany of horrors that punctuate the author's narrative.
Those are great suggestions. I read Blood Meridian last year and found it fascinating. I'm also planning to read Child of God by McCarthy soon. And Hogg is on my list to read this month.
I haven't read 120 Days, but have seen Pasolini's Salo. More than once. Each time it played to a packed cinema and each time, by the time the lights came up, the cinema would be half empty! Only the hardcore saw it all the way to the end. Proud to say, I was one! LOL! Pasolini's intent, like de Sade's, was to rub the audience's noses in their own titillation. Prior to Salo, Pasolini had made "Canterbury Tales" and "Arabian Nights", both bawdy and erotic tales based on classic tales of literature and both sumptuously filmed. He knew full well that the audiences for these films would be attracted to Salo for the same reasons, but what they got, was a lot more than they expected. He exposed their own depravity - not very comfortable! The same can be said of de Sade. "Justine" is essentially a satire disguised as a morality tale. The ending is both tragic and hilarious and could have emanated from the pen of Robert Crumb! De Sade was the kind of person who would not hesitate to push things as far as he could take them, gentility be damned! In literature, and art in general, this is acceptable, even if the book is banned and its author imprisoned for crimes against public decency. "Society" paints a benevolent portrait of itself, yet the reality is quite different and it is more often than not "Society" that exacts the most venal of obscenities under the guise of decency and the "public good". This evokes the adage "the banality of evil" and in a distorted mirror, a myriad of justifications and rationalisations pour forth in support of ethically unsupportable acts, from suppression of rights all the way to genocide. It's a question of how far would we go? If we get turned on peeking through a bedroom window or a keyhole, how far would we be prepared to go for more intense sensations? Breaking in? Theft? Assault? Rape? Murder? These are things each and every one of us are capable of, yet more often than not, we dare not admit to them. De Sade and Pasolini ripped that facade away. With them we are confronted with humanity's bestial nature, the thin veneer of civilised genteelism torn away. De Sade's works are held to be "bad", lesser, more titillating works as "good", or at least acceptably entertaining. What's worse, or rather, what is the more honest? "120 Days of Sodom" or "Fifty Shades of Grey"? Just for interest's sake, a comparison can be made with Pasolini's "Salo" and Srdjan Spasojevic's "A Serbian Film", which ups the ante in the gag reflex index. If you think "Salo" is unrelenting.... I suspect even de Sade would be impressed!
I’d like to join (virtually) your disturbing book read journey. Is there a way I can get that list? I’ve read Rats per your review and went back and rewatched your review to compare my thoughts with you analysis.
Hey - if you join my Discord server there is a channel for discussing disturbing reads. I did a video a while back detailing the books I'm planning to read, but that has been added to now so I'll be doing an update soon
The most disturbing book i ever read, especially considering his history. The only book i ever stopped reading for "disturbing themes." He was a pervert and the book was mary sue. It was his fantasy. He did enact similar kidn@ppjng in real life.
HeyOllie, not that I plan to read this one anytime soon, it would be helpful if you included the details of the edition you read in the notes, along with name of translator, year of publication, etc. Just a suggestion for your videos!,
Is this the one where he ends the book reciting a list of torture methods that were being used over the centuries in different cultures ? I ‘ ve read his books a very very long time ago and I still remember some of the scenes he writes about and the list . To me that list just confirmed that as a species we are cruel savage error of nature !
@@CriminOllyBlog I just realized that i still have that exact same copy that i tried to read so many years ago, i literally didn't knew it was still hanging around the house, and the stupid impulse is at it again, HELP!!!
Sort of a funny thing about the movie adaptation. Lead singer of the band Korn, Jonathan David, has a UA-cam video where he is showing what he’s bought from a shop, and right after some really light-hearted wholesome cartoons, he pulls out the movie of this 🤣🤣🤣 Great video!
It is interesting as a piece of history, mostly that going back so far - doing it even worse than the other thing quickly loses any semblance of a point, at least beyond a reflection on the writer. Pick out one thing to make a point, and I'll watch the hero go through hell to skewer him at the end 😅 For some reason the description of the book reminded me of 90s Internet browsing. You were always one wrong click away from utter depravity, but I can only assume that was more down to the collective depravity.
Ha! yeah the early internet was a pretty scary place. It's terrifying how quickly that kind of thing surfaces as soon as people feel freed of the shackles of polite society
I might read it in ten years or so. I am getting very much appalled by the vile these days. On the contrary, when I was 9,10, and older, I would read and watch such adult content it's shocking. Have you watched the rest of David Lynch's opus? His work has stuck with me throughout the years and you could say I adore him.
As you mentioned, the process of reading it in its own shell, the process of transgression via our morals, ideals and everything. We question it, we get shocked, we get disturbed and just as a plaster rips off, the shock disappears from our skin and boredom arrives. Isn't it what happens to a murderer? The first kill is a bad go, and then they get used to it. They get used to atrocity, or like when you live in an environment with all the bloody violence happening, you either get away from it, or watch it until you don't feel things anymore. So this power of transgreasion is truly of use to be studied carefully regarding the fields of sociology, gender studies and even literary criticism. The hierarchial system of power and those who sit on the top positions, get used to this power, they get fed from it. It reminds me of the review of "Pure Filth" which Juan covered about the real goal of the author. I think these aspects are the reasons the work is still so alive:)))) I mean with another reason of being vividly fucked up hah. I think that's why it has reputation , not just from consumers but real critics. It is as worthy as a real work of transgressive fiction. Not just to shock, but make you super uncomfortable about your attitudes on life (in a smaller scale its personal life) and in a larger scale, on world views and even politics.
If it was just purely fiction I think it'd be more of an easy read but while reading I kept thinking over and over how many of the acts described were influenced by things he actually did irl
@@jessehudson7036 Shut the fuck up, you fatherless prick. All I did was ask a question. Not my fault you're retarded enough to think that's 'playing the moral authority'. The internet never fails to surprise me with it's stupidity
Although Sade was undoubtedly enjoying what he wrote, and was himself a minor aristocrat, this book is intended to be an attack on the depravity of the aristocracy and thier lackeys, and the objectification, by them, of the lower classes. Sade was released from prison, and made a judge by the Directory, after the revolution in France. Also, he was generally down on his luck, and wrote violent pornography for money, much of it from prison. Having said all that, it is a truly disgusting tale, I agree.
Yeah, but then Napoleon bounced him back into a cell (where he eventually died) after the Emperor read ... Justine, I think? ... Napoleon was not a fan.
A mystic told me he thinks the novels are not about excrement; he sees them more like zodiac Gemini mind horror that come crawling with an agenda not just to provoke & disgust but also to reach in deep & change attitudes & perception.
The world: Marquis de Sade's "The 120 Days of Sodom" is the most disturbing, shocking as well as disgusting book ever written. Samuel R. Delany's "Hogg": Am I a joke to you?
@@CriminOllyBlog I want to sad react to this. Take care of yourself, if you need to put it down put it down. Do not feel obligated to read such things for content or endurance or any other reason - Hogg is the one book I wish I could unread
I have the book as a part of my disturbing collection, never read it but i have seen the movie. That was enough for me, I'll take splatterpunk all day over trying to read this book. Especially when the book is always 100x's worse 90% of the time, like this book. I salute you.
As you said, de Sade was the real thing- and that is, a depraved sexual predator. Once I did an in depth research of de Sade’s life and crimes, I exiled his work from my bookshelf. With de Sade, one must choose on which side one stands on. And, for me, it’s not his.
De Sade was a man born at the wrong time , if he had been born a few years earlier or in fact in modern times, this type of behaviour as practised by his class, would pass unnoticed and would not need to be accounted for !
Yes we get desensitised to the horror that goes on. It's sad that the youth/people can bash and torture so readily. Because we see it over and over on social media
If literature and philosophy are boring, maybe you might like to read some Harry Potter or go watch a Disney movie to ‘entertain’ you better? They have plenty of family friendly products with a happy ending just tailored for you people.
😂😂
You must be a lovely person in real life. 😉
@@LambLiesDownOnBroadway You must be a very unbiased, nonjudgmental, rational and philosophically learned person in real life 🙂
@@cyper3690 ok mr. rational, philosophical, intellectual, impeccable, superior, and perfect human being
@@passionfruit7617 Thanks. Good boy.
"He was just a dirty old bastard." Quote of the year, Olly! 😃
Too many dirty old bastards throughout time, who've created more horror throughout generations
That was the feeling i got when i read the book years ago. It was disgusting!
Imagine they put that on the Marquis' gravestone.
Wu tang
The word SADISM isn't derived from HIS NAME for nuthin ya know.
‘They went from being disturbed to being disgusting, to just bored.’
He pretty well wrapped up current life on Earth.
ha ha! Very good!
I mean from disgusting to detailed to just dull and a number, , is scary real regarding real violence, it apearently becomes just a thing,
i am sure its part of his genius him nailing the worst of human nature :( , we begin seeing violence as just dull and there
@@marocat4749 Yes, "the banality of evil" as they say.
Having heard your analysis of this book, I can confidently say that it will never be on my TBR. You gave enough detail to allay any curiosity I may have had. Thanks for this video. Your channel is one of my favorites.
I agree . Thanks for enduring this for us. I will skip this one
You should give it a try anyway. Otherwise you cabbot really judge it.
Good to page through but if you don't think he's hilarious then it's a large book. Best weird one, no.
Start off with" the philosophy of the boudoir " short and strange
There's two copies of Justine. A dark and light copy.
As someone who had read up to about Day 2 (I had to start studying for a life changing test), I found your description of “horrifying” to “repulsed” to “bored” very accurate. And I think I have like 400 pages left. 😂 The most incredible part to me (and not a good incredible) was the amount of detail with which de Sade describes everyone’s buttholes. Like…why? There’s only so many ways to describe one…but he goes out of his way to get pretty creative. 😂 Great review!
LOL! Yes, I've never read a book that was so obsessed with describing its characters nether regions. Glad you enjoyed the review!
Oh man, that sounds ghastly! Good luck with reading the rest!
Just out of curiosity, what do you study that you had to read a book like this for a test?
@@horacehalt4216 LOL I didn’t read it to study. I quit reading it BECAUSE I had to study. 😂
he was pretty into anal, it might be just his thing 🤔 most authors put some of that into books. but why does grr martin so much aboutr dicks ,
I've read several of Sade's works, although not the 120 Days--but Philosophy in the Bedroom, Justine, etc.
I think Sade may have developed his writing style with the express intent to inflict pain on his readers, perhaps out of a very real need to torture others while he was imprisoned and therefore unable to do so. The absurdly stacked adjectives addressing all senses, the outrageous, near-comical transgressions that are clearly aimed at pushing everyone's buttons, and, yes, the fastidious and repetitive descriptions that end up boring us with what constitutes unspeakably horrible acts--turning us readers into monsters according to our own morals.
I honestly don't know whether this is anywhere close to Sade's intentions, but his writings made me think this was perhaps his intention all along.
That’s a really interesting theory! If it’s true then he’s still succeeding centuries later.
I would agree I felt violated after reading 120 days. I couldn't finish the book it was so disgusting
I wonder how much of it was based around showing up the limits of liberalism about how allowing complete freedom would result in a strong subjugating the weak scenario.
This kind of book is a good tool to learn to portray villains(for those interested in writing horror of course). It shows how to explore the lack of morals, different forms of violence, and despicable people's backstories. It's actually very useful ... if you can go beyond the disgust and immoral atrocities there.
That is a really great point. And yes the complete lat of empathy is really a defining part of the book
I agree. I read this book awhile back and it has been a great help when I create my villains. He is a good character study as well.
@@ailismckinney1750 Interesting!
* cough * Clock Work Orange
@Jackal_El_Lobo34 clockwork is intentionally supposed to be over the top and I am no way condoning the horrific things that happened. I'll say Alex deserves free will but should've still been imprisoned for life at the end or stay voluntarily to actually show genuine remorse for his sins in my opinion.
The Aristocrats!
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Well thanks for giving away the ending ☹
@@laikapupkino1767 LOL
🗣Fascist Aristocratic Perverts!
@@laikapupkino1767 priceless comment
🙏Gilbert Gottfried tried to tell us!
🙄
Great video! I got halfway through the book, but chose my sanity in the end and put it back on the shelf. Maybe one day I'll stomach the rest! I understand why many people find his writing profound and have a point, but 120 Days really felt like it's just the ultimate jerk-off material for Sade to use in prison. For him to recall times he did half (wouldn't be surprised if all) these acts in his real life and write a scenario where someone could get away with it all.
I think choosing you sanity was very wise!
And yeah agree with your assessment.
