Philosophy in the Boudoir: Or, The Immoral Mentors (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) [Paperback]

Marquis de Sade (Author), Tomer Hanuka (Illustrator), Joachim Neugroschel (Translator), Francine Du Plessix-Gray (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2006 | ISBN-10: 0143039016 | ISBN-13: 978-0143039013 | Edition: Deluxe

This most joyous of de Sade's works follows three aristocrats as they indoctrinate Eugénie de Mistival in "the principles of the most outrageous libertinism."

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The Marquis de Sade (1740-1814) wrote the first drafts of several of his pornographic novels while in prison, including Justine and 100 Days of Sodom.

Francine du Plessix Gray is a contributor to the New Yorker and the author of numerous works, including Them.

Joachim Neugroschel has won three PEN translation awards and the French- American translation prize.

Tomer Hanuka is the creator, with twin brother Asaf, of the comics series Bipolar and is a founding member of Meathaus.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics; Deluxe edition (October 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0143039016
• ISBN-13: 978-0143039013
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #213,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elfriede Jelinek was born in Austria in 1946 and grew up in Vienna where she attended the famous Music Conservatory. The leading Austrian writer of her generation, she has been awarded the Heinrich B?ll Prize for her contribution to German literature. The film by Michael Haneke of The Piano Teacher won the three main prizes at Cannes in 2001. In 2004, Elfriede Jelinek was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oh, but there's so much more!, May 1, 2007

By 

Pseudo-Olga (WA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Philosophy in the Boudoir: Or, The Immoral Mentors (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) (Paperback)

I thought Incest was really well written (much like Lolita, where the content is filthy but you can't help but fall in love with the writer for how gifted he is with language), so I checked this one out next. Initially, Philosophy in the Boudoir came off as porn for the thinking man and nothing more - and really, everything has its place - but about halfway into the book there appeared some interesting philosophy that really completes some of what the Marquis got into with Incest. He further develops arguments on morality here, and if you're a Camus fan, a good deal of these arguments are actually pretty compatible with Camus, too. If you can get past (or enjoy?) all the anal sex bits, this is actually some pretty smart philosophy with what appears to be Marquis de Sade's characters debating either side of his own arguments.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing translation of a classic, January 7, 2010

By 

immortal pickwick "cinncinatusc" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Philosophy in the Boudoir: Or, The Immoral Mentors (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) (Paperback)

Dear reader,
I bought this book to check my reading of the original on occasion when sentences were particularly convoluted (Sade writes in an ironically formal Ancien Régime style of French). I was astonished to find gobs of mistakes in this English translation. I'm not exaggerating, there are three mistakes in a single paragraph on the latest page I've read, p. 151, the one starting with "Yes, Chevalier, you are saying...". Here they are to give you a taste.
1) "within you" : Should be "within me"!
2) "Do you smother remorse through your principles when you feel its goads" : Should be "May you smother (or just smother) ... if you ..."
3) "Will you manage to repent a misdeed of indifference that you have thoroughly penetrated?" This sentence is nonsensical as it is translated! It should be something like : "Could it be possible for you to repent an act being thoroughly penetrated by an indifference of it?"

This is only one paragraph. There are countless other mistakes strewn about.

I'm not familiar with other translations yet, but if you are concerned about fidelity to the original, I would advise you to steer away from this one. In spite of the fancy cover, the contents are greatly disappointing.

That said, if you're only interested in the sex tableaux, fidelity is not necessary and the translation is sufficient :-P

Enjoy.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read it if you love sex, April 15, 2009

By 

Ana Tikaradze (Tbilisi, Georgia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Philosophy in the Boudoir: Or, The Immoral Mentors (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) (Paperback)

If you want to break the borders of your fantasies... if you want to hear the richest description of the sex and the pleasure it brings... if you are ready for something which might feel immoral... if you consider sex as an art... if you love sex... read it... feel it... do not judge...
And if you want something similar but modern search for Michel Houellebecq...