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O
A woman writes a story for her married lover. Something she always thought of as a fairy tale. A fairy tale with a dark side, like the best of fairy tales...
Occupied France, 1943. France's most shameful hour. In these dark times, Dominique starts an illicit affair with a distinguished publisher, a married man. He introduces her to the Resistance, and she comes to have a taste for the clandestine life - she has never felt more alive. Shortly after the war, to prove something to her lover, she writes an erotic novel about surrender, submission and shame. Never meant to be published, Story of O becomes a national scandal and success, the world's most famous erotic novel. But what is the story really about - Dominique, her lover, or the country and the wartime past it would rather forget?
Occupied France, 1943. France's most shameful hour. In these dark times, Dominique starts an illicit affair with a distinguished publisher, a married man. He introduces her to the Resistance, and she comes to have a taste for the clandestine life - she has never felt more alive. Shortly after the war, to prove something to her lover, she writes an erotic novel about surrender, submission and shame. Never meant to be published, Story of O becomes a national scandal and success, the world's most famous erotic novel. But what is the story really about - Dominique, her lover, or the country and the wartime past it would rather forget?
320 pages, Paperback
First published February 3, 2021
14 people are currently reading
180 people want to read
About the author
Steven Carroll
16 books30 followersSteven Carroll is an Australian novelist. He was born in 1949 in Melbourne, Victoria and studied at La Trobe University. He has taught English at secondary school level, and drama at RMIT. He has been Drama Critic for The Sunday Age newspaper in Melbourne.
Steven Carroll is now a full-time writer living in Melbourne with his partner, the writer Fiona Capp, and their son. As of 2019, he also writes the non-fiction book review column for the Sydney Morning Herald.
Steven Carroll is now a full-time writer living in Melbourne with his partner, the writer Fiona Capp, and their son. As of 2019, he also writes the non-fiction book review column for the Sydney Morning Herald.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
July 20, 2021
The author has taken the history of the 1954 book, "Story of O" that caused a huge scandal because of the promiscuity, pornography, lewd descriptions and sexual acts written under a pseudonym, Pauline Réage but assumed by all as something written by a man. The life of the real author Dominique Aury (also an assumed name due to a violent husband/marriage breakup) and publisher John Pulham are the two main characters.
The book is beautiful to read about the lives of these two people and of the immense changing times in France and the world.
They meet during a terrible time in France during the Nazis occupation John even though an older man, married with an invalid wife has a beguiling attraction to Dominique and after a brief interview along with her father's influence to John, he offers her a job.
Living in Paris during the occupation has shrouded the city in darkness, no longer the city of light, the usual bustle of people gone, most too frightened to venture out much, the Nazis own the city, Nazis flags are at every conceivable place and on every flag pole. Dominique now lives alone in her parents apartment, her parents taking her son to the country for safety.
During a meeting with John at a small café German soldiers walk in and the owner in making a fuss over them, probably due to necessity or black market involvement makes them uneasy for which they quickly leave; Dominique sickened by her country's weakness and capitulation allowing Germany's ease at taking over France makes the comment that she just can't stand by and not do anything for which John remarks that with a secret printing press a book is being published written by a well known author who happens to be Jewish. The manuscript is passed onto Dominique during a church service. From here on in she takes up her small part in the resistance distributing leaflets. This also includes a dangerous event in assisting a spy of the Allies and mistress to a German Officer escape to England.
The read follows their lives, the country is liberated, the city of lights returns and their love affair becomes intense. They meet regularly at the same plain café and second rate hotel. With a remark by John that a woman couldn't write like a man, Dominique decides to write a letter to him in a manner that would be written in a style by a man. In this read it is suggested it was never, on her behalf to be published, however John who is enthralled with the letter gets her to change her mind and it is published under yet another name. The book is vilified and condemned by the French censors as an assault on public morality and at one stage the French authorities similar to a Vice Squad investigate. Speculation is rife as to who the author is with only a few guessing correctly. The (letter) now as a book wins the much fêted Prix de Deux Magots.
The death of John is eloquently described leaving Dominique in her grief and disbelief, she had fully expected him even though very ill, dressed for the car journey to Boissise-la-Bertrand which he requested not more than 24 hours before. She had been perplexed at the request as for all their time together over 20 years no mention of this place had ever been made.