It's amazing that people still talk about Sade. I have this odd fascination with him, not with his filthy writing (though I've read excerpts) but with him and the controversy he caused. I do wonder what he'd think of today's society?
PS- I recommend the movie "Quills". Very interesting film about Sade.
Yeah, a few people have suggested Quills - I'll have to check it out
Ironically despite de Sade's love of the extreme he found menstruation and menstrual blood too disgusting for words. Tells me all I need to know about him. Misogynistic creep.
@@thedativecase9733 Agree 100% He totally was a vile and horrible guy
@@thedativecase9733 that's a great fact!
There's also a 1989 movie called Marquis in which the actors wear these weird animal costumes, similar to a Jim Henson film. REALLY strange! And there's a movie titled De Sade with Keir Dullea in it, which isn't very good.
Thank you for so eloquently summing up my own views on De Sade. I also think that, sadly, as he's undergone a lot of intellectual examination, people have rather lost sight of how awful a person he was in reality :S
Yeah I think too much intellectualising can make us forget the real harm some people have caused. Thanks for watching and sorry for the delay in replying!
My guess is he wrote this book to show the Readers a peek into his mind. I see this book as a gauge of morality: the more this book disturbs You, the less you are like him. For me, I only noticed being phased by the extreme violence in the later parts of the book. The final act was especially disturbing.😖
Yeah it really does get worse and worse as it goes on
the power of the infamy of this book. most of the title of this video was cut off, but i saw the words "most obscene book ever" and immediately went "120 days? 120 days." read the book, saw the movie and i've never known peace again. well done on the review!
Man, that movie was rough
When I was 25 i wondered how the word sadism came from. My ex, then boyfriend took me to the bookstore and took the book from the shelf. I opened it randomly, I almost threw up right there in the store. Knowing he got away with this for many years all the while many royales knew this was going on. When asked if i wanted to get it i declined. The little i read to this day makes me cringe.
There is so much horror in this book, and the fact a lot of it was inspired by his real actions makes it even worse.
What did the section say?
Recognisable. I picked it up in a bookstore once and wish i had not. The fact that this still goesxon today, by people widely respected and revered for their power and/ or glamour. Meanwhile this is the stuff they actually do. I watched Ru Paul's dragrace sometimes, one of the jury member wore a jacket that says "Libertine". Yeah yeah but it's all symbolic...sure...Just his awfull imagination....Sure...
When you know you KNOW. Sick world. 🙏🏼☮️
@@CriminOllyBlogYou keep saying that like the only proof of his so-called depravity wasn't one soleqa hooker lying to a kangaroo court in an attempt to extort his family (ie. wife's) wealth. Just because your only biographical knowledge of historical figures comes from pop culture and you can't be bothered to do the hardest minimum of basic research doesn't give you the right to assert yourself as any sort of authority, and honestly you should be embarrassed for misinforming so many people. Dunning-Kruger is alive and well.
FINALLY!!! Oh I've been so excited for this video!! Oh dang, I had *not* known how much of Sade's writing was influenced by his IRL behavior. Just looked it up and am disgusted all over again... Yeah the 💩scenes became so tiresome. I agree this wasn't written for themes or messages, just for the sake of being filthy and getting his rocks off.
Hope the video lived up to your expectations. I was prepared for all the 💩 following your reports on it during GarbAugust
Never read the book but I have seen Salo, 120 Days of Sodom by Passolini and it was brutal. I have also seen the film production of the play Marat/Sade which was intense but not as grossly shocking as Salo. I would be hesitant to revisit either and would definitely not have the patience to complete the book itself. Cheers and thank for doing the deed for me.
Bizarrely, Marat/Sade seemed to have more purpose than Salo. Can’t imagine ever revisiting the latter.
I must agree on your opinion of salo. In my younger days I felt it was somewhat of a challenge to watch disturbing films. Unfortunately I watched salo, it was very brutal and hard to sit through. It is a film i really do not want to see again. Also I like to warn you folks about A Serbian Film, extremely disturbing.
@@andrewrodgers2180 sorry, but the film by Pasolini doesn't really scratch the surface of the depravity and cruelty of the book. it would be utterly devastating to watch by anybydy who isn't a deviant sadist murderous psychopath. Impossible to make such a movie by actors who have any dignity or genuine humanity left in them. Pasolini's movie has really not much in common with de Sade's despicable scriblings...
There's also a 1989 movie called Marquis in which the actors wear these weird animal costumes, similar to a Jim Henson film. REALLY strange! And there's a movie titled De Sade with Keir Dullea in it, which isn't very good.
It's the one film in the Criterion Collection I can't bring myself to watch.
I read "Justine, or the misfortunes of virtue" by DeSade for the first time when I was 15. There was a quote in the beginning of my copy saying something like "whoever reads this will be ruined for life." Well, combined with the experiences I was having just from being a teenager (oddball older guys hitting on me, etc) I definitely became quite cynical. Many reviewers say DeSade wrote it as a commentary on the hypocrisy of his class. That makes more sense for this book than it does for 120 Days, imo.
Could be both. Could be a deliberate crucifixion of the aristocrat class or an accidental one. Either way, I think the point is made that they get away with robbery, injustice, rape, incest, pedo rape, murder, mutilation, sheer evil. This reviewer is glossing that over and just repeating the actions and missing the intent. These monster still live among us today.
I haven't read Justine, but I didn't take that from 120 Days, or at least if that was the intent I think he could have achieved it in better ways
@@CriminOllyBlog I have a theory, that De Sade may have written this despicable peice of crap as a form of payment for privilege in the prison, providing supply for the sick minds of bored and horny criminals.
@@e.h.5849 that does make sense
They really knew how to write shocking things back then. I would heartily recommend The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore if you haven't read it. The amount of sex and violence for something written that long ago is, or was to me at the age I read it, astounding. Very beautiful writing too, but I don't think I need to include that anymore when I recommend something to you.
I remember MKV talking about that one!
The interesting thing about this is that your reaction was exactly what Sade was going for. The life of an absolute Libertine goes through various stages of excitement, disturbing, disgust, and ultimately, boredom.. that's the message. All hedonistic paths lead to an ultimate boredom and a need for bigger and harder thrills. Its like a heroin junkie. This book is in no way his best. Justine, or the dangers of virtue was far more interesting as both a novella and a play( maybe interesting side note, I was at a production of the play in the seedier parts of Hollywood's the night Princess Diana Died...soooo, a doubly interesting night). Sade's works all point to the ultimate banality of even the most severe kinks.
