Two Erotic Tales: Aphrodite, The Songs of Bilitis [Paperback]

Pierre Louys (Author), Dorothy Kavka (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1995

These exquisitely crafted tales have provided inspiration to a wide range of artists, from Debussy, Gide, and Colette, to the directors of classic film noir. Originally banned in the United States, this first English translation from the original French editions recaptures the passionate writing that propelled Louys to the forefront of Fin de Siecle literature.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Louys's Aphrodite (1896) and Songs of Bilitis (1893) would now be termed "soft porn." The earlier anonymous translation of 1913 retained Louys's archaic lexicon, but the present translation is unambiguous and should have the intended effect on responsive readers. Louys himself was an ambiguous character, as editor Kavka points out in her cogent introduction. Remembered now chiefly for his friendship with Gide and Wilde (with whom Louys broke at the time of Wilde's trial), Louys was simultaneously pro-lesbian and homophobic. In these pseudo-Greek works, phenomenal best sellers at the time of publication, he exploits lesbianism as a pornographic strategy. For eclectic literary collections.
Marilyn Gaddis Rose, Binghamton Univ., N.Y.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Louys was one of the most notorious writers of 1890s France. A friend of the famous, including Oscar Wilde, Claude Debussy, Sarah Bernhardt, Colette, and Rodin, his elegant, classical tales of sensuous love were originally banned in the U.S. There have been several English editions of Aphrodite and The Songs of Bilitis; however, because the English translations were done in the 1900s through the 1930s, sexual and social standards prevented accurate translation. The new translations were made directly from the French texts and reflect the spirit of the original. Aphrodite, based on Louys' interpretation of Pygmalion, is the tale of a sculptor who has created a statue of Aphrodite, with which he falls in love. He becomes obsessed with a beautiful courtesan, but finds that she can never quite measure up to the statue of Aphrodite. In The Songs of Bilitis, Louys weaves a series of epic poems into a story. Based loosely on Louys' knowledge of Sappho, the story tells of the amorous life of Bilitis, including her stay on the Isle of Lesbos and her life as a courtesan devoted to the goddess Aphrodite. These sumptuous stories reveal passionate writing that emphasized sexual freedom. A member of the French symbolist writing movement, Louys captured in these tales a rhythmic, lyrical, aesthetic principle that was intended to be a revolt against bourgeois life in 1890s France. Kathleen Hughes

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Evanston Pub (March 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1879260247
• ISBN-13: 978-1879260245
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,379,795 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Far too unknown author, July 6, 1998

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[e-mail] (Athens, Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Two Erotic Tales: Aphrodite, The Songs of Bilitis (Paperback)

I enjoyed Louys' work thoroughly, especially in the translation this volume gives. I have never met someone who has even heard of Louys, no less read him. However, his writing is simply beautiful, it is a pure joy to read. There is much more than just sensual imagery too; both works have great literary value. For example, in The Songs of Bilitis, Louys shows how this one ficticious girl living in ancient Greece changes through her life by means of her poetry. This great description can be applied to how everyone slowly changes during life and becomes more and more cynical. Anyway, it is a great book and I highly recommend it.