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Sabine
“This book is The Secret History meets Interview with the Vampire. It’s campy, creepy, sensational fun that’s hardly life-sucking” (Daily Candy).
A sensual and Gothic tale of obsession and sexual awakening, Sabine “was deemed so scandalous by its author that she refused to put her name to it. But despite its lusty content, the real shock is the scary secret unearthed toward the end” (Reveal).
It is the 1950s and existentialism is flourishing in Paris. But Viola, a seventeen-year-old English girl, is languishing in an elite boarding school in the dull French countryside. Under the distracted tutelage of Aimée, the students lounge about the crumbling gray château playing records and smoking Gitanes, awaiting the arrival of some suitable distraction.
Then a new teacher arrives—Sabine—with her long, tanned legs and mane of golden hair. Sabine questions everything and challenges the girls to look at their world anew. Passion strikes Viola. But there are sinister forces at play in the château and when Sabine becomes ill with a blood disorder, Viola uncovers a dangerous secret . . .
In this “irresistible gothic potboiler . . . the anonymous author of this ardent girl-for-girl romance evokes the mesmerizing quality of a dream at dusk, meshed with an appropriately overheated, breathless, and hormone-driven narrative voice” (Booklist).
“A.P. writes superbly, whoever she or he may be . . . Sabine is an enchanting novel that deserves to be a cult classic.” —The Daily Telegraph
“Anonymous A.P marvelously re-creates the hormonal anguish of the fey teenagers.” —Publishers Weekly
“A sexy, Gothic tale.” —Harpers & Queen
“Remarkable . . . creepy.” —Kirkus Reviews
A sensual and Gothic tale of obsession and sexual awakening, Sabine “was deemed so scandalous by its author that she refused to put her name to it. But despite its lusty content, the real shock is the scary secret unearthed toward the end” (Reveal).
It is the 1950s and existentialism is flourishing in Paris. But Viola, a seventeen-year-old English girl, is languishing in an elite boarding school in the dull French countryside. Under the distracted tutelage of Aimée, the students lounge about the crumbling gray château playing records and smoking Gitanes, awaiting the arrival of some suitable distraction.
Then a new teacher arrives—Sabine—with her long, tanned legs and mane of golden hair. Sabine questions everything and challenges the girls to look at their world anew. Passion strikes Viola. But there are sinister forces at play in the château and when Sabine becomes ill with a blood disorder, Viola uncovers a dangerous secret . . .
In this “irresistible gothic potboiler . . . the anonymous author of this ardent girl-for-girl romance evokes the mesmerizing quality of a dream at dusk, meshed with an appropriately overheated, breathless, and hormone-driven narrative voice” (Booklist).
“A.P. writes superbly, whoever she or he may be . . . Sabine is an enchanting novel that deserves to be a cult classic.” —The Daily Telegraph
“Anonymous A.P marvelously re-creates the hormonal anguish of the fey teenagers.” —Publishers Weekly
“A sexy, Gothic tale.” —Harpers & Queen
“Remarkable . . . creepy.” —Kirkus Reviews
228 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2005
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207 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
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April 13, 2018DNF at page 43.
I made myself hold out until the titular character arrived on the scene, to see is she livened things up, but so far she's only been described at a remove by our so-dull main character, Viola. Why are all the people in this so very, very bored? They have money and books and parties and shopping and friends? Go read some more Racine, you useless spoiled brats. Or develop some interior resources.
I made myself hold out until the titular character arrived on the scene, to see is she livened things up, but so far she's only been described at a remove by our so-dull main character, Viola. Why are all the people in this so very, very bored? They have money and books and parties and shopping and friends? Go read some more Racine, you useless spoiled brats. Or develop some interior resources.
July 28, 2009
A. P., Sabine (Black Cat, 2005)
Various blurbs on the cover of Sabine describe it as sexy, provocative, creepy, and scandalous, and the jacket copy adds gothic to the mix. Which is, I guess, accurate, as long as your definition of “gothic” doesn't include any of the stuff that makes gothic novels so wonderful (atmosphere, strong characters, a sense of impending doom matched only by hardboiled noir novels) but keeps the things that make so many of them so deadly dull (plodding language, absence of pace, that magical soporific quality so hard to quantify).
Viola is an upper-class seventeen-year-old British girl attending an exclusive French boarding school. Okay, perhaps “exclusive” isn't the right word; there are only five students, but that may be because Tante Aimee, the proprietress, is a little lax in her duties as headmistress, at least as we see her through Viola's jaundiced eye. The parlor is always dusty, the teacher old and absentminded, etc. All that changes, however, when Aimee replaces the teacher with Sabine, a first-year medical student trying to earn some money to help with her tuition. While Viola initially finds Sabine to be somewhat off-putting, one day something snaps within her, and she falls in love. All goes well until Sabine unexpectedly falls ill, and in comes the gothic element: Viola becomes convinced that Sabine is under attack from a vampire. But who—her other suitor, Roland? Aimee? Roland's ice-queen of a mother?
