empece un poco molesto por la traduccion tan castellana. tambien ese castillo donde todos se visten con capas me parecio medio ridiculo. el s/m siempre tiene este melodrama, esa aficion por lo tenebroso y tremendo, que me esta comica. la historia mejora despues. no tiene observaciones profundas pero si tienen inteligencia. hay malabares de narracion que no son de principiante. curioso que en realidad es poco grafica en sus descripciones sexuales. ( )

At some point or other just about every point of view has been put forth on this book, so there's not much point in me even bothering to write a review.
On the other hand I'm an opinionated jackass who can't shut up so I'm doing one anyway.
I will keep it brief though.
The fact is already established that this book is a far cry from some seedy bit of written porn where there is a constant search for the next phrase which will be used to refer to genitalia. This is a much deeper work than any of those. The language doesn't have the coarseness, nor that struggling aspect, nor the lack of understanding of the human mind you find in inferior attempts at erotica. This Book is extremely cerebral in that it gets into the readers head rather than their pants (though it does sneak a hand down there too) but also very primal in it's unabashed navigation of power and sex.
While on the surface it seems to be about a women's submission to dominant men, if you read a little deeper you find that every combination of one sex being submissive to or dominating the other or same sex is all in there as well. Power is found in unusual places in this book i.e. the farther O. submits to her master the more empowered and confident she feels.
This book makes one think about a lot of things, especially oneself. ( )

Surprised, wow quick ead ( )

read it more out of curiosity and, well, it's exactly what it says it is, but it also helped prepare for the sexual revolution during the 1960s and the women's liberation of the 1970s. in that sense, the book is a lot more significant than what the author intended it to be. ( )

O is taken one day without discussion by her lover Rene to Roissy. It is a place full of S&M and O is to be the new slave. There she is kept naked but for a collar and wrist cuffs, open to be abused by anyone in any way they see fit. This is mostly carried out by having sex with O in a number of different ways and orafices as well as frequent whippings. She is passed around by her lover, beaten and humiliated. No matter how much she cries or begs, no one will take pity on her. All that keeps her going is knowing Rene loves her and that she loves him.

One discharged from Roissy she goes back home to her career as a photographer. She takes a symbol of Roissy (an iron and gold ring) that she must wear at all times and if anyone recognises it's symbolism they are at liberty to use her as they would at Roissy. People recognise a change in her clothing (she is never allowed to wear any underwear or a bra and must always wear clothes that open easily so no buttons) and manner. She develops feelings for one of her models Jacqueline and Rene encourages her to seduce her with a view to recruiting her to Roissy. Rene also passes her to a new Master Sir Stephen who takes her even further on her internal journey. He also puts his marks upon her which once placed on O are permanent.

Now this is not the first novel of S&M I have read and is by no means my first experience in that world. Saying that I found this quite a hard read. It was more like torture than reading about an erotic experience. I didn't like O's attitude the further into her journey she got. I found much of it to be ugly and distasteful. On the other hand the sections where O is out of the S&M side of the story the book is very beautiful and sensual, there are some lovely passages and descriptions. I also liked that there were two beginnings and two endings to the tale. ( )