OOOooOO THIS! Yes! I too enjoy Justine more. :) Sade is not for all to understand.
I think this review emphasizes an interesting point that gets overlooked sometimes. Some works of art aren't presevered because they're good or because of the impact they had in their time or because people get off on them. Sometimes things just survive because there is such a WTF factor to them that you just keep it around to try to understand why it exists and in the hope that those who come after you can answer that question if you can't.
That’s a really interesting concept.
The four prostitutes recounting their tales everyday was especially revolting, dear reader. I've never read anything before or since that forced my gag reflex so intensely.
I'm most fascinated by the fact he wrote it in secret while in prison on scrolls of paper he glued together and would hide it in wall of the prison cell. After the Bastille was stormed in 1789 Sade thought it was lost. He never knew it had been found and preserved. It wasn't published until 1904.
The 1975 Italian film adaptation Salo is quite an endurance test.
The film is tame compared to the novel honestly
Really interesting to hear about this book. Thanks for doing the hard work for us, will definitely be giving it a miss. Side note - had to read American Psycho at university and it was unpleasant to say the least.
Giving it a miss is an excellent idea
I haven't read AMERICAN PSYCHO, but there are scenes (at least one for sure) in LESS THAN ZERO that practically made me physically ill. So I don't think the Marquis de Sade is for me. Did really like the movie "Quills" however.
I read this book my Freshman year of college. The Hell Libertine was probably my favorite character- I always recommend him to people when this book is mentioned. Those who have read it will know what I mean…On a side note: there is an excellent biography of De Sade that was published in the 1990’s, I believe. I would highly recommend reading it alongside this book. His life story is almost a work of literature In itself.
I would be interested in reading that!
Blangis and Curval were especially brutal and ruthless.
I read that. lol I do prefer his letters and more philosophical writings. As I recall he's another one that exposed the aristocracy and the things that they do. He was one of them but also ratting them out. That book was meant to mirror certain members of the aristocracy. I enjoy him as an historical character. :) I haven't read him in forever. I think I may read a little soon. He meant to shock people. Kinda like Anton LaVey :)
Happy new year to you. I came across your channel a short time ago and you are always worth listening to. You seem to be a very nice person. Keep up the good work!
Thank you! Happy new year to you too!
I made the mistake of finding this book. I was looking up banned books. There were some (mostly) innocuous books like Hunger Games and Harry Potter. Then, I stumbled across this one. My naive brain said “oh, it can’t be that bad”. I found the translation online and, oh f*ck me, I saw too much. 😖 I don’t usually have a weak stomach when it comes to books, but holy crap.
LOL yeah it really is that bad
One of my literature professors assigned an expert from this book, and I thought she was playing a joke on us and we were actually reading something that had been written by a 12-year old who really liked farts. Out of curiosity, I bought the book and read it. Like you, I could only take so much at a time. It didn't make me particularly keen to read de Sade's other works, but I did occasionally appreciate the writing style. I'm a sex-positive person and I try to avoid kink-shaming, but I found absolutely nothing about this "erotic classic" even the slightest bit titillating. And I should mention that I also watched Salo and I steeled myself for sheer depravity. Some of my peers think I'm crazy for not being shocked by Sala, but I found it tame in comparison to the book.
I still haven't got up the guts to watch Salo but I probably will one day. And yeah the book was a strange mix of horrific, ridiculous and dull. Your description of him as a 12 yo who likes farts is pretty spot on
well said. Salo doesn;t even belong in the same universe of depravity that's in this filthy novel.. I might have seen Salo many years ago, just out of curiosity, cause I was really incredulous how would they get away with a film based on this novel. the film is boring, dull, somewhat shocking, but not even close to the original.
This has to be the most polite description of the Marquis de Sade I have ever heard.
For some reason listening to people discuss disturbing books I’m intrigued by but don’t want read myself at the moment has become a thing I do to take my mind off dealing with the passing of my father at the moment as a weird food for thought distraction. This playlist is perfect but again as someone very into history “he was a character” and such really made me do a little chuckle so thank you 😂
I also very much agree from what I know if him in life and the book that it’s not really trying to make a statement as much as just writing out his warped fantasy and getting off… dirty old bastard indeed that enjoyed suffering and shit eating
I can highly recommend the very entertaining (but not historically accurate) movie Quills starring Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet and Joaquin Phoenix for all of your Marquis de Sade needs.
That's a great cast!
It's a fantastic movie, based on a play. There are some great points about artistic and sexual expression, and it is most enjoyable when you forget the Maquis really existed and was a child predator.
Say it with me:
"Still a better love story than 'Twilight'. "
LMAO!
One day I was in a used bookstore and I flipped to a random page in 120 Days and read a paragraph that detailed the consumption of…well you know. I assumed I had bad luck, but now I know why, this book is full of shit!
ha ha yeah it's definitely the overwhelming theme of the book!
Sounds like Charles Leighton might have thoroughly enjoyed certain disgusting "tastes" so to speak !
I have had this book for years...and after your review... I'll have to dig it out and give it a try 😜 I had major eye surgery last week and I have been reading my Kindle...but I'm getting my sight back, so onto printed books!!! 😊 I read "Story of the Eye" last summer...in one sitting!!! So good, I just got it out to reread.
so, it's been 10 months. what are your thoughts?
I read Dark Eros by Thomas Moore. It's a book about Sade and his philosophy. there's a chapter on shit. I read everything but that chapter. I learned some cool words from that book: numinous, saturnine, anima, chthonic, sublimation, telos.
Thanks for this review. I think I will be for sure not reading the book. The part about the crust on the “male anatomy” made me nauseous and then there are the more horrific things in there that I don’t want going into my head. My everyday imagination would then torture me for it. So, thank you.
Yes, I strongly recommend not reading it!
@@CriminOllyBlog 😂😂
Justine and Juliette are superior works compared to the 120 Days, if for no other reason that they're both finished works. I got about halfway through the latter and decided I wasn't gonna let Sade beat me, I finished it and read three more of his books and while I didn't let him beat me, I still feel like I lost.
Yeah I kind felt like I lost too, on finishing this one
@CriminOlly I'm a newcomer to your channel so I'm not entirely sure of your literary preferences, but you might find some of the feminist response to Sade interesting. Angela Carter- The Sadeian Woman and Jacques Lacan's essay Kant with Sade might tickle your fancy.
