Turns out I’ve read most of these stories before, but it makes sense to repackage them here for their gothic themes and add a pleasing cover. My hope springs eternal, with each new edition, that Sade gets placed in his rightful political context, his radical philosophy that’s more dangerous than any pornography.
For example, in “Eugénie de Franval,” you get people who bail at “ugh, incest” (which: fair) without ever making the connection that for dozens and dozens of pages Sade is setting up the parallels of a god that would supposedly create in his image and then confine his creation to an infantile, subservient existence, call it love, and give free reign to a government that exploits that theology to oppress its citizens. If incest sickens us, then why are we not disturbed by that? And so on, using individual cruelty to illustrate the cruelty of church and state, ripping at the seams of civility and rattling the chains.
I relish Sade for his boldness; I’m disturbed by Sade for the same. If Justine or Juliette is too daunting, then his short stories are an adequate aperitif. (Although Philosophy in the Bedroom is still the best introduction to Sade’s themes, IMO.)
ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.