First off, the supposedly erotic element. It's there, but even the book's defenders acknowledge that perhaps the blurbs overdo it a bit. I'd say that's something of an understatement, especially in a book coming from Grove Press' infamous Black Cat imprint; I've read sexier books that were written for teens. Young teens. I assume the truly amazing amount of sublimation here is what's supposed to make it erotic, but instead it just feels repressed. (I'm sure that it's no coincidence the book is set in the fifties, given that.) There are erotic authors who do this sort of thing exceptionally well (both Patrick McGrath and William Kotzwinkle, in their early careers, qualify here), but this doesn't really hold up to the big dogs in that regard. As for the horror angle, Publishers Weekly said of this that the book devolves into high camp at this point. I think they meant it as a compliment; when I echo it, I don't. It's far too overwrought and silly given that our narrator is supposed to be recounting these events almost fifty years later, and what I assume are little pieces put in for veracity (“oh, I said this earlier, but I didn't mean it, because what I'm about to relate gives lie to it”) make me understand once and for all why the best dialogue writers write stuff that kind of sounds like real dialogue, but that really isn't; these bits are just annoying.
I can't think of anything at all good to say about this book, in fact, other than that it's not so badly-written that I didn't abandon it altogether. Granted, it took me seven months to force my way through it, but it never got so bad that I just threw it under the couch and forgot about it. That's got to count for something, I guess. *
Various blurbs on the cover of Sabine describe it as sexy, provocative, creepy, and scandalous, and the jacket copy adds gothic to the mix. Which is, I guess, accurate, as long as your definition of “gothic” doesn't include any of the stuff that makes gothic novels so wonderful (atmosphere, strong characters, a sense of impending doom matched only by hardboiled noir novels) but keeps the things that make so many of them so deadly dull (plodding language, absence of pace, that magical soporific quality so hard to quantify).
Viola is an upper-class seventeen-year-old British girl attending an exclusive French boarding school. Okay, perhaps “exclusive” isn't the right word; there are only five students, but that may be because Tante Aimee, the proprietress, is a little lax in her duties as headmistress, at least as we see her through Viola's jaundiced eye. The parlor is always dusty, the teacher old and absentminded, etc. All that changes, however, when Aimee replaces the teacher with Sabine, a first-year medical student trying to earn some money to help with her tuition. While Viola initially finds Sabine to be somewhat off-putting, one day something snaps within her, and she falls in love. All goes well until Sabine unexpectedly falls ill, and in comes the gothic element: Viola becomes convinced that Sabine is under attack from a vampire. But who—her other suitor, Roland? Aimee? Roland's ice-queen of a mother?
First off, the supposedly erotic element. It's there, but even the book's defenders acknowledge that perhaps the blurbs overdo it a bit. I'd say that's something of an understatement, especially in a book coming from Grove Press' infamous Black Cat imprint; I've read sexier books that were written for teens. Young teens. I assume the truly amazing amount of sublimation here is what's supposed to make it erotic, but instead it just feels repressed. (I'm sure that it's no coincidence the book is set in the fifties, given that.) There are erotic authors who do this sort of thing exceptionally well (both Patrick McGrath and William Kotzwinkle, in their early careers, qualify here), but this doesn't really hold up to the big dogs in that regard. As for the horror angle, Publishers Weekly said of this that the book devolves into high camp at this point. I think they meant it as a compliment; when I echo it, I don't. It's far too overwrought and silly given that our narrator is supposed to be recounting these events almost fifty years later, and what I assume are little pieces put in for veracity (“oh, I said this earlier, but I didn't mean it, because what I'm about to relate gives lie to it”) make me understand once and for all why the best dialogue writers write stuff that kind of sounds like real dialogue, but that really isn't; these bits are just annoying.
I can't think of anything at all good to say about this book, in fact, other than that it's not so badly-written that I didn't abandon it altogether. Granted, it took me seven months to force my way through it, but it never got so bad that I just threw it under the couch and forgot about it. That's got to count for something, I guess. *
August 14, 2010
There's a ruling of the European Court of Justice that says if a novel is about bored rich teen girls at French or British boarding schools (and a fortiori in the Juliette Greco era), there must be both lesbians and vampires. This is part of the EU acquis communataire--- you can't join the EU unless you incorporate this into national law. "Sabine" starts off promising both lesbianism and vampires and fails to follow through. Brussels must take immediate steps to sanction the author. It's the law.
