Juliette [Paperback]

Marquise de Sade (Author), Austryn Wainhouse (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1984

“An amazing sequence of imaginatively bizarre sexual adventures punctuated by philosophical and theological digression. Mlle. De Maupin, Lolita, Candy—all pale beside Juliette.”—Library Journal

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Random House Inc (T) (June 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394171314
• ISBN-13: 978-0394171319
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,456,473 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A dark masterpiece, August 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Juliette (Paperback)

Undoubtedly Sade's chief novel, "Juliette" describes the lengthy adventures of a beautiful young whore who uses her body to obtain the money and power she craves. Her numerous sexual adventures are described in minute detail, as are her equally numerous murders and other less pleasant debaucheries. The whole is punctuated with philosophical discussion regarding the nature of sex, God, and mankind. This is a very intense book, and one which has upset and offended many, many people since it was first published in the 1790's. If the subject of sex offends you, do not read this book. However, if you can stand a cold, dispassionate account of the human sex drive, and its function and meaning, then read "Juliette" immediately. One final comment - Sade's writing is often dismissed as "repetitive," but what could be more repetitive than the physical motions of sexual intercourse?

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars don't bother lookin' for Romeo..., June 4, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Juliette (Paperback)

I just finished reading this mammoth of a book, and, I'm here to report, it lived up to the reputation it has acquired. I consider myself one of the most jaded, cynical, steel-bellied readers around. When I read all of the reviews for "Juliette", as well as Sade's other works, I scoffed at all the warnings for the faint-hearted; the challenges to withstand the terrible text! I was not offended by what I read, but these reviewers weren't kidding! The sex can get quite preposterous and impossibly indulgent, but many reviewers take this way too literally and discredit Sade for not understanding the human anatomy and it's thresholds and limitations. There's no question in my mind that the Marquis was well aware that many of the things he wrote were physically impossible; but, where's the fun if you don't take it to the extreme? I often found myself- once the appetite was whetted- wanting him to magnify every act, every atrocity until it had peaked... and, then go further.

This is part of the beauty of the arts (in any form): it gives you a chance to be as crazy, as demented, as grotesque, as you desire, since it's all happening in your head; and, you don't even have to provide the fodder for this mill of depravity- Sade graciously delivers it. What makes it even more twisted is that it's written in such a Shakespearean- term used lightly- theatrical way, reminding you that this is a translation of a book written 200 years ago! Nobody in this day and age has duplicated the literary horrors that this libertine philosopher put forth. They wouldn't get published!

The "plot": Juliette, a young girl in a convent, meets a nun, Madame Delbene, who takes the philosophical- and physical- roots that she sees in little Juliette, and nurtures them, teaching her about the absurdities of prejudices, religious beliefs, and societal morals. Our title character is taught the maxim that will resonate as a constant throughout the entire novel: self-preservation and pleasure at no matter who or what's expense. As Hobbes wrote in "Leviathan"-- life is nasty, brutish, and short. We are animals and everything we do in an attempt to civilize ourselves goes against the accords of Nature. We help others to benefit ourselves or to feel selfish pride; we refrain from acts of murder, thievery, etc. only out of fear of being caught. All of these thoughts/philosophies are proffered, but, Sade is not afraid to back up all of his ideas with in-depth, analytical dissertations which are sometimes strewn with holes... and sometimes impossible to refute! Juliette takes her new-found "education", and the story follows her as she puts everything- and anything- into practice.

No matter what your beliefs, be they religious, political, moral, it can only benefit you to consider the other side's viewpoint: liberal vs conservative, God-fearer vs atheist, good vs evil. It is only then that you have made a healthy, well-founded decision on what to believe in.

Read "Juliette" and see the other side...

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Dark Masterpiece, December 18, 2000

By 

Joseph "God" Jordan (Bronx, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Juliette (Paperback)

Amidst the gratuitous sex and abhorrent violence, this book contains a philosophy of pure libertinage that should not be ignored. The 10% of this work that is not pornography details a unique, startling, frighteningly base school of thought that I have not encountered before or since reading this (rightfully) immortal tome. Man, as protrayed in Juliette, is a self-serving, solitary beast that will commit acts of the most extreme depravity on a mere bout of caprice. Life is meaningless, God is dead, and no one matters save for yourself. This extreme nihilism is said to be the "right" way to live by Sade's characters, for nature allows their every "misdeed." Many would deem this mindset insane, but I ask them "why is it insane?" Is it not true? In the book, and in reality, it is only the subjectively chosen morality of other men that prevents us from acting on our most insidious desires. There is no right and wrong, because everything is permitted by nature. The adamant atheism, blasphemy, violence and selfishness entailed in the book is what makes me respect it so. I reccomend this work to every free thinker that can sit throught 1100+ pages of scatology. It is worth weeding through the shocking, occasionally repetitive porn to feast on the juicy nuggets of philosophy within.