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Product Description
Product Description
The 120 Days of Sodom is Sade's masterpiece. A still unsurpassed catalogue of sexual abberrations and the first systematic exploration of the psychopathology of sex, it was written during Sade's imprisonment and then lost after the storming of the Bastille in 1789.
Later rediscovered , the manuscript remained unpublished until 1936 and is now introduced by Simone de Beauvoir's landmark essay, 'Must We Burn Sade?' Unique in its enduring capacity to shock and provoke, The 120 days of Sodom must stand as one of the most controversial books ever written
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
From the translator's note: "In making this new translation, the aim was to present the book in something more resembling a completed state. With some minimal editing and restructuring, and by wherever possible correcting mistakes and filling in important gaps - mainly by following Sade's working notes and later reflections, but occasionally by extrapolating from the existing text - it is hoped that this monumental masterwork, one of the cornerstones of modern literature, has now been restored to a version more appropriate for a 21st century readership."
I will leave it up to you to decide whether this is the kind of translation that you want to pay money for, but I would rather not be presented with a book that has been "restructured", "corrected", and "filled in", in order to make it more "appropriate" for my reading. Some of these points may be valid considering that Sade lost the manuscript, but as there are no notes anywhere in the book to say where the editorial corrections and extrapolations have been introduced, it is literally impossible to say what it is that you are reading: Take any randomly chosen sentence and ask yourself, is this from Sade's text or is it the translator's corrected version?
Nor is any information given about the nature of Sade's supposed "working notes and later reflections", where have these come from? Although Sade wrote the manuscript quickly he had been preparing it for some time and he had a further three and a half years to check it before it was finally lost to him, so the need to correct mistakes and fill in gaps seems unwarranted, especially as it has not occurred to any other editor, English or French, to take on such a responsibility. Furthermore, checking the text against the French reveals that it has hardly undergone "minimal editing and restructuring", as the crucial Introduction has been reduced by half and completely reorganised, removing the extensive background details about the characters and their agreements prior to establishing their retreat.
Contrary to the publisher's blurb, this version in no way supersedes the earlier edition and is very far from being "uncensored". Simply translating "décharge" as "cock juice" does not make the text more accurate, as décharge just means "discharge", and if that is what Sade wrote why replace his terms with something that only sounds adolescent? Considering that "Philosophy in the Boudoir" is now available as a Penguin Classic, this kind of sloppiness in relation to Sade's writings is in no way acceptable.
It seems as though Solar Books have decided that they want a more reader-friendly version to market, one that is less challenging and more streamlined, easier to consume, which is of course hardly what Sade would have wanted.
I will leave it up to you to decide whether this is the kind of translation that you want to pay money for, but I would rather not be presented with a book that has been "restructured", "corrected", and "filled in", in order to make it more "appropriate" for my reading. Some of these points may be valid considering that Sade lost the manuscript, but as there are no notes anywhere in the book to say where the editorial corrections and extrapolations have been introduced, it is literally impossible to say what it is that you are reading: Take any randomly chosen sentence and ask yourself, is this from Sade's text or is it the translator's corrected version?
Nor is any information given about the nature of Sade's supposed "working notes and later reflections", where have these come from? Although Sade wrote the manuscript quickly he had been preparing it for some time and he had a further three and a half years to check it before it was finally lost to him, so the need to correct mistakes and fill in gaps seems unwarranted, especially as it has not occurred to any other editor, English or French, to take on such a responsibility. Furthermore, checking the text against the French reveals that it has hardly undergone "minimal editing and restructuring", as the crucial Introduction has been reduced by half and completely reorganised, removing the extensive background details about the characters and their agreements prior to establishing their retreat.
Contrary to the publisher's blurb, this version in no way supersedes the earlier edition and is very far from being "uncensored". Simply translating "décharge" as "cock juice" does not make the text more accurate, as décharge just means "discharge", and if that is what Sade wrote why replace his terms with something that only sounds adolescent? Considering that "Philosophy in the Boudoir" is now available as a Penguin Classic, this kind of sloppiness in relation to Sade's writings is in no way acceptable.