May 9, 2020
Ho letto quasi solo commenti negativi su questo libro. Devo dire che fino a metà non è poi così male. C'è questo collegio femminile in Francia anni '50 gestito da una donna che a quei tempi poteva esser definita già attempata mentre adesso sarebbe nel pieno della sua femminilità. Aimée, definita come una sorta di guardona, una donna che soddisfa i suoi desideri guardando e favorendo gli incontri affettivi delle sue allieve, certo senza mai permettere che si spingano oltre. Poi arriva nella scuola Sabine, una nuova insegnate, fra lei e la narratrice della storia inizia un legame intimo che allontana la protagonista dagli incontri con l'altro sesso. Poi un ballo, una serata satura di gelosie, e tutto cambia. Sabine si sente male. Sabine è anemica. Sabine ha sul collo due piccoli fori... ecco, mi chiedo io, perché? Cosa c'entrano i vampiri in questa storia quando l'unica vera ragione era l'allontanamento da una relazione saffica per una più convenzionale? A svilire ancor di più il racconto sono poi tutta la solita carrellata di stereotipi sui vampiri, aglio, paletti, croci, pipistrelli e gatti neri. Un finale da dimenticare.
June 28, 2009
This is one of those stories that left almost no impression with me, neither good nor bad, neither inventive nor boring, also thanks to its short volume. The end was surprising, enough, though there were one or two scenes which already made me suspicious. A nice reading, no more, no less.
May 20, 2009
Totally horrible and unfocused book. Use it for campfire fodder!
April 30, 2022
I want to give it a higher rating but when I ask myself why, I come up with nothing. 2.5 stars.
The book is utterly dull until about halfway through. The “sexual awakening” of Viola was short-lived (and I won’t even discuss that it was just blindly accepted in 1950s France) and the subversive nature was barely present.
I actually enjoyed most of the shapelessness of the prose, although it can make it difficult to follow the story at times. The author attempted to make interesting points about sexuality, social class, etc., but never leaned into the topics enough to actually leave an impact.
For a short book, it took me longer to read than expected because it was largely aimless until near the end. The ending was unexpected but also anticlimactic.
I think if the author had a mentor and some more experience, there could be something there with the unconventional prose and inkling of subversive material. But as it stands, this book will not stick with me and will likely gather dust on the shelf instead.
The book is utterly dull until about halfway through. The “sexual awakening” of Viola was short-lived (and I won’t even discuss that it was just blindly accepted in 1950s France) and the subversive nature was barely present.
I actually enjoyed most of the shapelessness of the prose, although it can make it difficult to follow the story at times. The author attempted to make interesting points about sexuality, social class, etc., but never leaned into the topics enough to actually leave an impact.
For a short book, it took me longer to read than expected because it was largely aimless until near the end. The ending was unexpected but also anticlimactic.
I think if the author had a mentor and some more experience, there could be something there with the unconventional prose and inkling of subversive material. But as it stands, this book will not stick with me and will likely gather dust on the shelf instead.
December 17, 2024
Atmospheric? Yes, Sexy? Not in the least.
I wanted to enjoy Sabine because it includes my two favorite things, lesbians and vampires. However I was disappointed. The first few chapters are compelling, we learn about the narrator’s life at a french boarding school and her hobbies: chain smoking and getting into mischief with her peers. It seemed that with the introduction of “Sabine” (a young tomboy teacher) the narrative would be filled with yearning and passion between them in a forbidden vampire romance for the ages! That was not the case, there was very little focus on the actual romance and it felt like there was barely any reason for them to be “together”. At one point the main character stays at her teachers house for months where they live with the teachers mom? and no one questions this?
The middle and later part of the book is a vampire hunting narrative that couldn’t keep my attention because of the lack of investment I felt in Sabine.
Two stars: one for lesbians, one for vampires. Zero stars for plot and romance.
I wanted to enjoy Sabine because it includes my two favorite things, lesbians and vampires. However I was disappointed. The first few chapters are compelling, we learn about the narrator’s life at a french boarding school and her hobbies: chain smoking and getting into mischief with her peers. It seemed that with the introduction of “Sabine” (a young tomboy teacher) the narrative would be filled with yearning and passion between them in a forbidden vampire romance for the ages! That was not the case, there was very little focus on the actual romance and it felt like there was barely any reason for them to be “together”. At one point the main character stays at her teachers house for months where they live with the teachers mom? and no one questions this?
The middle and later part of the book is a vampire hunting narrative that couldn’t keep my attention because of the lack of investment I felt in Sabine.
Two stars: one for lesbians, one for vampires. Zero stars for plot and romance.
June 7, 2025
La prima parte è noiosa e irritante come poche cose al mondo, pagine infinite di questi irrealistici e anacronistici adolescenti inglesi spocchiosi che fumano e namedroppano una serie di filosofi francesi (senza mai accennare ai contenuti ma solo al nome) perché fa atmosfera intellettuale dark academia, infatti vedo un sacco di DNF verso la pagina 50/55 e ha senso, penso che quel pezzo iniziale sia l’apice della noia ed ero a tanto così da mollare anche io.
