Claude-Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon (1707–1777)

Mon Dieu. Usually, when I'm this annoyed by a book, I just lay it to rest and never open it again. Sadly, in this case, bookie euthanasia was out of the question. I read this for my French Literature class, and boy, was it a struggle. Having just read [b:Les Liaisons Dangereuses|49540|Les Liaisons Dangereuses|Pierre Choderlos de Laclos|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298425654s/49540.jpg|3280025], an actually exciting book about seduction, the contrast with this flimsy and rather pathetic book show more was almost too big to bear.

Meilcour is chasing his d*ck, trying to seduce multiple women at the same time, failing to realise that he is actually being used by all of them. Including a duke called Versac, whose only purpose in the book is to explain -in a long and tedious part towards the end- how seduction should work and how Meilcour should hide his inner self. All of this is way too direct! The book is supremely unbalanced, the dialogue is hard to follow due to very low clarity and, well, I just never got into any of the characters.

Very bland. show less

This is... a weird read. The translation I read was a bit clunky, but the story was entertaining enough despite its age.

Written around 1745 and set in the court of Shah Baham of India, who was the grandson of Shah Riar, of 1001 tales. for entertainment, Shah Baham requests his court to tell him tales, and the first Amanzei, a follower of the sect Brahma - who believe that when one' s soul leaves their body it is reincarnated into another - tells the story of his remembered past life when his soul was reincarnated as a sofa. His story relates the amorous encounters on various sofas throughout the city.
Although show more this was considered a daring novel in its time, it is extremely mild by today's standards and relies heavily on ineundo.
I have read half so far but if it doesn't improve soon........... show less

[Masers de Latude was imprisoned in the Bastille.] You know that this was for making four verses on Mme. de Pompadour. But I think you told me you did not know the verses. They were these: "Sans esprit, sans sentiment, Sans etre belle ni neuve, En France on peut avoir le premier amant: Pompadour en est l'epreuve."

-- Thomas Jefferson to Maria Cosway, 1786