Not long after a surprise is revealed to Dominique, in the hamlet of Boissise-la-Bertrand John had bought her a house. After all the years of living with her son and her parents, at last her own piece of world.
Well after the furore of The Story of O in France and long forgotten, it is translated into English where particularly in the United States the furore starts all over again.
The book is beautiful to read about the lives of these two people and of the immense changing times in France and the world.
They meet during a terrible time in France during the Nazis occupation John even though an older man, married with an invalid wife has a beguiling attraction to Dominique and after a brief interview along with her father's influence to John, he offers her a job.
Living in Paris during the occupation has shrouded the city in darkness, no longer the city of light, the usual bustle of people gone, most too frightened to venture out much, the Nazis own the city, Nazis flags are at every conceivable place and on every flag pole. Dominique now lives alone in her parents apartment, her parents taking her son to the country for safety.
During a meeting with John at a small café German soldiers walk in and the owner in making a fuss over them, probably due to necessity or black market involvement makes them uneasy for which they quickly leave; Dominique sickened by her country's weakness and capitulation allowing Germany's ease at taking over France makes the comment that she just can't stand by and not do anything for which John remarks that with a secret printing press a book is being published written by a well known author who happens to be Jewish. The manuscript is passed onto Dominique during a church service. From here on in she takes up her small part in the resistance distributing leaflets. This also includes a dangerous event in assisting a spy of the Allies and mistress to a German Officer escape to England.
The read follows their lives, the country is liberated, the city of lights returns and their love affair becomes intense. They meet regularly at the same plain café and second rate hotel. With a remark by John that a woman couldn't write like a man, Dominique decides to write a letter to him in a manner that would be written in a style by a man. In this read it is suggested it was never, on her behalf to be published, however John who is enthralled with the letter gets her to change her mind and it is published under yet another name. The book is vilified and condemned by the French censors as an assault on public morality and at one stage the French authorities similar to a Vice Squad investigate. Speculation is rife as to who the author is with only a few guessing correctly. The (letter) now as a book wins the much fêted Prix de Deux Magots.
The death of John is eloquently described leaving Dominique in her grief and disbelief, she had fully expected him even though very ill, dressed for the car journey to Boissise-la-Bertrand which he requested not more than 24 hours before. She had been perplexed at the request as for all their time together over 20 years no mention of this place had ever been made.
Not long after a surprise is revealed to Dominique, in the hamlet of Boissise-la-Bertrand John had bought her a house. After all the years of living with her son and her parents, at last her own piece of world.
Well after the furore of The Story of O in France and long forgotten, it is translated into English where particularly in the United States the furore starts all over again.
January 30, 2021
‘No one is allowed to escape the symbols of occupation until …what? Amnesia sets in and the country forgets itself?’
The novel opens in occupied France in 1943. Dominique Aury feels a desperate need to do something: she loves her country and simultaneously hates it. She wants work that is not German propaganda, and it is becoming harder to find each day. She meets Jean Paulhan. They become colleagues and eventually lovers. He is an older man, with a wife. She has been married and has a child. She has also changed her name. Dominique becomes caught up in the French Resistance and she helps a woman she knows only as Pauline Réage to escape. (Those who have read ‘The Story of O’ may recognise these names.)
‘Names are good like that, you can reinvent yourself with a new one.’
This novel is a meditative reflection on how a story comes to be written, and who and what it might really be about. In part, this novel is about Dominique as O, rather than ‘The Story of O’. In part it is about the occupation of France., and about memory of the past. Only a man, it was thought, could write such a story. Dominique sets out to disprove this and becomes enmeshed.
‘There is a young woman, known only as ‘O’, walking through a city park with her lover.’
Dominique intends the story for her married lover with no wider circulation, but it is published. And once published, the story is no longer confined. The private becomes public, knowledge is assumed.
‘It occurs to her that is what O is doing: consenting to be the possession of strangers. And in this sense, in the event of publication, would she not become her character?
‘The Story of O’ has its own life quite independent of the author, it is part of O, it is part of France, it is part of the past. And what does it mean, when a story becomes detached from its context, when a private fairy tale becomes public property? And then, when, the author and recipient grow older, where does the fairy tale fit then?
‘But that’s the problem with the past. It never stays past.’
This is another beautifully written novel by Steven Carroll. The themes of the novel, of surrender, submission and shame apply to O and to France during this period. Both will move on, but the past cannot be ignored.
‘The lover for whom the love letter was written is gone. That world has passed. This one is not hers anymore.’
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
The novel opens in occupied France in 1943. Dominique Aury feels a desperate need to do something: she loves her country and simultaneously hates it. She wants work that is not German propaganda, and it is becoming harder to find each day. She meets Jean Paulhan. They become colleagues and eventually lovers. He is an older man, with a wife. She has been married and has a child. She has also changed her name. Dominique becomes caught up in the French Resistance and she helps a woman she knows only as Pauline Réage to escape. (Those who have read ‘The Story of O’ may recognise these names.)
‘Names are good like that, you can reinvent yourself with a new one.’
This novel is a meditative reflection on how a story comes to be written, and who and what it might really be about. In part, this novel is about Dominique as O, rather than ‘The Story of O’. In part it is about the occupation of France., and about memory of the past. Only a man, it was thought, could write such a story. Dominique sets out to disprove this and becomes enmeshed.
‘There is a young woman, known only as ‘O’, walking through a city park with her lover.’
Dominique intends the story for her married lover with no wider circulation, but it is published. And once published, the story is no longer confined. The private becomes public, knowledge is assumed.
‘It occurs to her that is what O is doing: consenting to be the possession of strangers. And in this sense, in the event of publication, would she not become her character?
‘The Story of O’ has its own life quite independent of the author, it is part of O, it is part of France, it is part of the past. And what does it mean, when a story becomes detached from its context, when a private fairy tale becomes public property? And then, when, the author and recipient grow older, where does the fairy tale fit then?
‘But that’s the problem with the past. It never stays past.’
This is another beautifully written novel by Steven Carroll. The themes of the novel, of surrender, submission and shame apply to O and to France during this period. Both will move on, but the past cannot be ignored.
‘The lover for whom the love letter was written is gone. That world has passed. This one is not hers anymore.’
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
March 29, 2021
Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.
I'm not sure what the point of this book was but it fell flat for me. I didn't learn anything in this I couldn't have learnt reading a Wikipedia page about The Story of O. Disappointing.
I'm not sure what the point of this book was but it fell flat for me. I didn't learn anything in this I couldn't have learnt reading a Wikipedia page about The Story of O. Disappointing.
April 18, 2021
I’ve followed Carroll’s writing career for many years, particularly enjoying his Glenroy series (there is no better writer about Melbourne suburban life I believe). I’ve also found his novels based around the life and work of T S Eliot very interesting.
This novel has elements of both - reinterpreting literature of the past (in this case, The Story of O) and also exploring characters who are defined by restlessness and a need to escape the humdrum. His main characters are both people ‘for whom all of life, the miserable and the magnificent, the ghostly and the real, is fascinating.’
The Story of O created a scandal when it was published in France in 1954. It is a novel that explores women’s submission to sexual domination and sadism with the premise that perhaps this gives women a kind of power. Was it pornography or art? I haven’t read The Story of O, nor wish to. I simply don’t buy the premise. It appals me.
Carroll’s interpretation was different though. He saw O’s story as a metaphor for the submission by France to Germany in World War 2. I found the first part of Carroll’s novel, set in occupied Paris, the most engaging and convincing. As the story went on, I thought it became less effective.
Reinterpreting literature and history - retelling stories in new ways and with new ideas - is happening more and more. This work by Steven Carroll was an unusual take on an old, scandalous story. But while his interpretation was an original and pleasing one, the novel as a whole did not impress me to the same extent as the rest of his work.
January 26, 2021
This is the most amazing book I have ever read! It was so unexpectedly brilliant.
The publishers blurb is excellent:
“A woman writes a story for her married lover. Something she always thought of as a fairy tale. A fairy tale with a dark side, like the best of fairy tales...
Occupied France, 1943. France's most shameful hour. In these dark times, Dominique starts an illicit affair with a distinguished publisher, a married man. He introduces her to the Resistance, and she comes to have a taste for the clandestine life - she has never felt more alive. Shortly after the war, to prove something to her lover, she writes an erotic novel about surrender, submission and shame. Never meant to be published, Story of O becomes a national scandal and success, the world's most famous erotic novel. But what is the story really about - Dominique, her lover, or the country and the wartime past it would rather forget?”
There are indeed many, many levels in this story - a story within a story, about a story and a story about a story being written. The voice of Dominique runs strongly as the tale unfolds covering from 1943 to 1998 - an amazing period of time where one women holds your focus as she faces her life before her and we, the reader, join with her in this journey. Is there an incredible amount of symbolism and philosophical delving or is it a simple story of a woman in love? Whatever your take on it, it is profound!
While profound, it is very readable and believable. Highly recommended read!
Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Publishers Australia for an ebook to read and review.
The publishers blurb is excellent:
“A woman writes a story for her married lover. Something she always thought of as a fairy tale. A fairy tale with a dark side, like the best of fairy tales...
Occupied France, 1943. France's most shameful hour. In these dark times, Dominique starts an illicit affair with a distinguished publisher, a married man. He introduces her to the Resistance, and she comes to have a taste for the clandestine life - she has never felt more alive. Shortly after the war, to prove something to her lover, she writes an erotic novel about surrender, submission and shame. Never meant to be published, Story of O becomes a national scandal and success, the world's most famous erotic novel. But what is the story really about - Dominique, her lover, or the country and the wartime past it would rather forget?”
There are indeed many, many levels in this story - a story within a story, about a story and a story about a story being written. The voice of Dominique runs strongly as the tale unfolds covering from 1943 to 1998 - an amazing period of time where one women holds your focus as she faces her life before her and we, the reader, join with her in this journey. Is there an incredible amount of symbolism and philosophical delving or is it a simple story of a woman in love? Whatever your take on it, it is profound!
While profound, it is very readable and believable. Highly recommended read!
Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Publishers Australia for an ebook to read and review.
July 7, 2021
I am a long time Steven Carroll fan and this is another excellent read. I do love it when an author does not stick to a particular genre and O is another leap for Carroll. It is a beautifully written interpretation of Dominique Aury, her "scandalous", brave book and Steven Carroll's conclusion, when voiced, seems blindingly obvious. Bravo!
March 10, 2021
I have been sitting on this review for a while, as I haven’t quite known what to write to do this book justice. It is unlike what I expected, and whilst halfway through I did not think I would be able to read more, I continued, and was so glad I did. The book is so well written, with such apt descriptions that it was able to evoke such strong images of what was playing out.
The book begins in Paris in the early 1940s, when Dominique meets with a publisher and begins an affair with him. When the war is over, with the fear of losing him, Dominique writes him a novel - an erotic novel, meant only for his eyes. The novel ends up published, and causes a huge scandal - but for what reason?
This was such a cleverly written book, and the ending blew me away. It is so thought provoking, that I definitely recommend those who like something a little different read. There are significant trigger warnings though, so please contact me if you want to know what they are.
Thanks to @netgalley and @harpercollinsaustralia for the opportunity to review this book. O is out now.
The book begins in Paris in the early 1940s, when Dominique meets with a publisher and begins an affair with him. When the war is over, with the fear of losing him, Dominique writes him a novel - an erotic novel, meant only for his eyes. The novel ends up published, and causes a huge scandal - but for what reason?
This was such a cleverly written book, and the ending blew me away. It is so thought provoking, that I definitely recommend those who like something a little different read. There are significant trigger warnings though, so please contact me if you want to know what they are.
Thanks to @netgalley and @harpercollinsaustralia for the opportunity to review this book. O is out now.
April 19, 2021
O is well written with descriptive scenes without being off-putting, the Author has done well to document character growth. Take Dominique for example, I felt as if I met a very different Dominique in the beginning chapters to the Dominique in closing as she was slightly more likeable
Read my full review here https://hundredacreofbooks.com/index....
Read my full review here https://hundredacreofbooks.com/index....
March 31, 2021
DNF @ approx 100 pages. This started off so well but it just fell flat for me.