La prima parte si poteva tranquillamente tagliare o accorciare di molto. Diventa più divertente poi appena subentra l’elemento soprannaturale/gotico e molto più wtf anche se speravo (da come viene descritto nel quarto di copertina) che spingesse molto di più sulla relazione queer, cosa che in realtà non rende perché non solo diventa subito completamente one sided ma tra Viola e Sabine c’è chimica come ce n’è tra un tosaerba e un manuale di montaggio per un comodino Ikea.
Tre stelle oneste solo per il plot twist alla fine ma poteva essere scritto molto molto meglio
La prima parte si poteva tranquillamente tagliare o accorciare di molto. Diventa più divertente poi appena subentra l’elemento soprannaturale/gotico e molto più wtf anche se speravo (da come viene descritto nel quarto di copertina) che spingesse molto di più sulla relazione queer, cosa che in realtà non rende perché non solo diventa subito completamente one sided ma tra Viola e Sabine c’è chimica come ce n’è tra un tosaerba e un manuale di montaggio per un comodino Ikea.
Tre stelle oneste solo per il plot twist alla fine ma poteva essere scritto molto molto meglio
January 16, 2020
DNF. The prose reads like a a poor translation... but I’m pretty sure it was written in English so that’s just how it was written? Hard to follow and Viola just wasn’t intriguing like I expected. The book’s descriptions far overdo the actual plot. I was excited after finding this in a Free Little Library but sadly it bored me and as it was hard to read I didn’t care to continue. Maybe it gets better but if it didn’t captivate me in the first 100 pages, why bother
May 22, 2018
2.5 stars. Still not sure what to make of this one. It promises so much & fails to deliver on almost all accounts. Too much tedium & too little focus on the parts that I would have liked to know more about.
February 7, 2019
My anticipation for what this book about and what it was actually about could not have been more different. In the end, this book that was secretly about a lesbian falling in love with a straight girl and also vampires, is the most lesbian book I’ve ever read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 15, 2017
Un romanzo tutto allusioni senza la potenza del linguaggio allusivo. Eventi e narrazione evaporano tra le righe: una vera occasione. Davvero sprecata.
Read
May 16, 2020Hard to classify this one. Just reading the description makes me want to read this again.
October 3, 2023
Dnf at page 53. Had high expectations but this book just turned out to be boring.
Read
September 10, 2024DNF, stopped 55 pages in. The writing was horrible and it was so challenging to follow. It read like translated text but I don’t think it was?
July 28, 2025
Not actually erotic or thrilling but fun nonetheless
August 19, 2011
Well, there's three hours of my life that I will never get back. Oh, it was so wordy and my eyes just kept glazing over huge sections. Finally got a little interesting about 150 pages in, if briefly. And then the ending WAS a huge surprise. But for the most part, this was really not at all gripping. The writing was just so... I don't know. Not really 'heavy', but it was almost all description with precious little dialogue and it just became wearying after a while!
May 5, 2015
Not very sexy nor particularly thrilling, whatever the back cover says, but a wonderful homage to les pulps and a nice play at the old vampire trope too. The writing, I thought, is very reminiscent of Nabokov in Lolita -- all that scattered French and yearning and philosophizing and word play-- a couple of passages keep especially close to the rhythm of it.
I am very curious to know just who AP is because I liked this book a lot and would like to read more from the author.
I am very curious to know just who AP is because I liked this book a lot and would like to read more from the author.
June 28, 2008
The book was interesting, and a VERY quick read. I LOVE that the author managed to non-chalantly mention Schumacher and Formula One. I was disappointed by the ending. It sort of seemed like the author was ready to be done writing the book for whatever reason, and slapped together an ending.
April 29, 2015
I thought this was supposed to be The Moth Diaries-ish. I was wrong. It wasn't even ~sexy like everything on the covers suggested.
August 22, 2014
I desperately wanted this book to be good. It wasn't. I won't ever get these hours of reading time back and therefore don't want to waste any more time talking about how horrendous the book is, except for this one point; IT'S TERRIBLE!!!!!
January 3, 2009
Beautifully written. The air of tragedy was palpable without being maudlin.
February 25, 2009
A very clever book about vampires - nicely written.
October 14, 2010
The last five pages make it totally worthwhile; if I read books more than once I would re-read this one.
January 7, 2016
Disappointingly dull. And I was able to guess the shock ending before it happened, which is something I'm very rarely able to do.
January 5, 2024
What a beautifully written Gothic tale that felt like a mix of The Moth Diaries and Olivia. The ending twist was phenomenal as well.
March 8, 2012
So boring I couldn't even get halfway through it.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews