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Erotic Literature. Fiction. Literature. Romance. HTML:The notorious novel of dark obsession How far will a woman go to express her love? In this exquisite novel of passion and desire, the answer emerges through a daring exploration of the deepest bonds of sensual domination. �??O�?� is a beautiful Parisian fashion photographer, determined to understand and prove her consuming devotion to her lover, René, through complete submission to his every whim, his every desire. It is a journey of forbidden, dangerous choices that sweeps her through the secret gardens of the sexual underground. From the inner sanctum of a private club where willing women are schooled in the art of subjugation to the excruciating embraces of René�??s friend Sir Stephen, O tests the outermost limits of pleasure. For as O discovers, true freedom lies in her pure and complete willingness to do anyth… (more)
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Other readers seem to have made more of the character Rene than I was able to find here. He is important in that O's affection for him serves as a principal motivation in the first parts of the book. But she does indeed transcend that affection through her experience of her "condition." And it's hard for me to imagine any reader being seriously sympathetic to O's initial devotion to Rene. He is drawn sparsely and unflatteringly.
There is little in the way of graphic detail regarding the many sexual acts in the story, so that the reader's imagination is enlisted in the erotic effects. What particulars of sex acts there are mostly fall in the early parts of the book. Reviewers often accordingly judge the middle and end to have become "slow." And yet I found that they tended to accelerate in terms of the shifting of personal relationships and the psychological transformation of O. Few readers seem to remark the somewhat predatory lesbianism of O, which is so pivotal to the central sections of the book, although hardly any fail to react to the body modifications of corseting, piercing, and branding.
The end of the book is abrupt and unconventional. A metafictional epilogue glosses two versions of a "suppressed" (unwritten, I surmise) concluding chapter which would have completed the plot. But "The Owl" which serves as the actual last section is unconcerned to resolve any of the tensions developed in the book. Instead, it sets them on a pedestal for a final appreciation.
Modern erotica cannot get away with the toy-like absolute submission depicted in Story of O. Perhaps this is why Blue: The Color of Desire and Journey Round a Darker Sun are the only modern works which have had such a powerful effect on me. They both offer greater emotional depth than O, but for that same reason lack the purity, the almost hallucinatory quality, of Reage's timeless masterpiece. Her follow-on, by the way, is a potboiler that has none of the class or style of the original and should be avoided.
This is a French erotic story about a woman named O who seeks to become the slave of a man
The translation I read was well done and easy to read. The story is engaging if a bit incomplete. At times there is so much sexual debasement in this book that those parts start to become a boring and repetitive. Apparently O's masters don't have a ton of imagination. That being said if scenes with whipping, restraint, or multiple sex partners are offensive to you...don’t read this book.
There is a lot I could say about this book. As for the sexual content there isn't much in here that I haven't seen in some adult epic fantasies where characters are enslaved or tortured...the main difference in this story is that O is willing and eager to be enslaved and debased. I think those who are bitching about how this book demeans women are kind of missing the point. This same story could have had a male as the main character just as easily; it’s just meant to be a representation of the BDSM scene and give readers a glimpse into the mind of someone who wants to be enslaved.
O is many times asked by her male masters to give her permission for her initial contracts, which she always does eagerly. O despite being owned and passed around by a number of men and being totally at their beck and call has a different sort of power. This is more apparent towards the end of the book than the beginning.
I have also read that too much time is spent discussing clothing. I actually thought that the discussion the occurs around clothing was pretty necessary to the story. Part of O’s obedience involves her being available to her master at his every whim. In the age of bulky bras and garter belts to hold up stockings; this involves O having to completely modify her wardrobe...which she does eagerly to prove her love and obedience to her master.
The ending was a bit disappointing since the book kind of ends in the middle of everything. There is a note that the last chapter has been suppressed from modern day publications, this is disappointing because I hate to see a story broken apart like that.
Overall I thought this was an interesting and engaging look into BDSM culture. There are parts where the sex/debasement gets a bit repetitive; I wish O’s masters had been a bit more creative. I was also disappointed in how abruptly the story ended. Again, people be smart, if BDSM completely offends you don’t read this book.
