Story of O | 
|  | | | Title: | Story of O | | Author: | Pauline Reage | | Publisher: | Ballantine Books | | Type: | Book / Paperback | | Publication Date: | 01 January, 1992 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0345301110 / 9780345301116 | | List Price: | $7.99 | | Amazon Price: | $7.99 | |
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| Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Product Description
The classic erotic novel, THE STORY OF O relates the love of a beautiful Parisian fashion photographer for Rene. As part of that intense love, she demands debasement and severe sexual and pychological tests. It is a unique work not to be missed.
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Customer Reviews:
• An Aberration 12 December, 2008
This story is horrible, disgusting, filthy, dehumanizing. An aberration, a perfect depiction of evil. It's good for what it shows about what evil is and what evil cand do to a human soul.
I'm not one for censorship; let people think, write, read, do as they want when not in violation of the law or the rights of others, but also let people call things for what they are. And, as someone wrote on another review, if you have felt guilty for having wanted to subject another human being to any of these things, then you should feel guilty. Try to figure out where that comes from and address it. You are too precious to live like that. Don't let anything or anyone lead you to believe otherwise. "To deny the dignity of a human being is to deny the dignity of every human being."
- Reviewed by customer ID: A8BWJZJ08BNFB
• Whips Up Controversy 05 January, 2009
It's hard to decide of the book lives up to the considerable hype that surrounds it. Many people on here moan about the debasement that O subjects herself to, but this book is her story, and the interest lies in her motivation for undergoing such treatment for someone who ultimately appears to give her very little back in return, emotionally. O is an ostensibly successful independent woman and that persona is seemingly at odds with the one that she turns into at Roissy.
Which is possibly one reason that many, I suspect women, critics perhaps feel that this book has been written by a man, they would not wish to think of an independent woman being, in their eyes, willingly reduced to a chattel. We know that people exist that enjoy the sort of behaviour but I think it is generally men who would allow women to treat them the way that O is treated in Roissy, rather than the other way around. That is why I think that many suspect Ms Réage of being a man. The detailed descriptions of the "activities" and "apparatus" that occur in the book are written very much in a style that "feels" like a man has written it.
Which brings me to my biggest criticism of the book and one that others have made. That is the translation. This version seems unusually dry and un-imaginative in its language, and I don't know if this is because the translator has tried to inject strict translations to phrases that perhaps do not exactly match in English, where paraphrasing might have given the story more charge. Alas my French is not strong enough for me to read the book in its intended language and garner the true subtlety and impact the author must have intended.
In summary, this is a powerful and important work of erotic fiction and should be regarded as such, whether it is actually erotic in this form is a more personal matter.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3II1ACACC5MTX
• Is It Hot In Here? 27 June, 2008
Maybe not for everyone, but this is one incredible story. Anyone interested in dominance and submission must read this.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1DS7WQC09J7NG
• Where Desade Left Off ... 29 June, 2008
"O" takes us on a journey through the darkest parts of the female sexual beast: her hunger, her lust, and her desire to connect with her darker hidden self through the flesh of another.
From a woman's point of view "O" takes strides into the private spaces of a woman's mind, spaces even most modern women will not dare to go.
This story has an eerie depth to it. Filled with horrific torture, and yet, what is done to the body pales in comparison to what an obsessive love can do to the mind in this groundbreaking epic of erotic fiction. "O" is not simply a physical masochist, seeking pleasure in the pain her body feels, she is a submissive and an emotional masochist ... her desire for pain deeply embedded into her psyche, much like the main character in Masoch's Venus in Furs.
Love for "O" must be a torture all encompassing in its magnitude, and for that to be, one must surrender everything: mind, body, and soul.
A brilliant work.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2QBCUXQP6ZBZJ
• Liberated Me From My Guilt Over Wanting To Hurt Women 07 October, 2008
This is perhaps the best book I've ever read. For years I have had fantasies of torturing and abusing women. I used to feel guilty about this. But after reading this masterpiece, I now realize that women actually want to be tortured and abused, even if they cry and resist at first. It must be something inherent to the entire gender, I guess? Anyways, the good news is I no longer feel guilty. Thanks, Pauline Reage! You've changed my life.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2WL9UX2I8F5FG
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