It seems as though Solar Books have decided that they want a more reader-friendly version to market, one that is less challenging and more streamlined, easier to consume, which is of course hardly what Sade would have wanted.
67 of 70 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
De Sade's opus and no surprise that his name would forever more be synonymous with vicious acts meted out purely for sexual gratification. A catalogue of sexual deviations, degenerating into ever-increasing cruelty as a group of captives (mainly children) are tormented and tortured to death.
An excellent translation. It is a surprisingly comic work which draws the reader in. It is also a subversive work, portraying the horrors as perpetrated by those with the unlimited resources to indulge their murderous tastes and the power or connections to avoid having to answer for them. Often they represent the law, as with the judge who always sentences everyone appearing before him to death, so that he can watch the execution from an overlooking apartment whilst fornicating at the same time.
Written in prison, it is incomplete. Only the first 30 days have been written out in full; the rest being in note form. It still makes for entertaining reading, although it is probably this incompleteness which makes the entire work disproportionately concerned with eating excrement (one of the earlier and milder sexual quirks).
Even in a world largely numbed to horror, some of this stuff is still unbelievable. Essential reading for anyone interested in the human psyche.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
De Sade paints a powerful picture of a deliberate and apparently regular descent into hell (or libertine heaven, depending on who you are in the book) by a selected cast of characters at an isolated chateau. All means of inflaming and fulfilling sexual appetite are explored, and then some more. Yes, this may be an allegory on power and corruption, but is equally an exploration of sexuality peppered with acts of free will when devoid of morality. Of course, such matters take some considerable toll on the participants, as the most chilling reckoning shows at the end of the book, where head counts are made of persons at the start and at the end of the sojourn.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Best read ever.
My favourite book of all time. Love the bit where they made each other eat one another's poop. Really controversial read, love the contrast of wealth and poverty towards the end. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Chrissy Boy
Not for the faint hearted
I sit on the fence with my rating. It is a masterpiece of perversion but so atrocious are the final agonies of the innocent victims, that I found it impossible to believe and thus... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Thirty five
meh...
started as though it would be an OK read, the writings aregood but the latter half is beyond readable, it's quite sickening more so than i expected! Read more
Published 23 months ago by Helen Dixon
Who taught you to torture?
Perceiving De Sade as a pornogapher speaks volumes about the reviewer, rather than the book. If this is seen as porn or erotica then seek help. Read more
Published on 27 Jan 2010 by Dr. Delvis Memphistopheles
Amusing in parts...
I read the book a few years ago and whilst I agree that the Simple Passions were sometimes amusing (if you like to laugh at other people's foibles), I felt the book got nastier as... Read more
Published on 29 Sep 2006 by Mr. Peter Jones
Tedium redefined
An interesting read, and an insight into a horrific side of human nature; but the repetition is overwhelming and I found myself skipping through endless descriptions of... Read more
Published on 30 May 2006 by Mr. P. J. Davy
Very overrated
I read this book really knowing very little about it. I had heard it described as 'a catalogue of perversions', and that probably describes it very well. Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2003 by michael_m
This book rocks
What really lifts this book out of the ennui induced by most de Sades other available work (in the english speaking world anyway), is the sheer kick ass quality of its translation. Read more
Published on 24 Nov 2000 by Big Jill
Read it for the right reasons!
See a bishop, a nobleman, a lawyer and a banker getting up to their antics, which I would call murderous, except that it`s fiction. Read more
Published on 18 April 2000 by Mr Anthony K. Walker/anthonykarl@awalker28.freeserve.co.uk
Highly recommendable!
This book was amazing - it got me through those lonely nights at the hospital I found the book really uplifting and most enjoyable. Read more
Published on 21 Dec 1999
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