March 11, 2021
The way that this author writes is very eloquent, impactful and beautiful - I found it difficult to connect with the characters, and found most unlikeable by the end of the novel.
I can definitely see this book being a popular read, as the writing makes up for the relationship I found difficult to form with the characters/some of the plotline.
Definitely a worthwhile read!
I can definitely see this book being a popular read, as the writing makes up for the relationship I found difficult to form with the characters/some of the plotline.
Definitely a worthwhile read!
March 26, 2021
Carroll's novel explores the idea that Anne Cécile Desclos (1907 – 1998), a French journalist and novelist who wrote under the pseudonyms Dominique Aury and Pauline Réage, wrote The Story of O as an unconscious metaphor for the most shameful episode in modern French history: the Nazi Occupation of France in the Second World War. That is, O's surrender to degradation is a metaphor for the French surrender in June 1940 and the ensuing partition of France into the Occupied territory in the north and west; and in central and southern France, the pro-Nazi collaborationist state of Vichy under Marshal Philippe Pétain. In his Notes on a Novel at the end of the book, Carroll writes:
While Carroll's O isn't biographical fiction, some of the characters and events are based on real life. The novel begins with Dominique Aury's fury and disgust about the Surrender, and her meeting with her soon-to-be lover, the publisher at Gallimard, Jean Paulham. Amongst other things, we learn that he is also involved in Les Éditions de Minuit the real-life clandestine publisher of books to counter German censorship. The most famous of these books, Le Silence de la Mer (which I reviewed here) isn't mentioned, but the underground materials that Dominique delivers at Jean's instigation would have included it. But as Carroll explains, the real-life Dominique Aury never did anything as dangerous as the rescue of Pauline Réage, who is an authorial invention.
The Dominique of the novel writes her novel to rekindle the flame of her affair with Jean, who is starting to look at other women, the way he first looked at her. She also wants to prove to him that women can write sexual fantasies just as men can, just as the Marquise de Sade did. Her work isn't intended for publication, but Jean persuades her, and though Gallimard dismisses it as pornographic smut, they find an alternative publisher. It causes a scandal, and it divides its readers.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2021/03/26/o...
If Story of O had been written in the 1970s and later it wouldn't have mattered. But the fact is that Dominique Aury wrote it as a love letter to her lover, publisher Jean Paulham, soon after, in the rain-shadow of the Occuption, when words such as 'surrender', 'submission', 'defeat' and 'liberation' had a meaning redolent of an all too recent, shameful past. Everybody was on edge, nerves were jangled, the experience still raw, and to a large extent the populace wanted to put the Occupation behind them. Repress it.
But the moods and preoccupations of a country, especially at certain pivotal moments, have a way of surfacing through art. Whether consciously, unconsciously, or a combination of both, art can sometimes mirror the very thing that a country wants to forget. And it increasingly occurred to me that, as unlikely a candidate as it may seem, Story of O was just such a work: one of those cases in which the individual psyche is like the whole society writ large. (p.301)
While Carroll's O isn't biographical fiction, some of the characters and events are based on real life. The novel begins with Dominique Aury's fury and disgust about the Surrender, and her meeting with her soon-to-be lover, the publisher at Gallimard, Jean Paulham. Amongst other things, we learn that he is also involved in Les Éditions de Minuit the real-life clandestine publisher of books to counter German censorship. The most famous of these books, Le Silence de la Mer (which I reviewed here) isn't mentioned, but the underground materials that Dominique delivers at Jean's instigation would have included it. But as Carroll explains, the real-life Dominique Aury never did anything as dangerous as the rescue of Pauline Réage, who is an authorial invention.
The Dominique of the novel writes her novel to rekindle the flame of her affair with Jean, who is starting to look at other women, the way he first looked at her. She also wants to prove to him that women can write sexual fantasies just as men can, just as the Marquise de Sade did. Her work isn't intended for publication, but Jean persuades her, and though Gallimard dismisses it as pornographic smut, they find an alternative publisher. It causes a scandal, and it divides its readers.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2021/03/26/o...
April 6, 2021
The novel is a fictional recreation of the life of the known author of the Story of O, a scandalous novel that was published in France in 1954. Mr Carroll riffs on what is known of the author Dominique Aury (born Anne Desclos) and expanded on that. Ms Aury was in the Resistance, distributing anti-German leaflets, some most likely printed by her lover Jean Paulhan, an editor at Gallimard, where she also worked. Both were on the committee that decided which books to publish and were the only two on that committee that voted to accept Story of O and thus in the minority. Mr Carroll was able to visit the childhood home of Ms Aury, which does indeed overlook Mont St Michel. The rest of the story is made up and opens with Paris having just been occupied in 1943 and the idea that unlike in past wars where Germany invaded to make a point and then departed, this time it appeared they were here to stay and eradicate the country. But that the Germans were for the most part polite, they wanted to be liked, trying so hard that "there are times when you almost want to. Almost do." Dominique Aury came to Paris to escape a violent marriage and thus came up with this new name needing a new start which required a new name. She starts a job at Gallimard as a translator, when she is asked by Jean Paulhan to edit and translate a new novel by a famous French writer now living in the south (Vichy) who is Jewish. The manuscript to then be smuggled to England for publication in French and English. And thus she is brought into the resistance. That decision also brought them to be lifelong lovers. Ms Aury is then brought into the active Resistance to help smuggle a woman with the resistance name of Pauline Reage whose identity had been discovered. She had become a lover of a high ranking German officer, discovering and turning over secrets to the Resistance. After the war, she writes the story as a challenge because Mr Paulhan mentions in conversation that all pornographic novels are written by men because a woman couldn't write in that style. She also writes it as a love letter to him without intention of it ever being published. When it is published the scandal amuses her. The story continues jumping to the revolution of 1968 and her novel being also published in the US with her seeing news coverage of her book being burned in the streets of the US. This causes her to think that the movement to ban books never goes away, what is happening in the US in 1960's is no different than what happened in Germany and France in the 1940's. Overall I really enjoyed this tale with the authors extensive notes at the end bringing all into focus. Highly recommended.
March 28, 2021
Carroll's compelling story is a fictionalised account of the actual publication of a scandalous, erotic novel in France in the 1950s. The controversy over this book, "The Story of O", exploded within the French literary world and, subsequently, throughout the French public, magnified by the secrecy of its author's identity. The elusive author, Dominique Aury, had written what was meant to be a personal "gift" for her lover, publisher Jean Paulhan, a response to his challenge that "no woman could write" an erotic book such as that written by the Marquis de Sade. The raw and "shocking" sexual activities between the book's male figure and his willing, dominated female lover delighted Paulhan, who finally convinced her to allow it to be published under a pseudonym.
While on one level Carroll's story focused on the decades-long affair between the two lovers, the more inventive aspect of the novel was Carroll's personal interpretation of how the story had mirrored France's defeat, its surrender to the Nazis and subsequent degradation throughout WWII. France's past was one no one wanted to recall. The author discussed this idea at the end, in "Notes on a Novel", in which he categorised his text as a "piece of speculative fiction." His discussion fascinated me and elevated the text to another level.
Carroll's writing was, as always, fluid and descriptive. His characterisations were meticulous, matched by details of their surroundings so that we see them as existing in a real world. As much as the novel was about a novel, it was also a portrayal of the effect of time and place on the characters, on how they act and on what they think.
While on one level Carroll's story focused on the decades-long affair between the two lovers, the more inventive aspect of the novel was Carroll's personal interpretation of how the story had mirrored France's defeat, its surrender to the Nazis and subsequent degradation throughout WWII. France's past was one no one wanted to recall. The author discussed this idea at the end, in "Notes on a Novel", in which he categorised his text as a "piece of speculative fiction." His discussion fascinated me and elevated the text to another level.
Carroll's writing was, as always, fluid and descriptive. His characterisations were meticulous, matched by details of their surroundings so that we see them as existing in a real world. As much as the novel was about a novel, it was also a portrayal of the effect of time and place on the characters, on how they act and on what they think.
May 15, 2021
I am not sure what I took from this novel. "O", to me, was an interpretation on the origins of the 'Story of O', penned by Dominique Aury under the pseudonym of Pauline Réage. Some events and characters are real and did occur - the war, the Gallimard Reading Committee. But some events and people are created just to tell this tale. We are taken, at the start, into a 1943 occupied Paris, in the midst of the war where submission, power, orders and obeying without question seemed just part of life during WW2. I could see how Carroll introduced particular themes here: the defiance and resistance to living under occupation, what women could and could not do and know, and the power of love and adoration. Was this just an application of the themes from the 'Story of O'? Dominique was always free to leave her relationship with Jean; there was no commitment between them, nor any intention of Jean leaving his bed-ridden wife. She remained with him to the end, pleasing him and agreeing to do as he asked her, even delivering those pamphlets. Dominique even stayed after seeing him with another, which sets off the motion for her penning her controversial love-letter that became one of the most controversial books published in the 20th century. So, are both books also commentary on the savagery of submission, or the blindness of lust, or a reflection of occupation of mind, body& soul?
June 28, 2022
Drawn to this book because it was written by Steven Carroll. I did not know about the book - Story of O - a book that caused division between male and female readers after it was written in 1954 in France.
Translated to English in 1960 I was too young to have known of it.
I like the genre of historical fiction but this goes beyond and behind that. In fact, Steven calls it “speculative fiction”. Real people become fictional, stories woven into the time setting of the German occupation of France. As I’m not interested in war history, again, I now have an increased knowledge and feelings of sentiment of that time period.
That is the nature of art, of the creative process in literature, that brings to life a story in a period of time and welcomes conversation.
Steven Carroll is a literary genius.
Translated to English in 1960 I was too young to have known of it.
I like the genre of historical fiction but this goes beyond and behind that. In fact, Steven calls it “speculative fiction”. Real people become fictional, stories woven into the time setting of the German occupation of France. As I’m not interested in war history, again, I now have an increased knowledge and feelings of sentiment of that time period.
That is the nature of art, of the creative process in literature, that brings to life a story in a period of time and welcomes conversation.
Steven Carroll is a literary genius.
January 12, 2024
Discovering this “new to me” novel by Steven Carroll on the shelves of my local library is an excellent omen for my reading discoveries 2024, I hope.
Over lazy summer afternoons I took my time with Carroll’s story of O gradually stepping back into the world and times of the French resistance and post war France. Usually I’d pick up the story by untangling threads of my comprehension from the previous night’s episode of the lives of German submariners and the French resistance in Das Boot, not an ideal accompaniment to Steven Carroll’s elegant account of the scandalous Story of O.
The final chapter lifted my appreciation of this novel. It is a much more than the fictionalised life of a secret author and the erotic novel written to entrance her lover. Once again Steven Carroll did not disappoint.
Over lazy summer afternoons I took my time with Carroll’s story of O gradually stepping back into the world and times of the French resistance and post war France. Usually I’d pick up the story by untangling threads of my comprehension from the previous night’s episode of the lives of German submariners and the French resistance in Das Boot, not an ideal accompaniment to Steven Carroll’s elegant account of the scandalous Story of O.
The final chapter lifted my appreciation of this novel. It is a much more than the fictionalised life of a secret author and the erotic novel written to entrance her lover. Once again Steven Carroll did not disappoint.
January 31, 2023
In 1943 Dominique has a love affair with a publisher, a married man, who introduces her to the Resistance movement. the excitement of those times makes them both feel truly alive. After the war, to rekindle the passion in their relationship, she writes an erotic story meant for him alone. But he decides to publish it as The story of O. Although it wins a prestigious literary prize and is published in many languages, it creates a scandal.
Steven Carrol draws on the the French experience of the war, and events depicted in the novel to create a believable story of how it came to be written and how it came to reflect the nation’s shame. Carrol is a fantastic writer, and recharges this in a masterful way, as he did for TS Eliot in the Eliot quartet.
Steven Carrol draws on the the French experience of the war, and events depicted in the novel to create a believable story of how it came to be written and how it came to reflect the nation’s shame. Carrol is a fantastic writer, and recharges this in a masterful way, as he did for TS Eliot in the Eliot quartet.
