Reading 1001 discussion

The 120 Days of Sodom - Marquis de Sade. This book was published in 1785. It has been included in every edition of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.

The book was written while Sade was imprisoned in the Bastille and the manuscript was lost during the storming of the Bastille. Sade wrote that he "wept tears of blood" over the manuscript's loss. Many consider this to be Sade crowning achievement.

Rating: 1 star (more like 1/2 of a star)


I figured I would get this out of the way since a copy was available. It is the story of a group of men (and women) who spend 4 months in an isolated chateau having an extended orgy. This makes Justine seem quite tame, comparatively. I honestly felt like vomiting throughout much of the book. Every possible lewd topic was explored in graphic detail. I honestly don't know why the book doesn't have a much lower rating.

Sounds like it's best to just stay away from this one, lol 🙈 Glad you’ve got it out of the way!

I gave this 1 star and warning: big rant coming because I have a lot of thoughts surrounding this book:

So I hemmed and hawed over this one between 1 and 2 stars, and decided to go with 1 since that was the actual enjoyment/ subjective quality level for me. I considered higher given its prominent place in the history of literature, censorship, French Revolutionary history, horror, the libertine movement, shock art, the grotesque, pornography and society, individual freedom, etc. And oddly enough, I’m glad I read it and it’s on the list- to understand its place in history and be able to critique it properly in the context of “what is the value of vulgarity in art” and similar discourse. That being said, I thought the book itself was terrible, but not for the reasons people might expect.

I’m not someone who takes a hard line stance against shock art or vulgarity in art. I think some of the common pieces people hold about modern art being terrible are great. Vulgarity and shock can be used effectively to convey a point by forcing people to pay attention to a difficult/taboo but important issue, or start valuable discussions. They can challenge mainstream society or people in power to reconsider why we find certain things taboo, and help move those goalposts. So I end up often considering vulgar/shocking art to be most justified when that aspect lends meaning to the piece itself. The perspective though of “vulgar/taboo art justifies itself or is inherently valuable because it shakes up society and upsets people regards of how they do it and why” I find to be less strictly true. I think who are you upsetting, how, and why continue to remain relevant questions about the value of shock art(like I think using art to punch down on the marginalized just because you have the power to and want people to feel afraid is unjustified , for example). I think the quality outside of how shocking it is relevant as well.

This is my prime beef with the book:

1) Its place in history is far more interesting/valuable than the book itself, and it doesn’t really make a point beyond upsetting the censors of the time that I can appreciate. If written by someone else, I could imagine it might be able to be interpreted as a commentary on the grotesqueness of the idle aristocracy- or how the aristocrats are gleefully abusers and butchers to the common people. But no. De Sade’s life was full of sexually abusing servants-and- youths escapades of his own. He even has a line in the book where one of the aristocrats says “here’s to the great marquis de S*** who has wonderfully challenged the authorities and persevered”……ummmm. I think “the police and powerful classes oppress people’s rights to live” and “you shouldn’t be able to kidnap, sexually abuse, and then murder local kids/teens” are ideas that should coexist. Like don’t set yourself up as the victim here dude.

2) He’s just a terrible writer. I don’t like works that rest on the laurels of a gimmick like shock, twists, weirdness, novel structure, etc- without providing substance that that aspect contributes too. What shocked me about this book was actually how BORING I actually found it. Don’t get me wrong, it is also really gross, but you get vulgarity turned up to 11 immediately and it just keeps going like that. It very quickly got to the point where I was like “okay I get it, it’s horrific sexual abuse and bodily filth on each page til the end” and my eyes just kinda glazed over and I sped read the rest unimpressed. There is no pacing to create suspense, and no levels in action so the story feels really flat regardless of what the content actually is.

The characterization is flat as well: the book starts with a WHOLE 2 different catalogue lists and descriptions of the aristocrats/their wives/abducted kids/slightly older sex slaves/gross old ladies that serve as storytellers. And provides very little beyond what sex/violence acts they like, and the quality of their asses and genitals. No one really develops beyond this. I mean, really getting into the psyche of these people or exploring the feelings and trauma of those involved would have improved it. He does not to this at all so it reads as clinical summary of sex crimes. The movie American psycho does this intentionally in the scene where Bateman describes his morning routine so we get a sense of his detachment and inhumanity before changing the format to being more dynamic again, but it’s just one note the whole way here and makes it so uninteresting.

In this vein, everything (people involved, the protocols in the chalet, the events, the still alive count, etc) are all given in this flat listicle or summary report way. It's also really redundant on all levels. I found it dull and reflective of a poor writer. And no one reacts how they actually would to this kind of abuse (which, there are so many observed ways people respond to abuse so in a group of over 20 you have options). Like we just hear what they did and how it gives the aristocrats their jollies (mostly even physically on that level to be honest), and no characterization, reactions, or actions from the rest. This whole book really reads like a conceit full of empty vessels to give this man something to fondle himself to while bored in prison. His novel Justine had all the same problems.

Like I said when reviewing Justine- it’s not bad because it’s gross, it’s bad because it sucks.