Edit: I've also heard people say that Juliette can be seen as one of the first openly feminist novels. If I had to name my favourite of Sade's novels, that would be it
@@objetpetita thank you! I tend to lean more towards popular fiction than the smarter stuff, but I love the Angela Carter I’ve read so might give that one a try
Lol...for some reason I found that funny
new to your channel and definitely enjoyed hearing you discuss this book. i only hesitated liking the video bc i don’t want the alg*rithm to get any funny ideas…
Ha ha I hadn’t thought about that, but yes it’s a good point!
Thanks for watching and glad you enjoyed the video
I own a first English edition of this book. And yes, after reading it once, that was quite enough. It is beyond foul, but, for bibliophiles, it's a must have.
It's fascinating for it's history. But yeah I'll never read it again
I very much enjoy your educational reads and summary!!
Ty!
Thank you! Glad you found it interesting, Casey
my mother had this book while i was growing up. i have no idea how it made its way into her possession. it was a heavy, hard cover, black book. an interesting read.
That does seem odd that she had it!
@@CriminOllyBlogwell you read it!
Yeaahhhhhhh definitely not gonna read this one lol for the same reasons I never watched the film adaptation either. Doesn't seem like it would make any positive impact on my life, so rather just keep ignoring it
Oh yes, this one is just horrible (in every sense)! I read his work Juliette in college and thought that had a similar descent from transgression that seems titillating through vicious horror and ultimately repetitive violence. The emphasis on violation of innocence makes it so much worse. I never made it through 120 Days as it became clear it was more of the same.
Have you read Marat/Sade by Peter Weiss?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Olly.
Cheers, Jack
Hey Jack - sorry for the huge delay in replying!
I haven't read Marat/Sade - just looked it up though and it does sound interesting
Legend has it that Desade wrote more as an outlet since there were times he could not act on his impulses, and so he wrote about things instead of doing them. Also, if you read about Desade in any great detail you discover that he was more or less at war with the hypocrites that lived during his Era so thus he was being shocking on purpose.
Now this is what I was looking for. When people use shock it diminishes the offensive act for me . Their words become ridiculous and all I see is just a very miserable disturbed person.
Yeah. I think the books "Justine" and "Juliette" were better illustrations imo.
True its been a while but I remember reading that a male relative of his was a priest or holy man that was also willfully sinning without Shame all the time in front of him and the family member never really got punished by anyone for it. So Desade came to a conclusion that if a man of God is not being punished for his immoral impulses he was like eventually I'm about to go super wild with it. Crazy though he was the one who ended up in prison later for that.
De Sade's book a "Penguin 🐧 classic" 🤣 cheeky.
LOL
I skimmed a lot of this book and I totally agree that it gets boring after a while. Awful to say, as it’s got countless amounts of horrific descriptions of rape and paedophilia, but after the first few pages, it becomes monotone with very little depth. There isnt a storyline apart from old disgusting men living their perverted fantasies over and over again. Yes it’s beyond horrid but I’ve read other books that have shocked me more because of how one dimensional this story is…. I wouldn’t even call it a story!
I became so bored with the book that I only remember one of the 600 pleasures and that was "a man farts on a piece of toast while his dog watches, the dog is involved in no other way" hahahahahahah I laughed so hard
😂😂😂 yeah some of them were hilariously specific.
Gotta make you wonder why these aristocrats always have multiple dogs
Nous sommes prévenus dans l'introduction qu'on y trouvera la perversion qui nous sied, et beaucoup d'autres, et qu'on est censés laisser celles-là de côté.
"C'est ici l'histoire d'un magnifique repas où six cents plats divers s'offrent à ton appétit. Les manges-tu tous? Non, sans doute... "
"He fucks a man from behind, then opens his skull, removes his brain and fills the skull with molten lead". Like he just tried to invent the most absurd acts imaginable.
A harem?@@aWomanFreed
As I recall, Sade is said to have "deliberately written not to be read"... and, with this one in particular, I can agree. Back when I read this, I was curious about Sade, and read several of the pieces published by Grove publishing: Justine, Philosophy in the Bedroom, Conversation Between a Priest and a Dying Man, etc. Made it all the way through those, a couple of others, and this (which, as you say, becomes terrifically boring... deliberately so, I would argue). What I never managed to get through was the enormously long novel, Juliette -- a sort of mirror-image to Justine (in the latter, the heroine is the victim, in the former, she is victimizer, something reflected in the subtitles of the two: "Justine, or the Misfortunes of Virtue" and "Juliette; or, the Triumph of Vice"; as a footnote, Robert Bloch made it quite clear that his eponymous heroine in "A Toy for Juliette" was so named in honor of Sade's heroine... and is modeled on her more than a little... the "Toy" of the title being Leather Apron himself, brought to her by her time-traveling grandfather as a "gift"... actually his way of getting rid of her for various reasons. Bloch makes it quite clear that it is questionable which of the three is the most depraved and disturbing.)
From what I know of hiw life and philosophy, Sade chiefly wrote this unfinished work as a way of pleasing himself -- putting his fantasies on paper and making them as extreme as possible. Given the time (leading up to, during, and just following the Revolution), and the fact that his uncle (if memory serves) was a high official in a very corrupt Church, where Sade caqme into contact with quite a lot of the abuses and corruption rife in the society's upper classes and religious orders), it isn't at all surprising that he would turn his "talents" to such themes in his own writing. What I DID find interesting in several of his works (including, here and there, in the novel under consideration) was not the pornographic melange, which quickly became dull as possible, but some of the philosophical and political discussions his various characters engaged in, and (to a lesser degree) the metaphorical or allegorical nature of some of his figures and their behaviors (such as what you outlined within the video).
Sade himself was a rather more complex figure; disturbing, yes, but many layered (he has often been called "The Divine Marquis"); a dark version of a rather twisted romantic, if you read some of his letters. And a few of his pieces have been classed as examples of the "Gothic" school of the late 18th century, as well as influences on some of the better-known examples of that school (e.g., M. G. Lewis' "Ambrosio; or, the Monk") Whether or not he had any influence on "Mother" Radclife is doubtful... but it has been argued that he did; possibly in such characters as Montorio and Schedoni.
So, whether or not this particular work is "important" literarily, Sade's work certainly has its place in one of the major movements of the late 18th- and early 19th centuries, as well as both the Symbolists and the Decadent schools, from Huysmans and Baudelaire through H. H. Ewers (particularly, perhaps, his novel "Alraune"). It is fitting, in an odd way, that Leonard Wolf included a passage from "Justine" in his original "Complete Book of Terror", which traces the terror tale -- in reverse -- from Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" to the story of Jael from the Book of Judges. A difficult book to go through (The 120 Days), but, yes, I think an important one in several ways.
I love this. :) I haven't read him in forever but this is the feeling I recall when reading him.
It was written as a satire against the aristocracy who imprisoned de Sade for their own agendas, political mainly but personal, too. It was meant to be in their faces and intended to be disgusting, along with a celebration of libertine excess. Face it, people are grotesques.
I certainly agree with that last point!
Thanks for watching and sorry for the late reply!
I've always felt that "120 Days" is not only an indictment of the aristocracy and the bourgeois, but an outright condemnation of all structures of power and control. To phrase it another way, it's a calculated and absolute "fuck you!" to the Christian god, the Church, the family, society itself, just EVERYTHING. When I read De Sade, I'm always struck by his inherent rage against systems of control, rather than a sort of juvenile desire to shock or titilate.
Innately grotesque? I don't think so
I remember browsing through this book a few years ago. I thought, What's all the fuss? I assumed it would be some tawdry and florid pornography, like a 18th century version of 50 Shades of Grey. No, it was a manual on coprophilia and other gross acts that wouldn't get published in a Penthouse forum article. A rote catalog of offensive acts, and as Olly put it, what was the point? I suspect De Sade just wanted to have the pleasure of enraging the reader. I decline.
Being a movie buff, I genuinely thought you were referring to Saló at first, and was confused if I was watching the right video. I had no clue this book existed!
Yeah, I've not seen the film, so don't really know how faithful it is to the book. I get the impression though that Pasolini just used it as a jumping off point
I've read one of his, Philosophy Of The Boudoir. I have seen the film based on 120 Days and that's very disturbing. It has a darkness and imagery that stays with you for life.If you like horror, that;'s real horror.
Yeah the film is one I’ve long been aware of but never had the guts to watch
@@CriminOllyBlog Haha, probably wise. Psychologically, it's a masterpiece. There's no gore as such and it'll stay with you forever but I would still recommend it.
I'm rather tired of being empathic and whilst I wouldn't want to sink to his depths, he is an example or study of life beyond fear and guilt. I know plenty like that, in a sort of 21st century kind of way and life has smiled on them somewhat and I get that impression with him too, despite his imprisonments, which were largely for his publications, not his bodily transgressions.
@@tomflynn2912 Really? I can't remember blood actually being spilt. Like many scenes in Texas Chainsaw, It's heavily suggested but you don't actually see it. However, It's been a while haha, I could be wrong. I'll have to drag the DVD out.
@@allisterwhiteheadimo the most terrifying thing about the film is that basically you know the end is only just the beginning of hell for those kids. In terms of gore there is none iirc maybe the cutting off of the tongue bit and in that respect it's very tame for an extreme movie. I agree it's far more psychological and political . Possibly the most disturbed film I've seen is Goretesku(?) or Grotesque...basically torture porn
Same as you. Started out shocked, then grossed out then effin bored.
LOL - it just goes on and on!
I would like to recommend reading Rikki Ducornet's The Fan-Maker's Inquisition. It is a fiction but it offers some sharp insights into de Sade and his writings, including this catalog of atrocities. Thank you for your video and engaging with this infamous text.
Thank you, that does sound interesting
I like you used the word “atrocities”…..wonder if that comes from aristocrat
@@aWomanFreed the similarity is certainly interesting
Before i start to read any de Sade book, i read the excelente biography AT HOME WITH THE MARQUIS DE SADE that gave me a increíble insight on his life and works; a extreme product of his times, a tiene when the moral of the time was increíble loose.
Interesting
That does sound like it could be very interesting!
Yes, that's a really good biography!
I saw blue velvet at the movies. I was obsessed and disgusted. I thought Dennis Hopper gave a smashing performance. And Isabella Rossellini! Like a fevered nightmare of a dream. One that makes your tummy feel funny.
It is such an amazing film. Probably one of my top 5 of all time.
@@CriminOllyBlogThe Remains of the Day, The Silence of the Lambs, The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction (I don't know if this would be on the list if I hadn't seen it actually in the theater. Having no idea what it was about), Being John Malkovich. Almost anything with Anthony Hopkins. Who by the way, has said he does not really enjoy acting. The Man who Would Be King and Apocalypse Now. Last but not least, Brazil. Which I actually had to watch like five times before I got through it without falling asleep. So strange, I was really interested in it and I never fall asleep during movies! These are a few of my favorite things. Along with hellraiser and Phantasm. I saw Phantasm in the drive-in movies LOL! Awesome. I'd love it if they'd run a double feature with Salem's Lot.
@@DreamJeanne1111 Phantasm is amazing! I'd love to have seen it at a drive in
@@CriminOllyBlog Oh my god it was awesome! When my father was alive, he died when I was 11, we would always go to the drive-ins. And he loved the scaries. I saw night of the living Dead the original at the drive-ins when I was like five. It was then I had to have explain to me how movies were not real. Mind you we had a drive past the cemetery on the way home. I also saw such classics as the toolbox murders, 10,001 Maniacs, paint me blood red, count Yorga, dirty Mary and crazy Larry, fantastic voyage. I don't know why but I vomited during that one I think it was the butter on the sandwiches my mother used to make. Salami with butter. I know you people put butter on your sandwiches in England is that right? It's a European thing but my mother used to do it. I don't think salami needs any extra grease! And all of those core puzzles attacking and white blood cells, oy vey! I also saw midnight Express while high on angel dust/PCP. Now that was frightening! I don't do that stuff anymore It was long ago and far away. Sorry for not capitalizing the titles, but it's New Year's Eve and I'm trying to catch up with everyone!
@@DreamJeanne1111 I saw Serpico on pcp in the theater, what a strange experience
Olly in there ruining his psyche so we don't have to. Godspeed!
Ha ha! Yep
Been on a quest over the past two years to read the most disturbing works of fiction. Tender is the Flesh, No Longer Human, Lolita, and The Vegetarian. I ordered The 120 Days of Sodom yesterday. I'm excited!
This one is definitely up there!
No, thank you. You telling me about it is all I really needed to hear. -📚MJ
@@M-J signing off your comment is crazy
@mcbill7352 why?
His powerful mother-in-law despised him. Much of his life was spent in prison or a mental institution.
