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Auletris: Erotica
Previously unpublished erotica by Anais Nin. After remaining hidden for more than 65 years, the story "Life in Provincetown" and the original, unedited version of "Marcel" were discovered after five copies were illegally printed in 1950 and sold to private collectors. Prime Nin erotica in its original form.
74 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 15, 2016
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324 people want to read
About the author
Anaïs Nin
355 books8,925 followersWriter and diarist, born in Paris to a Catalan father and a Danish mother, Anaïs Nin spent many of her early years with Cuban relatives. Later a naturalized American citizen, she lived and worked in Paris, New York and Los Angeles. Author of avant-garde novels in the French surrealistic style and collections of erotica, she is best known for her life and times in The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Volumes I-VII (1966-1980).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ana%C3%...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ana%C3%...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
November 6, 2016
I must admit I was a little nervous about reading this recently discovered collection of Anais Nin stories because sometimes stories are unpublished for a reason. So I was pleasantly surprised to discover that these stories are as captivating as those in Little Birds and Delta of Venus.
Nin explores even stranger territories, taking characters to the final frontiers of desire. I can never tire of her eloquent and sensuous use of language, her understanding of deviant behaviour and lustful longing and how she can make voyeurism decent and perverted experiences pleasurable.
Congratulations to Paul Herron for unearthing these stories and making sure that they see the light of day.
Nin explores even stranger territories, taking characters to the final frontiers of desire. I can never tire of her eloquent and sensuous use of language, her understanding of deviant behaviour and lustful longing and how she can make voyeurism decent and perverted experiences pleasurable.
Congratulations to Paul Herron for unearthing these stories and making sure that they see the light of day.
April 22, 2019
In Auletris we are given a particular gift; Nin at her most unedited. We get dreamy visions, purple prose, languid perfumed sentences that very acutely appear to be trains of thought specifically conjured for the erotica collector who was paying her.
This gives the work a very human feel, with almost a nervous energy, as if an artful storyteller was pushed to make up something on the spot at a party. The craft is there, but many of the tools she uses seem to be missing. You can almost hear the “ums” and pauses as she thinks up what comes next.
Knowing Nin and her process, from reading all of her diaries, a few biographies, and so on, I know she is an iterative writer. The first draft is just a rough starting point. Her work is rewritten and reworked and edited by her and by her publishers and often by lovers and friends.
The main story in Auletris, Life in Provincetown, seems raw and almost handwritten, if that makes sense. There is a lovely feeling of seeing virgin text, but also a lot of crude sentences, odd plot structures, and sometimes just nonsense.
“She was honeyed and golden now, like some precious honey.”
It’s difficult to find that line anything but an awkward ramble. Something that would have been picked up and fixed in the next round. There are a few bits like this as well as some repeated lines and other blatant errors.
There are also a few problematic bits, like her oft used “like a negress” as an indicator of wildness or uninhibitedness. There is a brief bit where an adult man convinces a preteen girl to touch his penis, for which she comments “sure I do it for my father every morning.”
Still, I was amused and found myself pulled into many passages and little subplots. The main story is about a woman, an artist model, who lives in Provincetown and sleeps with almost everyone in town. She is beautiful, with a huge sensual mouth, and she had various sexual adventures. The story then follows various other people in her little neighborhood. The adventures range from sweet, to hot, to downright weird, to terrifying (rape in a concentration camp.) The story ends abruptly, as if the last pages were missing, which very well might be the case.
There is something distinctly femme in these two stories. There is also very strong attraction to men and women in descriptions. It also shows enjoyment of the body in terms and specifics that are often overlooked today. The soft feel of the lush hair on a woman’s legs. Delight in the “fine down” around the nipples. The sometimes overpowering scents of someone’s sex or sweat.
More than any of the stories in Delta of Venus or Little Birds, this work seems the most transaction, if that is the word. There is little of the elegance of stories like The Hungarian Adventurer. It is simple and that simplicity lends itself to seeing past the rather limited plot to the raw words. This is a wonderful writer trying hard to pump out some smut for a collector so she can get money to pay the rent. Perhaps that’s what connects with me the most.
