Customer Reviews

Delta of Venus: Erotica

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

When I first read "Delta of Venus", I was but a 20-something, as yet uneducated in the ways of love and the world. But I wasn't too young to feel the effect of Nin's dreamy prose, the heightened tease of her language, the titillation of the poetic images of lovers of every variety and combination, all experiencing the joys of the flesh. I never knew descriptions of heretofore "clinical" bodyparts could seem so ... beautiful.

Now that I'm older, and can more fully appreciate the various twists and turns of sexuality and desire, Nin's stories are even more arousing, if for no other reason than the fact that I myself am more experienced in these matters. All combinations of love - man/woman, woman/woman, three women together, and more - are exposed here and brought to life with a passionate detachment, if such a thing is possible. There is no guilt within these pages; a reader must be willing to bathe, suspended, in the heated waters of love, taking what comes and accepting it on its own terms without judgment.

Yes, it's graphic. I disagree with the idea that "pornography" cannot be an art. I prefer to think of good erotic literature as just that: an art form often attempted but rarely achieved in the purest sense of the word. "Penthouse Forum" is porn - "Delta of Venus" (as well as "Little Birds" and "Spy In The House of Love") is the best example of literary erotica, the combinations of love and the mystery of orgasm and sensuality.

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."

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.

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.

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...

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!

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)

"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.

Anais Nin is the greatest erotica writer I've ever read. She blends sex with life. When I read her novel, I was young, just a teen like a few of the characters within the novel. Far better than my sexual education classes, I learned of the softer more passionate sides to sex, I gained a true understanding of why sex is not merely something done to perpetuate the species, that there is nothing in it unless some feeling coincides.

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.