May 6, 2024
Very conflicted about my review of this book. Somewhere between 2.5 to3 ⭐️
For me, books are about the author’s ability to create a compelling wrote and tell it in a compelling way. This books takes an existing story and tells it in a compelling way. In short, it has ordinary characters and ordinary events (to those immune to the shock factor of history) told in an interesting way but without any clear messaging. I also find the characters to be on a spectrum of unlikeable to indifferent.
The writer does seamlessly flow through the different emotional journey of time and events, drawing the reader in. But once I finished the book I was felt pretty unsatisfied (no pun intended).
For me, books are about the author’s ability to create a compelling wrote and tell it in a compelling way. This books takes an existing story and tells it in a compelling way. In short, it has ordinary characters and ordinary events (to those immune to the shock factor of history) told in an interesting way but without any clear messaging. I also find the characters to be on a spectrum of unlikeable to indifferent.
The writer does seamlessly flow through the different emotional journey of time and events, drawing the reader in. But once I finished the book I was felt pretty unsatisfied (no pun intended).
September 14, 2024
Interesting but a little laboured. Quite repetitive. And then, even the Notes on the Novel at the end, repeated so much of what was in the novel. I found the characters a bit poorly drawn. A bit shallow. And self centred. When the revolution of 1968 was raging all around her, the protagonist, Domonique Awry moved through it with a complete indifference. Her lover, Jean, was dying, and that totally preoccupied her.
The early part of the book was more engaging. With the clandestine meetings and subterfuge. Getting Pauline Reage out of the country. The tension on the train was almost palpable.
The early part of the book was more engaging. With the clandestine meetings and subterfuge. Getting Pauline Reage out of the country. The tension on the train was almost palpable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2021
My mum had a copy of the book and a video of the movie, not at all tucked away from prying eyes (little minx that she was) so I was familiar with the story. But this book, THIS book, was a wondrous journey into the imagined background of the author. And the writing, the phrasing, the observations, the ways words convey so much with so little at times, was brilliant. I loved the way this was written. Won’t be reading THAT book again but enjoyed this book immensely....
February 13, 2021
Amazing, spectacular, what more can I say? The language, the metaphors....just all of it!
'Swastikas,, giant black crawling insects, flutter from town halls, department stores, government buildings and palaces, Dominique shivers at the sight of them, feels them on her skin, scuttling over her neck and face and arms'.
'Swastikas,, giant black crawling insects, flutter from town halls, department stores, government buildings and palaces, Dominique shivers at the sight of them, feels them on her skin, scuttling over her neck and face and arms'.
March 31, 2024
This is a story about the story of a book written in the 1950s that was either blatant porn or an allegory to Vichy France. The author’s novelisation meanders from resistance cinema noir, The Hall Mark Channel, soft porn and a wrap up of an undergraduate essay. As a whole the book commenced promising brilliance but became more dilute as it progressed for this reader.
March 31, 2021
I felt like this book is more of a 2.5
The characters were hard to like and I found the first and last few 100 pages to be uninteresting.
I would’ve liked more about rebelling and focusing on Dominique’s life a little more but I just felt like there were a lot of gaps.
The characters were hard to like and I found the first and last few 100 pages to be uninteresting.
I would’ve liked more about rebelling and focusing on Dominique’s life a little more but I just felt like there were a lot of gaps.
May 18, 2021
There were sections of this book that engrossed and intrigued me and other parts that didn’t seem to fit. However as the book moved to its’ conclusion the story finally made more sense. I didn’t realise that the book was based on a true story until the conclusion. An interesting read.
June 17, 2022
This is my favourite of the Steven Carroll books I have read. Beautifully written love story between the writer of the erotic novel "O" and her lover. Steven has given us another understanding of that vintage story.
February 14, 2021
Not what I was expecting but an amazing story.
March 3, 2021
Very, very well written
March 15, 2021
Beautifully written love story with evocative themes of freedom & occupation. Strangely (given the setting in war-time Paris) quietly contemplative. Loved it.
August 23, 2021
4.5 stars.
September 21, 2021
I found this book very interesting and well written.
It kept me reading and googling things I didn’t know about that time in history and the book ‘the story of O. Well worth the read!
It kept me reading and googling things I didn’t know about that time in history and the book ‘the story of O. Well worth the read!
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