I enjoyed it for what it was. Two unpolished stories from a writer I love.
This gives the work a very human feel, with almost a nervous energy, as if an artful storyteller was pushed to make up something on the spot at a party. The craft is there, but many of the tools she uses seem to be missing. You can almost hear the “ums” and pauses as she thinks up what comes next.
Knowing Nin and her process, from reading all of her diaries, a few biographies, and so on, I know she is an iterative writer. The first draft is just a rough starting point. Her work is rewritten and reworked and edited by her and by her publishers and often by lovers and friends.
The main story in Auletris, Life in Provincetown, seems raw and almost handwritten, if that makes sense. There is a lovely feeling of seeing virgin text, but also a lot of crude sentences, odd plot structures, and sometimes just nonsense.
“She was honeyed and golden now, like some precious honey.”
It’s difficult to find that line anything but an awkward ramble. Something that would have been picked up and fixed in the next round. There are a few bits like this as well as some repeated lines and other blatant errors.
There are also a few problematic bits, like her oft used “like a negress” as an indicator of wildness or uninhibitedness. There is a brief bit where an adult man convinces a preteen girl to touch his penis, for which she comments “sure I do it for my father every morning.”
Still, I was amused and found myself pulled into many passages and little subplots. The main story is about a woman, an artist model, who lives in Provincetown and sleeps with almost everyone in town. She is beautiful, with a huge sensual mouth, and she had various sexual adventures. The story then follows various other people in her little neighborhood. The adventures range from sweet, to hot, to downright weird, to terrifying (rape in a concentration camp.) The story ends abruptly, as if the last pages were missing, which very well might be the case.
There is something distinctly femme in these two stories. There is also very strong attraction to men and women in descriptions. It also shows enjoyment of the body in terms and specifics that are often overlooked today. The soft feel of the lush hair on a woman’s legs. Delight in the “fine down” around the nipples. The sometimes overpowering scents of someone’s sex or sweat.
More than any of the stories in Delta of Venus or Little Birds, this work seems the most transaction, if that is the word. There is little of the elegance of stories like The Hungarian Adventurer. It is simple and that simplicity lends itself to seeing past the rather limited plot to the raw words. This is a wonderful writer trying hard to pump out some smut for a collector so she can get money to pay the rent. Perhaps that’s what connects with me the most.
I enjoyed it for what it was. Two unpolished stories from a writer I love.
November 11, 2016
"Auletris" is actually the first Anais Nin erotica I have ever read. I've read most of her diaries and two of her novels, "House of Incest" and "Winter of Artifice," but not her widely-known erotica books, "Delta of Venus" and "Little Birds." I've always felt that Nin's diaries could hold their own among the best literary novels, and "Auletris" proves this applies to her erotica as well.
"Auletris" consists of two parts - "Life in Provincetown" and "Marcel." These parts contain several stories within each. "Life in Provincetown" takes place in a fishing town where artists lead sexually liberated lifestyles. Families who also live there complain when the artists do things like sunbathe in the nude, but to no avail, as the artists will not be forced to change their ways. Nin skillfully interweaves these characters within all these stories and also in the stories of "Marcel." Her trademark of describing settings in sensual and detailed manners remains.
The stories in "Auletris" show Nin as a master of suspense. many conclude in twists that shock and lead us where we never expect. Most of the stories feature sexual taboos - you name the taboo, and it's in at least one of these stories! Some of the twists are an erotic encounter culminating in a sexual taboo, so prepare to be shocked.
In "Auletris," one can see why Nin is a pioneer of modern day erotica. She is fearless in exploring every aspect of sexuality. But "Auletris" also shows the pride and care she takes in creating her characters and stories. She doesn't write erotica solely to arouse. Instead, she crafts complete tales where the reader is brought into her characters' outer and inner worlds. "Auletris" is the type of book that needs to be read more than once. I've found my favorite parts, and I believe I will be rereading them on a regular basis!