I've been tempted to read de Sade but I've gotten the impression that I would dnf his work - not out of disgust, but out of boredom/exhaustion at the catalogging of preversions and attrocities. At this point, I'm content (poor choice of words?) to have sat through a screening of Salo. I've wondered if Geoffrey Rush's portrayal in Quills "Hannibal-Lectorized" the Marquis - i.e. turned him from a dirty old man to a rakish bad boy.
I’ve not seen Quills, but but I think portraying him as anything other thank a selfish and self absorbed monster is probably a mistake
I have only ever skimmed passages of Sade's most notorious novel (not going further due to the feelings of horror the text inspired), but from description, 'Hogg' by Samuel R. Delany, first published in 1995 after decades of writing, could easily rival 'The 120 Days of Sodom' in sheer enervating depravity. Delany is a respected American author specializing in science fiction, but 'Hogg' has been widely dismissed as a work of meaningless, repetitive pornography, the chief character being a child (a rootless denizen of the streets engaging in and subjected to a relentless array of cruel perversions) adding to the sense of outrage this novel provokes in many critics.
One novel that is an undeniable literary masterpiece that disturbs in comparable fashion to Sade's and Delany's efforts is 'Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West' by Cormac McCarthy, one of the greatest American novels of the second half of the twentieth century (having been first published in 1985), which is nonetheless sometimes criticized for the numbing litany of horrors that punctuate the author's narrative.
Those are great suggestions. I read Blood Meridian last year and found it fascinating. I'm also planning to read Child of God by McCarthy soon.
And Hogg is on my list to read this month.
I have read this book. And it is all true - too damn true.
I haven't read 120 Days, but have seen Pasolini's Salo. More than once. Each time it played to a packed cinema and each time, by the time the lights came up, the cinema would be half empty!
Only the hardcore saw it all the way to the end. Proud to say, I was one! LOL!
Pasolini's intent, like de Sade's, was to rub the audience's noses in their own titillation. Prior to Salo, Pasolini had made "Canterbury Tales" and "Arabian Nights", both bawdy and erotic tales based on classic tales of literature and both sumptuously filmed. He knew full well that the audiences for these films would be attracted to Salo for the same reasons, but what they got, was a lot more than they expected. He exposed their own depravity - not very comfortable!
The same can be said of de Sade. "Justine" is essentially a satire disguised as a morality tale. The ending is both tragic and hilarious and could have emanated from the pen of Robert Crumb! De Sade was the kind of person who would not hesitate to push things as far as he could take them, gentility be damned! In literature, and art in general, this is acceptable, even if the book is banned and its author imprisoned for crimes against public decency. "Society" paints a benevolent portrait of itself, yet the reality is quite different and it is more often than not "Society" that exacts the most venal of obscenities under the guise of decency and the "public good".
This evokes the adage "the banality of evil" and in a distorted mirror, a myriad of justifications and rationalisations pour forth in support of ethically unsupportable acts, from suppression of rights all the way to genocide. It's a question of how far would we go? If we get turned on peeking through a bedroom window or a keyhole, how far would we be prepared to go for more intense sensations? Breaking in? Theft? Assault? Rape? Murder? These are things each and every one of us are capable of, yet more often than not, we dare not admit to them. De Sade and Pasolini ripped that facade away. With them we are confronted with humanity's bestial nature, the thin veneer of civilised genteelism torn away.
De Sade's works are held to be "bad", lesser, more titillating works as "good", or at least acceptably entertaining. What's worse, or rather, what is the more honest? "120 Days of Sodom" or "Fifty Shades of Grey"?
Just for interest's sake, a comparison can be made with Pasolini's "Salo" and Srdjan Spasojevic's "A Serbian Film", which ups the ante in the gag reflex index. If you think "Salo" is unrelenting.... I suspect even de Sade would be impressed!
I’d like to join (virtually) your disturbing book read journey. Is there a way I can get that list? I’ve read Rats per your review and went back and rewatched your review to compare my thoughts with you analysis.
Hey - if you join my Discord server there is a channel for discussing disturbing reads. I did a video a while back detailing the books I'm planning to read, but that has been added to now so I'll be doing an update soon
@@CriminOllyBlog i recall seeing the info for your discord server somewhere. I’ll give a search and join. :)
The most disturbing book i ever read, especially considering his history. The only book i ever stopped reading for "disturbing themes." He was a pervert and the book was mary sue. It was his fantasy. He did enact similar kidn@ppjng in real life.
Yeah the introduction talks about events from his life that were really horrific
I read that book a long time ago. I still vividly remember most of the book. It is not for the faint of heart.
It really isn't!
Book shows how disturbed mankind can be. A must read for people who live under a rock.
HeyOllie, not that I plan to read this one anytime soon, it would be helpful if you included the details of the edition you read in the notes, along with name of translator, year of publication, etc. Just a suggestion for your videos!,
That is a good suggestion! I need to get better at doing that.
I can't get my head around how long the book might have been if he'd actually finished it?
Too damn long!
As long as his "Juliette"--a phone book.
Is this the one where he ends the book reciting a list of torture methods that were being used over the centuries in different cultures ? I ‘ ve read his books a very very long time ago and I still remember some of the scenes he writes about and the list . To me that list just confirmed that as a species we are cruel savage error of nature !
I'm typically anti-censorship, but this is one of the very few books that I would gladly get a hold of just so I can burn it myself.
I'd love to hear what you think of May Leitz's books, she's done two extreme horror books, "Fluids" and "Girl Flesh"
Dang, Olly. Thanks for getting this off my TBR. I was curious but now I think I should focus my efforts on other works.
Yeah I think there are books far more worthy of your attention. Like pretty much any of them
How could this book have been published when there was a Law against Blasphemy ?
An AWESOME book and true work of literature! A bold and illuminating odyssey into the fascinating realm of sexual perversion!
I tried to read this when i was 14 years old, what the hell was i thinking 😭 Haven't been able to blew my nose without cringing since.
LMAO! The snot and fart stuff was just so weird
@@CriminOllyBlog
I just realized that i still have that exact same copy that i tried to read so many years ago, i literally didn't knew it was still hanging around the house, and the stupid impulse is at it again, HELP!!!
@@hineraable BURN IT!
I have it on DVD, that's one movie no company will ever stream.
@CRIMINOLLY Nice use of Coil's 'Scatology' lp in the video's thumbnail.
