Delta of Venus [Paperback]

Anais Nin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2, 2004

An extraordinarily rich and exotic collection from the mistress of erotic writing

 

In Delta of Venus, Anais Nin pens a lush, magical world where the characters of her imagination possess the most universal of desires and exceptional of talents. Among these provocative stories, a Hungarian adventurer seduces wealthy women then vanishes with their money; a veiled woman selects strangers from a chic restaurant for private trysts; and a Parisian hatmaker named Mathilde leaves her husband for the opium dens of Peru.

Editorial Reviews

Review

PRAISE FOR DELTA OF VENUS
"A joyous display of the erotic imagination."
-The New York Times Book Review
"Inventive, sophisticated . . . highly elegant naughtiness."-Cosmopolitan

From the Publisher

7 1.5-hour cassettes --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books; Reprint edition (February 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0156029030
• ISBN-13: 978-0156029032
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (113 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anaïs Nin (1903-1977) was born in Paris and aspired at an early age to be a writer. An influential artist and thinker, she wrote primarily fiction until 1964, when her last novel, Collages, was published. She wrote The House of Incest, a prose-poem (1936), three novellas collected in The Winter of Artifice (1939), short stories collected in Under a Glass Bell (1944), and a five-volume continuous novel consisting of Ladders to Fire (1946), Children of the Albatross (1947), The Four-Chambered Heart (1950), A Spy in the House of Love (1954), and Seduction of the Minotaur (1961). These novels were collected as Cities of the Interior (1974). She gained commercial and critical success with the publication of the first volume of her diary (1966); to date, fifteen diary volumes have been published. Her most commercially successful books were her erotica published as Delta of Venus (1977) and Little Birds (1979). Today, her books are appearing digitally, most notably The Portable Anaïs Nin (2011).

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 83 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Celebration of Beauty and Sensuality August 9, 2000

By Lance C. Panzer

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Delta of Venus joyously explores the art of human sexuality. Anais Nin's writing style is at once lyrical and straightforward. While she leaves no doubt in the reader's mind just what is going on, her countless love scenes are imbued with so much warmth and dignity that one could scarcely find them offensive. But most importantly, Anais understood that sex is nothing without emotion, and it's the emotions of her myriad characters that cause the reader to turn happily florid with every page. She understood that while sex is not to be taken lightly, it's certainly not something to be restrained, either. Lastly, of all the locales depicted in this collection of stories, she lends a special affection to Paris. I suspect that of all of Anais' lovers, the City of Light was the dearest to her heart, to wit: "At five I always felt shivers of sensuality, shared with the sensual Paris. As soon as the light faded, it seemed to me that every woman I saw was running to meet her lover, that every man was running to meet his mistress." and "But we were enjoying an orgasm, as couples do in doorways and under bridges at night all over Paris."

54 of 61 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars opened my eyes to a whole new world November 25, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Mass Market Paperback

This is the first of Nin's works I have read. I had no idea erotica could be so exciting! I had always been turned off by it because it seems very male-centered and raunchy. Nin manages to be sensual without being crude. Her feminine style makes the text sexier. I'm definately going to read her other works. A must read for any woman.

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Lushly erotic and provocative. April 15, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Looking for erotica that is not too far over the edge into bizarre? Although the language in the book is quaint due to the era in which it was written, it is still lushly erotic and perfect for reading to your significant other. Nin's writing style draws the reader into a private world of erotic pleasures, with detailed yet tasteful descriptions of wonderfully sensual scenes.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Literary Reverie May 26, 2004

By Nadia555

Format:Paperback

"Delta of Venus" is an absolute pleasure to read. Each short story here flows seamlessly into the next, making it read like a never-ending hallucination. Anais simultaneously shocked and aroused me with her stories. Her writing is startlingly beautiful, like that of an (eroticised) angel. While her style is conspicuously feminine, Anais Nin doesn't shy away from more hardcore territory, as she confidently explores the taboos of sex: incest, bisexuality, paedophilia (The Boarding School), bestiality and even genital mutilation. Anais's decadent world is rich with exotic imagery and opulence. This is no "Mills and Boon" - this is a literary delight I'd recommend to anyone seeking an all-out retreat from reality. The sheer majesty of Anais's talent for writing is just as seductive as the erotic content within the book.

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Anais July 14, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Mass Market Paperback

This book was intense, graphic, sensual, moving, deliriously engaging. It was the second book I'd read by Nin (Little Birds was the first) and I especially enjoyed the second half. Her stories offer a three-dimensional perspective on sex, love, lust--I loved it!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Erotically disturbing May 1, 2008

By Book Princess

Format:Paperback

I had to find out what all the hype was about over this particular writer of erotic literature. And I must say, I found her writing to beautifully constructed. But I found many of the stories to be so twisted that it left a bad taste in my mouth.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it and read it! April 12, 2006

By Alice in Wonderland TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

This book was first published in 1969, and is the work of that queen of the sensual, Anais Nin (1903-1977). The book is a collection of fifteen short stories. The stories themselves are not always entire narratives in the traditional sense. They do not necessarily tell an entire story, but what they do do is paint with words an erotic feeling.

Yes, if you are expecting Penthouse Forum, you will be very disappointed. But, don't get the idea that this is some sort of chic-lit. Within these stories are described scenes of rape, bondage, incest, and much more. No, this is a fascinating work of erotica, one that describes human sexuality in terms of feelings and desires, rather than as a purely mechanical affair.

This is a profoundly deep book of erotica, one that I give my highest recommendations to. Buy it and read it!

(Review of Delta of Venus)

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A True Experience of Erotic Pleasure August 7, 2002

By A Customer

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Despite the fact that Anais Nin has departed from the world her prose remains to testify to the fact that not only can she spin a tale of infinite quality and cohesiveness, she knows how to write geniune erotica that appeals to a wide range of palettes. Her words are eloquent and yet not wordy. The short stories are developed so that they follow the previous offering in such a way that you believe yourself to be a third party and the only person capable of appreciating where you think she is going with the book. Just when you think you might know the ending, Nin adds another delicious twist and you are once again caught off guard. Nin should be the standard for modern erotica. There is nothing prissy or insulting in her writing. It is simply what erotica was always meant to be whatever your sexual persona may be. Enjoy...