"Auletris" consists of two parts - "Life in Provincetown" and "Marcel." These parts contain several stories within each. "Life in Provincetown" takes place in a fishing town where artists lead sexually liberated lifestyles. Families who also live there complain when the artists do things like sunbathe in the nude, but to no avail, as the artists will not be forced to change their ways. Nin skillfully interweaves these characters within all these stories and also in the stories of "Marcel." Her trademark of describing settings in sensual and detailed manners remains.
The stories in "Auletris" show Nin as a master of suspense. many conclude in twists that shock and lead us where we never expect. Most of the stories feature sexual taboos - you name the taboo, and it's in at least one of these stories! Some of the twists are an erotic encounter culminating in a sexual taboo, so prepare to be shocked.
In "Auletris," one can see why Nin is a pioneer of modern day erotica. She is fearless in exploring every aspect of sexuality. But "Auletris" also shows the pride and care she takes in creating her characters and stories. She doesn't write erotica solely to arouse. Instead, she crafts complete tales where the reader is brought into her characters' outer and inner worlds. "Auletris" is the type of book that needs to be read more than once. I've found my favorite parts, and I believe I will be rereading them on a regular basis!
July 7, 2017
I picked up this book while at work and I knew I would not be disappointed with Anais Nin. However, this book was not for me. Reading the beginning of the first story about the life of the people in Provincetown was excellent. The plot concerning the Portuguese fisherman and the woman of the night was great. I liked the aspect of the story where the two had misconceptions of what the other could offer each other. The man never thought he could be enough. She was insatiable. He did not think he would be special to her. "He could not bring himself to take this body which belonged to everyone and could enjoy anyone's caresses equally. That held him back". And the lady thought that he was all she needed. She could sense his vigor in the bed, but she had to break down his resistance. To attract him she was willing to give up her lifestyle. That's someone who likes a person and wants to be with him.
The story was great until it got the aspect of the woman's second admirer, Pietro. He admired her from afar but when he engaged in a sexual act with a child that immediately brought the rating of this book to a one. Anything involving children with adults sickens me. I know this was a taboo book but that was going too far for me. After that incident, my interest in the book dwindled. In fact, there were two incidences with children being either used for sexual gratification or being an object for voyeurism. Not my style.
The author talked of taboo sexual acts and desires that are commonplace now. To think that people did that in the 1940's is unthinkable. It just proves that there is nothing new under the sun. This author usually does not disappoint but this was one of the times. I truly cannot recommend this book.
The story was great until it got the aspect of the woman's second admirer, Pietro. He admired her from afar but when he engaged in a sexual act with a child that immediately brought the rating of this book to a one. Anything involving children with adults sickens me. I know this was a taboo book but that was going too far for me. After that incident, my interest in the book dwindled. In fact, there were two incidences with children being either used for sexual gratification or being an object for voyeurism. Not my style.
The author talked of taboo sexual acts and desires that are commonplace now. To think that people did that in the 1940's is unthinkable. It just proves that there is nothing new under the sun. This author usually does not disappoint but this was one of the times. I truly cannot recommend this book.
December 29, 2018
comme tjs avec Anaïs Nin, du porno de qualité supérieure !
November 17, 2025
Voluttuose flautiste goyesche, dalle sanguinolente labbra, dispiegano barocchi drappeggi carnali per l’umida baia di Provincetown e i boulevard parigini e i café newyorkesi, trascinandosi effluvi di sensualità e fatalità.
Pollicine, moire, anfisbene erotiche e calamitose, imbandiscono promiscui sabba profetici.
La carne è cedevole, liquida come languidi occhi supplichevoli.
Camelie cinabre si aprono impudiche e gaudenti tra spine dorate.
Monti innevati si avvallano pruriginosi ed ebbri.