Sort of a funny thing about the movie adaptation. Lead singer of the band Korn, Jonathan David, has a UA-cam video where he is showing what he’s bought from a shop, and right after some really light-hearted wholesome cartoons, he pulls out the movie of this 🤣🤣🤣
Great video!
well, the movie is a mickeymouse cartoon compared to the book...
Some Japanese artists read this book and thought "How about let's adapt these stories in art form?"
They love the French too much
Ugh!
@@CriminOllyBlog Hentai in a nutshell
and Yumiko Furuta was the sequel, right?
It is interesting as a piece of history, mostly that going back so far - doing it even worse than the other thing quickly loses any semblance of a point, at least beyond a reflection on the writer. Pick out one thing to make a point, and I'll watch the hero go through hell to skewer him at the end 😅
For some reason the description of the book reminded me of 90s Internet browsing. You were always one wrong click away from utter depravity, but I can only assume that was more down to the collective depravity.
Ha! yeah the early internet was a pretty scary place. It's terrifying how quickly that kind of thing surfaces as soon as people feel freed of the shackles of polite society
I might read it in ten years or so. I am getting very much appalled by the vile these days. On the contrary, when I was 9,10, and older, I would read and watch such adult content it's shocking. Have you watched the rest of David Lynch's opus? His work has stuck with me throughout the years and you could say I adore him.
I've watched a fair bit of Lynch, but not all of his work. I do think he's kind of a genius
David Lynch... is he the one who made 2020-2022 movie? Extremely surreal and absurdly grotesque if you ask me.
As you mentioned, the process of reading it in its own shell, the process of transgression via our morals, ideals and everything. We question it, we get shocked, we get disturbed and just as a plaster rips off, the shock disappears from our skin and boredom arrives. Isn't it what happens to a murderer? The first kill is a bad go, and then they get used to it. They get used to atrocity, or like when you live in an environment with all the bloody violence happening, you either get away from it, or watch it until you don't feel things anymore. So this power of transgreasion is truly of use to be studied carefully regarding the fields of sociology, gender studies and even literary criticism. The hierarchial system of power and those who sit on the top positions, get used to this power, they get fed from it. It reminds me of the review of "Pure Filth" which Juan covered about the real goal of the author. I think these aspects are the reasons the work is still so alive:)))) I mean with another reason of being vividly fucked up hah. I think that's why it has reputation , not just from consumers but real critics. It is as worthy as a real work of transgressive fiction. Not just to shock, but make you super uncomfortable about your attitudes on life (in a smaller scale its personal life) and in a larger scale, on world views and even politics.
I have the book in my shelf but not yet read it .
It's interesting....
If it was just purely fiction I think it'd be more of an easy read but while reading I kept thinking over and over how many of the acts described were influenced by things he actually did irl
Yeah it does give it another level of ickiness
Read any biography of de Sade-his life was hardly comparable to anything in this book.
@@jessehudson7036 Didn't he lock up children and force them to do things?
@@user295. read a biography and decide for yourself. Just quit playing the moral authority when you aren’t qualified.
@@jessehudson7036 Shut the fuck up, you fatherless prick. All I did was ask a question. Not my fault you're retarded enough to think that's 'playing the moral authority'. The internet never fails to surprise me with it's stupidity
Although Sade was undoubtedly enjoying what he wrote, and was himself a minor aristocrat, this book is intended to be an attack on the depravity of the aristocracy and thier lackeys, and the objectification, by them, of the lower classes. Sade was released from prison, and made a judge by the Directory, after the revolution in France. Also, he was generally down on his luck, and wrote violent pornography for money, much of it from prison. Having said all that, it is a truly disgusting tale, I agree.
Yeah, but then Napoleon bounced him back into a cell (where he eventually died) after the Emperor read ... Justine, I think? ... Napoleon was not a fan.
This book is an inspiration to all
A mystic told me he thinks the novels are not about excrement; he sees them more like zodiac Gemini mind horror that come crawling with an agenda not just to provoke & disgust but also to reach in deep & change attitudes & perception.
Stop watching? That's the reason I want to watch!
LOL
The world: Marquis de Sade's "The 120 Days of Sodom" is the most disturbing, shocking as well as disgusting book ever written.
Samuel R. Delany's "Hogg": Am I a joke to you?
LOL - I am reading Hogg this month. Pray for me
@@CriminOllyBlog I want to sad react to this. Take care of yourself, if you need to put it down put it down. Do not feel obligated to read such things for content or endurance or any other reason - Hogg is the one book I wish I could unread
@@sailorrupert93 Thanks for your concern - I'm buddy reading it with a couple of subscribers so at least I'll have moral support!
I have the book as a part of my disturbing collection, never read it but i have seen the movie. That was enough for me, I'll take splatterpunk all day over trying to read this book. Especially when the book is always 100x's worse 90% of the time, like this book. I salute you.
Yeah it really is an unpleasant slog to get through
True story.... When Rabbit Howls.
Might not be disturbing enough but it is crazy.
A few people have mentioned that one to me!
Sad to say, !most people have never heard of it. Then again, that's probably a good thing.
Ha, yeah quite possibly
What is the value of this book?
Why would it be published?
I think it is published now largely because of it's reputation
@@CriminOllyBlog I heard he was the impetus for the take over of the Bastille
As you said, de Sade was the real thing- and that is, a depraved sexual predator. Once I did an in depth research of de Sade’s life and crimes, I exiled his work from my bookshelf. With de Sade, one must choose on which side one stands on. And, for me, it’s not his.
Yeah I definitely won't be reading anything else by him
It's up there, that's for damn sure!
Definitely!
De Sade's motivation? Evil desires corruption. Evil wants to contaminate. His book is the medium.
It is not without cause that the German psychologist, Kraft-Ebing, named that paraphilia, "sadism."
Indeed!
He also named Masochism after the author of Venus in Furs, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. Leopold didn't care for that.
It’s a historical oddity that sheds light on the French Revolution and the dark corners of the enlightenment.
De Sade was a man born at the wrong time , if he had been born a few years earlier or in fact in modern times, this type of behaviour as practised by his class, would pass unnoticed and would not need to be accounted for !
Yes we get desensitised to the horror that goes on. It's sad that the youth/people can bash and torture so readily.
Because we see it over and over on social media
Yes, that is sad
Tried reading it, couldn’t finish it. The only book I’ve ever thrown into the trash. It was too horrible to share.
That does seem a reasonable response
’The pee that took a poo’ is still the most disturbing book ever written!