Following the twin trails of desire and depravity to a shocking, sadistic paradise - a garden in China where torture is practiced as an art form - a dissolute Frenchman discovers the true depths of degradation beyond his prior bourgeois imaginings. Entranced by a resolute Englishwoman whose capacity for debauchery knows no bounds, he capitulates to her every whim amid an ecstatic yet tormenting incursion of visions, scents, caresses, pleasures, horrors, and fantastic atrocities. The Torture Garden is exceptional for its detailed descriptions of sexual euphoria and exquisite torture, its political critique of government corruption and bureaucracy, and its revolutionary portrait of a woman - which challenges even contemporary models of feminine authority. This is one of the most truly original works ever imagined. Beyond providing richly poetic experience, it will stimulate anyone interested in the always-contemporary problem of the limits of experience and sensation. As part of the continuing struggle against censorship and especially self-censorship, it will remain a landmark in the fight against all that would suppress the creation of a far freer world. Written in 1899, this fabulously rare novel was once described as "the most sickening work of art of the 19th century."
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Torture Garden
and over 1.5 million other books are available for Amazon Kindle . Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more. |
Book Description
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 33 people found the following review helpful
By CityMach
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having read the other reviews on here (and Wildes recommendation!), and being a fan of this type of literature anyway, I decided to give this book a try. Despite having a cover that mimics a bad black lace novel (oh come on, it really does!) I was pleasantly surprised that the old adage is true and you can't, indeed, judge a book by its cover.
The book is divided into two distinct and utterly different parts. The first deals with society as a whole, discussing the various politics, hypocrisies and foibles of the (then) modern 'civilised' life and building up the introduction to the second part. On it's own, this text represents a wonderful and thought-provoking read, the only slight criticism being that it does lean towards being an unnecessarily long introduction to the second part of the book; The Torture Garden itself.
The second part is made up of wonderfully illustrative, creative writing which, when coupled with smatterings of horror and torture, make for a fascinating and interesting read. The 'love interest' in this book takes the form of Clara, a beautiful and wealthy woman with a taste for the unusual. Clara is described beautifully, as are her surroundings, and you read in fascination as she seems to become detached, lustful, unstable, perverse and everything in between throughout this incredible second part.
*Slight spoiler* The main character makes an interesting transition through the book; from a criminal and a rogue, who sees himself as the darkest and most evil of creatures, who becomes what can only be described as a simpering and whining fop who, by the end of the book, seems utterly incapable of controlling his emotions.
It does have to be said, the book is not quite as shocking as some of the other reviewers may have you believe. If you have ever been to Amsterdam, Prague or London etc. and looked at a torture museum, or know anything about historical torture (Dark Ages etc.), then there is nothing in here that you would not have seen before. Perhaps I am somewhat more jaded than others, but I was expecting to be shocked, horrified and disturbed and, when this failed to occur, I was unfortunately left with a feeling of disappointment.
Putting aside the ever-constant problem of over-expectation, this is an exquisitely written book with incredible dialogue, wondrously lush descriptive writing and a rather unique subject matter that is absolutely worth the read.
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By Ophelia
Format:Paperback
Having read other people's reviews of this book I can see that if you look at it from those perspectives then yes Mirabeau pushed the boundaries etc. What I found when reading this book is that I haven't the stomach for such horrors! I expected a trip into sensuality, instead I get a woman who is so demanding and changable that I want to hit her, a man so fauning and miserable I wonder why he continues on this horrific journey. The tortures themselves are so diabolical that I had many nightmares whilst reading this and I recommend that anyone who attempts this should seriously consider whether they really want to read a book which describes people being skinned alive, animals being trapped so that they will bore into human flesh and rotting meat being thrown to people being starved so that they will rip each other apart to eat it. I do believe people should be able to choose freely what they watch, read etc but at least have an informed choice!
14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Torture garden has been compared to the Marquis de Sade. It begins quite normal, a drawing room discussion, the subject however is murderers and their role in society. After this it develops into the most cruel book i've ever read, a decadent story that ends in the Torture Garden, a chinese garden with the most horrific tortures imaginable. Distorted views on beauty, mixed with blood and flowers. Life is as important as death. "Passions, appetites, greed, hatred, and lies; law, social institutions, justice, love glory, heroism, and religion: these are it's monstrous flowers and it's hideous instruments of eternal human suffering" Octave Mirbeau is an original and powerful writer. Underneath the surface of this book lies his motive, to expose the hypocrisies of society; to shock the reader into a realisation that much of what he takes for granted is cruel and ugly. Like Sade, Mirbeau was an atheist, and at that time that was something outrageous. he knew what good and evil was, but what bothered him was that in the so called civilised society, so much evil was portrayed as good, and most people didn't notice or care. In torture garden he set out to show people what their world, behind it's hypocrisies, was really like.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 19 reviews
3.6 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good book, bad edition
I agree with other reviews that comment on how annoying the many typos are. Bookkake need to sack their proofreader. Read more
Published 12 months ago by postboxred
2.0 out of 5 stars
Avoid this version - full of typos!!
This version of the book is dreadful. The text had mistypings on virtually every page, making an already obtuse read a real struggle to get through. Read more
Published on 10 Aug 2010 by HonestChap
1.0 out of 5 stars
Hateful and deluded
This is standard fare on the subject of moral perversion. It has been a favourite topic of pretentious or over-privileged writers for a very long time, discussed by writers as... Read more
Published on 20 May 2006 by J. Roberts
5.0 out of 5 stars
A grey adder
Wilde's beautifully poetic description of this materpiece of decadence is the perfect synopsis of this great work of nineteenth century anarchism. Read more
Published on 8 Oct 2002 by "vi1917"
5.0 out of 5 stars
Disgusting but Brilliant.
This book starts tame enough and you are thinking this isnt as sick as people have described, there are indeed some very good moments which question society, in particular a large... Read more
Published on 22 July 2002 by "allybongo007"
5.0 out of 5 stars
A superbly disgusting book
Mirbeau has came up with a book which mixes the corruption of "civilised" society and the brutality which he says lies in every one of us. Read more
Published on 1 Dec 2000 by stevehaigh239@exite.co.uk
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing. A masterpiece.
There is not much to write on this book. It truley is a masterpiece. I cannot believe one mind can write such an amazing book. Its so compelling.... Read more
Published on 6 Oct 2000
3.0 out of 5 stars
Kind of good, but always bad
Good, but I personally think it isn't really relevant to society today. Maybe some people see beauty in death and torture. Read more
Published on 21 May 2000 by lynzi@snoopyhome.freeserve.co.uk
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Fiction > Classics
- Books > Fiction > Contemporary Fiction
- Books > Fiction > Erotica > Adult Fiction
- Books > Romance > Adult & Contemporary
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