Cascate licenziose scorrono seriche.
Coiti marini si divincolano dalla mediocrità, tra sordide pellicce e baldanzosi talismani, mentre lubrici e alchemici sospiri si innalzano come sacri canti, inebriati di sirena.
La carne, sospesa nell’aria, si fa etere, volteggiando sinuosa verso l’iperuranio.
Pollicine, moire, anfisbene erotiche e calamitose, imbandiscono promiscui sabba profetici.
La carne è cedevole, liquida come languidi occhi supplichevoli.
Camelie cinabre si aprono impudiche e gaudenti tra spine dorate.
Monti innevati si avvallano pruriginosi ed ebbri.
Cascate licenziose scorrono seriche.
Coiti marini si divincolano dalla mediocrità, tra sordide pellicce e baldanzosi talismani, mentre lubrici e alchemici sospiri si innalzano come sacri canti, inebriati di sirena.
La carne, sospesa nell’aria, si fa etere, volteggiando sinuosa verso l’iperuranio.
August 27, 2018
The first half of this slim collection of stories was written in the style of her Delta and Little Birds books, while the second is more akin to her natural journaling style. The disparity between the more straightforward "porn" and the poetic prose is somewhat jarring but it really illustrates how she approached the whole dollar-per-page writing for the private porn collector vs how she wrote for herself. Some of the scenarios in the Provincetown stories are charming in their peculiarities while others are off putting or even disgusting. It's clear she was constantly searching for sexual situations the collector had not previously encountered. Just when I thought I couldn't stomach anymore, the book switched over to the more classic Nin oeuvre, luckily. Many of the characters she describes in the Marcel portion are thinly disguised persons from her real life, which of course is fun to discover as a fan of her work. It's really these stories that make the book worth reading. I definitely enjoyed this collection more than the White Stains book, which I suspect contains some stories not actually authored by Nin.
November 21, 2018
I read the beginning which was alright and very descriptive and beautiful per usual of her however it does reach a graphic & sexual part involving a child and had I known about this beforehand, I would’ve never picked the book up. I know Anaïs used to write erotica for money and whoever she was writing it for would make requests for different stories, if I recall correctly. I wonder if this story was actually a reflection of her personal relationship with her father as a child. It’s no secret she slept with him as an adult so..wouldn’t be far fetched. Anyway, yeah I don’t recommend this book.
February 6, 2025
J’ai terminé Auletris d’Anais Nin avec un profond malaise. Ce recueil ne m’a pas semblé une simple œuvre érotique, mais plutôt une glorification de la pédophilie et de pratiques sexuelles essentiellement coercitives et non consensuelles. Là où on pourrait s’attendre à une exploration de la sensualité et du désir, on trouve plutôt des récits qui dépassent largement les limites de ce qui est moralement acceptable.
Si la littérature peut parfois transgresser pour questionner, provoquer ou dénoncer, ce n’est pas le cas ici. La narration ne pose aucun regard critique sur des dynamiques abusives, ce qui donne l’impression d’une complaisance ahurissante. Loin d’être subversifs ou libérateurs, ces récits soulèvent des questions morales incontournables sur la responsabilité de l’autrice - mais surtout de l’éditeur - et la place de telles œuvres dans le corpus littéraire.
Selon la préface, Anaïs Nin elle-même ne prenait pas ces récits au sérieux. De son vivant, elle qualifiait cette production de prostitution littéraire, expliquant qu’elle écrivait sous la pression d’un riche client qui la payait au texte et qu’elle avait adopté un style emprunté à celui des hommes [de l’époque]. Ces textes n’étaient donc, à ses yeux, qu’un travail alimentaire qu’elle avait choisi ne pas publier. « Nin, qui déprécie ses écrits erotiques en considérant qu’ils ne sont qu’une imitation de pornographes masculins, met son veto à la publication de cette partie de son œuvre, craignant que cela écorne son image d’écrivain. » Pourtant, son éditeur aura quand même choisi de les publier à titre posthume, après qu’il ait persévéré et fini par persuader l’autrice qu’elle faisait erreur (alors qu’elle perdait sa lutte contre le cancer), que « son œuvre n’imite en rien la prose masculine, qu’elle est profondément féminine ». Certes. Un vrai consentement libre et éclairé!
