From the premise, it's surprisingly less ambitious than 120 Days of Sodom, despite this being written a decade later. I also realized that Marquis de Sade wasn't making a parody, he was just a horny, sadistic libertine . _.

I will say his decadent prose remain forever-arousing. ( )

So if you don't like reading erotica or don't like books the use foul language you should stay away from the Marquis de Sade.

Furthermore, if you've ever wondered about the etymology of the word sadism, it's from this man.

This book is meant to shock you, to rock you to your core. He challenges religion, politics and everything under the sun, all while narrating an orgy. This book is totally depraved and utterly riddled with debauchery.

I sometimes found his rants on politics, religion and the state a little bit long and lengthy - I felt that some of his book was just purely for shock value, no other reason. There were some brilliant lines in this, though, that have stuck with me till this day.

It's not for everyone, but I enjoyed it - and this edition is also beautiful! (If a little sexually explicit.) ( )

One could agree with the atheistic critic, and the enlightment view of the human rights, but there is this big but: one has to care for the other! one 's freedom stop at the other freedom begins.
Sade here doesn't limit the quest of pleasure, be it incest, torture, murder. ( )

Needs moar raep.

Set in a bedroom, the two lead characters make the argument that the only moral system that reinforces the recent political revolution is libertinism, and that if the people of France fail to adopt the libertine philosophy, France will be destined to return to a monarchic state. In the chapter titled 'Fifth Dialogue', there is a lengthy section where the character Chevalier reads a philosophical pamphlet titled 'Frenchmen, Some More Effort If You Wish To Become Republicans'. The pamphlet clearly represents Sade's philosophy on religion and morality, a philosophy he passionately hopes the citizens of France will embrace and codify into the laws of their new republican government. Continually throughout the work, Sade makes the argument that one must embrace atheism, reject society's beliefs about pleasure and pain, and further makes his argument that if any crime is committed while seeking pleasure than it cannot be condemned. WIKI.org ( )