Reviews of Las 120 Jornadas De Sodoma (La Sonrisa Vertical) (La Sonrisa Vertical) (La Sonrisa Vertical / the Vertical Smile) (Spanish Edition) by Marquise de Sade (ISBN:8472233847) | weRead
 
This version of the book has been reviewed in English(51), French(1) by readers.   
 
What are readers saying about Las 120 Jornadas De Sodoma (La Sonrisa Vertical) (La Sonrisa Vertical) (La Sonrisa Vertical / the Vertical Smile) (Spanish Edition)?
A reader posted a review at 2009-10-10 20:09:11. (Language: English)
didn't like itit was okliked itloved itit was amazing
 hard to rate.. it's filthy, creepy, masochistic and shocking.. but yet, interesting.
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A reader posted a review at 2009-08-12 16:50:49. (Language: English)
didn't like itit was okliked itloved itit was amazing
 120 Days of Sodom appears grotesque and disturbing to the average person. However, that is what makes it so relatable and human. People are sick, disturbed, greedy, lustful creatures. De Sade simply shows us this in an unadulterated form; concentrated vice is left to desecrate the spineless sentiment.<p>Ah, I do love this book. Be that as it may, this book is not for the feint of heart. Also, I don't recommend flipping through 120 Days to decide whether or not it's for you. This novel is cumulative - flipping to a random passage will most likely just scar you.<p>Unfortunately, De Sade was unable to finish this piece; only the simple passions (of the first month) are fully described; and the last three (the complex, criminal, and murderous passions) are left in draft form. I give the Marquis 4.5 stars for the 120 Days.
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A reader posted a review at 2009-08-09 19:18:27. (Language: English)
didn't like itit was okliked itloved itit was amazing
 Though the writer had a reputation of the most foul nature, and his writing certainly reflected it, I was drawn to this book. To the dangerous, raw, primal part of the human mind- somewhere normal people don't dare to go. We like to think of ourselves as evolved, but when it comes down to it humans have never changed- not in one year, not in one hundred, not in one thousand. This book explores the most disgusting, primal parts of human nature- to the point that I even had to put it down. It became too graphic or just too much. But it did it's job. It was bought with the intention of breaking a writer's block, and did just that.

Only recommended for a strong stomach.
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A reader posted a review at 2009-08-04 03:19:27. (Language: English)
didn't like itit was okliked itloved itit was amazing
 disgusting, gross, perverse . don't read if you're easily offended... I couldn't get through all of it and only read it to understand the most basest and depraved mind
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A reader posted a review at 2009-05-29 23:58:35. (Language: English)
didn't like itit was okliked itloved itit was amazing
 i'm a pervert
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A reader posted a review at 2009-03-31 19:22:14. (Language: English)
didn't like itit was okliked itloved itit was amazing
 The only reason that this isnt a 5 is because the book was never finished. This book did an amazing job of building up the suspense. And the conclusion, although not fully detailed, was better than what i had anticipated
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A reader posted a review at 2009-03-06 01:41:28. (Language: English)
didn't like itit was okliked itloved itit was amazing
 Just when you think that this book can't ever possibly get more sexually perverse ..... it does. It's like watching a train wreck....you just can't look away even though it's totally horrifying.
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A reader posted a review at 2009-01-12 01:58:25. (Language: French)
didn't like itit was okliked itloved itit was amazing
 Allons-y pour ma critique de cette oeuvre inachevée, rédigée par un marquis de Sade embastillé.

On lui pardonnera aisément, du fait qu'il ait dû écrire en secret, l'absence de relecture, les nombreuses erreurs et le fait que seule la première partie soit vraiment rédigée. En effet, les trois autres se présentent seulement sous la forme d'un plan. Ce qui me dérange plus, ce sont les exagérations, les caricatures (anatomiques, entre autres) alors que l'œuvre est présentée comme un exposé presque encyclopédique des perversions humaines.

L'ensemble manque cruellement (c'est le mot !) de suspense. Le scénario est d'une linéarité affligeante, les répétitions sont légion, autant dans le style que dans les vices comptés, qui ne diffèrent que par des variations infimes (souvent, le même vice allié à la gérontophilie, etc.)
On a l'impression de lire une base de données. Pourquoi ne pas plutôt avoir écrit un dictionnaire ? On est finalement bien heureux que les dernières parties se présentent en style télégraphique, cela s'en rapproche plus.

Non seulement on se doute fort bien de la façon dont tout cela va finir, mais en plus, pour respecter un ordre croissant de cruauté, l'auteur passe sous silence une grande partie de l'action tout au cours du livre: "je ne peux vous parler de ce qui se passa à cet instant, cela sera expliqué plus tard."
Qui osera appeler ça un suspense intelligemment construit ? De plus, les descriptions des personnages se ressemblent trop, et sont trop souvent résumées à "le plus beau/la plus belle ... qu'on ait jamais vu(e)".

Une chose est sûre, Sade carbure à l'imagination: il n'a pas pu réaliser en personne tous ces (600) vices, pour la bonne raison que certains sont totalement impossibles, contraires aux lois de la physique ou de la nature... Certains passages ressemblent plus à un épisode de Bip-bip et Coyote, avec notamment l'emploi de canons !

On ne pourra cependant pas renier l'originalité du contenu... A ce titre, le Silence des Agneaux, Hostel et tout particulièrement Saw, passent tous pour d'odieux plagiats.

En conclusion ? Cette œuvre ne me semble pas particulièrement digne d'intérêt. Dans le fond, bien qu'elle tente de faire passer un soi-disant message philosophique, ce n'est rien de moins qu'une bête loi du plus fort, où le riche jouit en torturant le pauvre, alliée à une misogynie insupportable. Dans la forme, tout est beaucoup trop symétrique et répétitif... Non, je n'ai pas envie de le relire.
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A reader posted a review at 2009-01-06 20:47:19. (Language: English)
didn't like itit was okliked itloved itit was amazing
 Classic.
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A reader posted a review at 2008-12-29 21:51:57. (Language: English)
didn't like itit was okliked itloved itit was amazing
 Good reading, but so very disturbing.
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