Au-delà du contenu profondément dérangeant de Auletris, cette publication posthume pose une question plus large : peut-on légitimement diffuser des oeuvres qu’une autrice ne considérait pas comme représentatives de son travail ? En agissant ainsi, l’éditeur aura contribué à une lecture erronée des écrits de Nin, la réduisant à des textes qu’elle même semblait rejeter, avec raison.
Si la littérature peut parfois transgresser pour questionner, provoquer ou dénoncer, ce n’est pas le cas ici. La narration ne pose aucun regard critique sur des dynamiques abusives, ce qui donne l’impression d’une complaisance ahurissante. Loin d’être subversifs ou libérateurs, ces récits soulèvent des questions morales incontournables sur la responsabilité de l’autrice - mais surtout de l’éditeur - et la place de telles œuvres dans le corpus littéraire.
Selon la préface, Anaïs Nin elle-même ne prenait pas ces récits au sérieux. De son vivant, elle qualifiait cette production de prostitution littéraire, expliquant qu’elle écrivait sous la pression d’un riche client qui la payait au texte et qu’elle avait adopté un style emprunté à celui des hommes [de l’époque]. Ces textes n’étaient donc, à ses yeux, qu’un travail alimentaire qu’elle avait choisi ne pas publier. « Nin, qui déprécie ses écrits erotiques en considérant qu’ils ne sont qu’une imitation de pornographes masculins, met son veto à la publication de cette partie de son œuvre, craignant que cela écorne son image d’écrivain. » Pourtant, son éditeur aura quand même choisi de les publier à titre posthume, après qu’il ait persévéré et fini par persuader l’autrice qu’elle faisait erreur (alors qu’elle perdait sa lutte contre le cancer), que « son œuvre n’imite en rien la prose masculine, qu’elle est profondément féminine ». Certes. Un vrai consentement libre et éclairé!
Au-delà du contenu profondément dérangeant de Auletris, cette publication posthume pose une question plus large : peut-on légitimement diffuser des oeuvres qu’une autrice ne considérait pas comme représentatives de son travail ? En agissant ainsi, l’éditeur aura contribué à une lecture erronée des écrits de Nin, la réduisant à des textes qu’elle même semblait rejeter, avec raison.
November 5, 2025
I love her writing style, but I feel divided on her themes of erotica
July 7, 2022
Una serie di racconti erotici che ad un occhio estraneo potrebbero tranquillamente risultare banali, ma che intrinsecamente portano avanti emozioni, vissuti e sensazioni della stessa autrice. Anaïs Nin ha esattamente questa caratteristica: non tradisce ciò che sente. Questo trasuda da ogni pagina di qualsiasi suo romanzo. Sicuramente a questo libro va affiancata la lettura dei diari di Anaïs, come "Incesto" o "La Voce" per comprenderlo al meglio senza lasciarsi sconvolgere dall'esplicità della narrazione.
November 24, 2019
Elegantly described nasty sex. Newly discovered erotica by the mistress of erotica. If this is your boat it will definitely float it.
June 29, 2024
Absolutely wild, happy pride.
January 18, 2018
It was a pleasant surprise to find out that this new collection existed, and for me it was on par with Little Birds and Delta of Venus. Definitely the same back-and-forth of fun, sexy writing and tooootally not-sexy stuff with bad racial overtones or awful child stuff. I guess such is the way of Nin? But overall the reading experience is always memorable, with nobody else quite like her.
February 9, 2023
I love a good erotic story, and
Auletris: Erotica
by Anaïs Nin promised that. It is a collection of two stories, the first a tantalising one, you could even get turned on reading/listening to it. For a mid-20th-century story, it is bold and sets a platform for female erotica writers. Why female? Because the world then was overly conservative and patriarchal, the women's emancipation (feminism nowadays) wave was sweeping across the globe like wildfire. So, yeah, the first story takes you to the height of erotic fantasies.
However, pushing it to have children characters having hardcore sex with adults is a no-no, a culture that should be expunged even in literature. All characters in erotica should be above the legal age. Some taboos should never be broken. Advocating for underage sex gives paedophiles an excuse to defile young girls (daughters, sisters, any other child) and rapists to get away with it. In the second story, one of the characters, Pietro, admires the female protagonist secretly, and he fantasises about her when having sex with a child. (The child talks of how her father does it to her.) It is a great book, exploring sexuality boldly, but bringing in paedophilia lowered the rating (and I a just magnanimous because I loved the first story); not the two stars I have given, but it deserves a negative rating.
Literature is indeed the mirror of society, and whatever is put in books reflects what is happening, but glorifying taboo subjects is normalising them even if they are commonplace. Wrong is wrong, and right is right, just because everyone is doing it, or something wrong is happening wantonly, it doesn't make it right.
However, pushing it to have children characters having hardcore sex with adults is a no-no, a culture that should be expunged even in literature. All characters in erotica should be above the legal age. Some taboos should never be broken. Advocating for underage sex gives paedophiles an excuse to defile young girls (daughters, sisters, any other child) and rapists to get away with it. In the second story, one of the characters, Pietro, admires the female protagonist secretly, and he fantasises about her when having sex with a child. (The child talks of how her father does it to her.) It is a great book, exploring sexuality boldly, but bringing in paedophilia lowered the rating (and I a just magnanimous because I loved the first story); not the two stars I have given, but it deserves a negative rating.
Literature is indeed the mirror of society, and whatever is put in books reflects what is happening, but glorifying taboo subjects is normalising them even if they are commonplace. Wrong is wrong, and right is right, just because everyone is doing it, or something wrong is happening wantonly, it doesn't make it right.
October 3, 2018
Oh my Beauties, it's Anais Nin. Ostensibly it's Anais Nin, the introduction (which is well-worth reading) mentions there may be some contention over whether this should be included in Ms. Nin's cannon (it wasn't originally). But I digress, Anais Nin was a pioneer in women's Erotica. But to enjoy these two stories, you're going to have to tuck your anger toward racism and misogyny into a giant, imepenatrable Faraday cage. You'll also be repeating the mantra "it was almost 70 years ago, that was the time" ALOT.
Now, it's a shame I have to say this, but I will because the world (at the least the US) has gone bat-shit crazy and our president is a racism and rape apologist: racism and misogyny were and are NEVER OKAY. Just because that's the way it was oh so many moons ago doesn't make it right or excusable. Full disclosure - I tapped out of the first story when one of the woman's lover's threatened to strangle her to death if she laughed during sex. Did I mention that old-school erotica doesn't come with trigger warnings? Yeah, it doesn't.
Why did I give this three stars, you ask? Because amid the offensive world-view there is some beautiful writing and again, Anais Nin was a pioneer who wrote about sex and sexual expression while it was still illegal to do so, and that deserves some props.
Still. Trigger Warnings include: un-negotiated kink, water sports (if that's not your thing), breathplay that's not breathplay but a legitimate threat, racist descriptions of people's physical characteristics, voyeurism without consent, a lot of sex without consent, and some guy fucking a pile of sand, which just sounds painful.
Now, it's a shame I have to say this, but I will because the world (at the least the US) has gone bat-shit crazy and our president is a racism and rape apologist: racism and misogyny were and are NEVER OKAY. Just because that's the way it was oh so many moons ago doesn't make it right or excusable. Full disclosure - I tapped out of the first story when one of the woman's lover's threatened to strangle her to death if she laughed during sex. Did I mention that old-school erotica doesn't come with trigger warnings? Yeah, it doesn't.
Why did I give this three stars, you ask? Because amid the offensive world-view there is some beautiful writing and again, Anais Nin was a pioneer who wrote about sex and sexual expression while it was still illegal to do so, and that deserves some props.
Still. Trigger Warnings include: un-negotiated kink, water sports (if that's not your thing), breathplay that's not breathplay but a legitimate threat, racist descriptions of people's physical characteristics, voyeurism without consent, a lot of sex without consent, and some guy fucking a pile of sand, which just sounds painful.
February 3, 2023
I loved this book for what it was, and what it was not. Lacking the polish of "Delta of Venus" or "Little Birds," the two longer erotic stories comprised in "Auletris" have the feeling of being unfinished, yet I loved that I could see the author's mind creating her communities of sexual explorers. It is a mind-opening little gem, provocative of course, as Anais Nin shows us what we're missing when we're sexually closed off. The first story, "Life in Provincetown," is the better-polished of the two, and offers an almost Utopian vision, in which lovers familiar to us form new partnerships as the story progresses. "Marcel" is far more in a preliminary state, as the reader can tell by reading the much shorter version in "Delta of Venus." The editor who was given Nin's short erotic fictions had to cull a great deal of chaff from the hodgepodge he was given to produce the masterpieces we are already familiar with and in "Marcel" the chaff remains. As a writer, and sometime editor, the process itself fascinates me, which I why I loved this little book as much as I do.
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February 16, 2025Anaïs Nin’s Auletris pushed boundaries in the 20th century by exploring themes of perversion and desire. So much so little of this was published in her life and she was already rather raw. Nin crafts an evocative narrative that fuses autobiographical elements with poetic imagery. Readers intimate with her work will appreciate her style and the intensity of her evocative prose. I was uncomfortable with a few parts of this. But, this is her last known moiety. Found supposedly posthumously.
Here she again distills her unique literary pedigree, challenging conventions while leaving a lasting mark on cultural discourse. This will less cutting. Her intrepid exploration of pleasure, outside norms, and pain continues to inspire and provoke uncomfortable thought, her legacy, as a groundbreaking voice in literature.
Here she again distills her unique literary pedigree, challenging conventions while leaving a lasting mark on cultural discourse. This will less cutting. Her intrepid exploration of pleasure, outside norms, and pain continues to inspire and provoke uncomfortable thought, her legacy, as a groundbreaking voice in literature.
November 14, 2016
Nearly two decades into the 21st century, we are inundated with literature that is erotic in a basic sense... And if one is looking for quick titillation, this may not be the place to find it. We read Nin for the poetic sensuality of her prose. There is always something to learn from her. Like her previously published erotic collections, this set of two stories is full of pleasurable moments, some that might be slightly uncomfortable to certain readers. The historical introduction is quite enlightening.
More later, perhaps, when I have a keyboard... This on-screen tiny pifflie bleep is so damn tedious, I feel like I'm back in the dark ages, only without a satisfying key clunk and cha-ching of a solid mechanical carriage return.
More later, perhaps, when I have a keyboard... This on-screen tiny pifflie bleep is so damn tedious, I feel like I'm back in the dark ages, only without a satisfying key clunk and cha-ching of a solid mechanical carriage return.
May 9, 2022
This was the first book I read by Anais Nin, let alone her diaries or other erotica and I must say I am already in love. Before picking this book, I was wondering what exactly could it mean by literary erotica and reflected if it was just another pornographic revelation but I was proved wrong, the two stories here are truly symbolic of literary erotica, sensuality speaking for itself. Marcel and The Life in Provincetown, both proved marvellous to its standards and stood for the unique narration of Nin. I am glad that I started reading her with this book which was not known to most of the readers until a long time. I definitely recommend this powerful woman’s work and am certainly looking forward to reading more of her.
June 4, 2019
Je devais ne plus acheter de livres. Mais qui peut résister à des textes inédits d'Anaïs Nin ? Pas un fan d'Henry Miller en tout cas !