If you are interested in other media that looks into the psychology of BDSM (but from a purely entertainment lighter side) I would also recommend the movie The Secretary. This movie does a wonderful job of showing how a woman who likes punishment and a man who likes to dominate can have a balanced and loving relationship. If you are interested in a fantasy series that deals with this (again in a slightly different and fantastical way) I would recommend the Kushiel’s Dart series by Jacqueline Carey.
i will be looking for similar books.
Truly recommended to everyone who's interested to see how pornographic content can be laid out in such a classic and non-vulgar manner!
I found many parts of this book difficult, as I could never go as far as O does, indeed the same would be true of a vast majority of submissives. However this is a story which shows the nature of the beast in a touching and beautiful way. I must admit I would have preferred clearer grammar at times, and I felt that the ending was neither an ending, nor an artistic statement. That said, I left it knowing that there are others that can feel the same feeling of release, in the same way. It's a softly delivered story of brutal emotions, one that I am very happy to have read.
My problem with it, and I guess my problem with BDSM in general, is about consent. I get that the premise is that submissive actually has the power in the relationship because they ultimately choose if and when they wish to stop. I suppose for the garden-variety part-time BDSM participant, this works. But in this case, this was an overall, all-consuming lifestyle choice. O, while being told she could say no at any time, was completely infatuated with Rene and went along with everything because she felt that that was the only way to keep him. Sure she has a choice but really, what kind of choice is it? My boss gives me projects all the time and I have the choice of whether to do them or not. But if I don't, I won't have a job much longer. Rene asks her if she is okay with things but since he has tremendous power over her to begin with, she goes along with it all for fear of losing him.
I also had a big problem with Rene. He continually says that he loves her but the whole time he seems to view her as a psychological experiment. He sells her to the highest bidder (Sir Stephen) because he claims that he isn't strong enough to handle her conversion but I think it was more that he wanted to be a passive observer. He was prominent in the beginning but by the end, he almost becomes part of the furniture as he watches from the sidelines.
O starts off the novel with no name and by the end, she doesn't even have a personality. It is presented as if she is okay with everything that occurs but really, does someone being brainwashed know that they are being brainwashed? How does one really know what she wanted until after she is removed from the situation and can verify things for herself? Apparently the author wrote this as a love story for her boyfriend and that makes me really sad.
I thought it odd that when I reserved it at the library that both
'Carrie's Story' by Molly Weatherfield
'Beauty's Punishment' by Anne Rice
'Exit to Eden' by Anne Rice
'Miss Abernathy's Concise Slave Training Manual' by Christina Abernathy
'The Butcher: And Other Erotica'
'The Image'
The second half of the book is not as satisfying, thus the less than stellar rating.
The gradual, consensual enslavement, and transformation--or rather erasure--of O, is certainly thought-provoking. The book could serve as a revealing conversation starter for people from all backgrounds, who, it is easy to imagine, will seize on different aspects of O's progression to justify and explain or judge and condemn the sexual attitudes of the characters (whatever mix of dominant and submissive they present). After the riveting "Traumnovelle" ("Eyes Wide Shut")/Sadeian first section of the novel that deals with O's induction into the secret community of her masters--according to a process and in the privacy of an institution that is well imagined and described--the book slows undeniably. I found myself tempted to skim the two middle sections that depict O's semi-hesitant embrace of what she is becoming; probably because the other characters in her drama who exert a significant amount of pressure and influence are rather two dimensional and unsympathetic--also because the outcome seemed obvious.
But, the actual ending (and my version suggests that the true last chapter has gone missing or is in dispute--which is too bad) is far more cryptic and somehow beautiful than I expected--at least in its symbolism. Something primal and magnetic about the aesthetic that governs the attraction of the dominant people in "The Story of O" makes an unforgettable visual impression. I would not read this book for the quality of the writing, which is somewhat hurried, often distractingly euphemistic with regards to action and artless with regards to the narration of internal thought processes. But, I would read this book for the story and for the opportunities that it offers a reader to inhabit a wide array of perspectives along a most unusual and controversial route.