Il est désormais entre mes mains et j'en savoure chaque mot, chaque phrase, chaque paragraphe, chaque page.
128 pages écrites pour un mystérieux collectionneur au début des années 40 et retrouvées lors d'une vente aux enchères à Baltimore aux États-Unis.
On y retrouve la prose d'Anais Nïn et, comme le dit la 4ème de couverture, « toute l’originalité et le charme de l’érotisme selon Anaïs Nin : une vision féminine de la sexualité, libre, inventive et transgressive. »
Il est désormais entre mes mains et j'en savoure chaque mot, chaque phrase, chaque paragraphe, chaque page.
128 pages écrites pour un mystérieux collectionneur au début des années 40 et retrouvées lors d'une vente aux enchères à Baltimore aux États-Unis.
On y retrouve la prose d'Anais Nïn et, comme le dit la 4ème de couverture, « toute l’originalité et le charme de l’érotisme selon Anaïs Nin : une vision féminine de la sexualité, libre, inventive et transgressive. »
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February 8, 20233 1/2
I think she's better as a writer and as a story teller than she is at erotica. Too much of an anthropological, distantly observing vibe and not enough heat. Though, to be fair, I haven't read her journals.
The walls are thin. One can hear everything. Often the shades are not down, and one can see everything.
- "Life in Provincetown"
He could not kiss, possess, desire, enjoy, without immediately commenting, relating, describing.
- "Marcel"
He could never see or hear enough. He was always hungry for motion, people, crowds, change, incidents, adventures. He spent nothing on food so that he could buy things...
- "Marcel"
I think she's better as a writer and as a story teller than she is at erotica. Too much of an anthropological, distantly observing vibe and not enough heat. Though, to be fair, I haven't read her journals.
The walls are thin. One can hear everything. Often the shades are not down, and one can see everything.
- "Life in Provincetown"
He could not kiss, possess, desire, enjoy, without immediately commenting, relating, describing.
- "Marcel"
He could never see or hear enough. He was always hungry for motion, people, crowds, change, incidents, adventures. He spent nothing on food so that he could buy things...
- "Marcel"
January 15, 2025
Whew, need to handle this book with oven mitts!
Warning, some transgressive content. Keep in mind this was written in the late 1940s. The entire sexual landscape of America and the world was vastly different then.
The first of the two sections is called "Life in Provincetown": From wikipedia: "There had been a gay presence in Provincetown as early as the start of the 20th century as the artists' colony developed, along with experimental theatre. Drag queens could be seen in performance as early as the 1940s."
As has been observed, it is not polished and edited like Delta of Venus and Little Birds, and very short, but definitely spicy.
Warning, some transgressive content. Keep in mind this was written in the late 1940s. The entire sexual landscape of America and the world was vastly different then.
The first of the two sections is called "Life in Provincetown": From wikipedia: "There had been a gay presence in Provincetown as early as the start of the 20th century as the artists' colony developed, along with experimental theatre. Drag queens could be seen in performance as early as the 1940s."
As has been observed, it is not polished and edited like Delta of Venus and Little Birds, and very short, but definitely spicy.
January 31, 2018
My first introduction to Anais Nin and it was a good start pointing. It can be explicit, but also sensual. I really enjoyed Marcel and the freedom of the woman narrator as she recounts tales of experiences with her lovers both male and female - it's inspiration for my own life.
March 17, 2019
Des textes érotiques, pas pornographiques avec une vraie histoire. Du point de vue d'une femme. Mais étrangement passive quand elle est avec un homme.
March 26, 2020
Pour les nuits seules, les périodes de confinement, dernière nouvelle à déconseillée beaucoup trop déplacée
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November 17, 2021don't ask.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 20, 2022
Hate Erotica, love Anais Nin. That is how good she is!!
March 19, 2023
In poche pagine si trova la migliore Anais Nin
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