Story of O by Pauline Reage Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Story of O
Book Review: Disappointing
Summary: 2 Stars
This story is well-written from a technical point of view. The language is colorful and alive. It has a nice mixture of drama and psychological revelations about a woman becoming more and more involved in slavery. I use the word "slavery" because this story really is about slavery. It's not a love story and anyone looking for some semblance of love in this story will be very disappointed. Although there were declarations of love by several of the characters in this story, I feel that none of them really felt love. They were tied up in the trimmings of a master/slave relationship, but I feel that they really didn't know or appreciate the meaning of such a relationship. My guess is that this is because the author had not experienced such a relationship and didn't fully understand it herself. As someone who has been honored by a woman who has given herself to me as my slave, I was upset with the portrayal of the lifestyle in the book. In my view, there was no love and no closeness in any of the relationships in this story. It was more a story of abuse and debasement more than anything else. The physical acts were not intrinsically debasing, but it was the separation of the acts from any sense of love and affection that caused them to be debasing and abusive. The acts of S&M were not used to bring people closer or to let them feel a deeper intimacy. The acts were simply to fulfill some deep need that the characters had for giving and receiving pain and humiliation. I felt as though something which can be beautiful was turned into something ugly. When someone gives their self completely to another as a slave, it's something to be treasured, not something to be thrown away or loaned out to others. I can't imagine that any master who loved and treasured his slave would allow another to do the things to her that were done in this story. People are not like this. If you treasure something, perhaps you want to show it off, but you certainly wouldn't let someone else defile it.
I ended up not liking any of the characters and I feel that this author's talent for writing was wasted on an unrealistic and debasing storyline. This story is much more about slavery than about what most people would think of as a Master/slave or D/s relationship.
Book Review: Disjointed story with violent themes; insider-only appeal
Summary: 2 Stars
I am fascinated by BDSM myself, and I still think this text is weak with limited appeal to a fringe audience. While it's true that the detail in description of the scenes was sharp, the description lacked a window into the heroine's mind, so that the scenes are only tintilating if acute descriptions of gratuitious violence are your thing. The storyline jumped disjointedly from one inexplicable turn of events to another, without any insight into what would make the characters behave in such a way. In short, it makes a frustrating read for those interested in power exchange but turned off by extreme abuse, and a mystifying read for those not already familiar with the sexual cliches of BDSM.Book Review: Dissapointed with the ending
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a beautifully written story, but beware: if you're a stickler for a good ending, like me, you WILL be disappointed. I was turning the pages as quickly as I could, engrossed in my curiosity of what would happen to O next, and then the story was over without any sort of resolution whatsoever. The last page tells you that there were two final chapters written by the author, neither of which is included in this book. And I hated not having the slightest idea of what became of Jaqueline. All in all, it's an enchanting story, but the abrupt ending was such a disappointment for me that I will probably not read it again.Book Review: Disturbing
Summary: 2 Stars
The Story of O wasn't what I was expecting. I thought it would be a love story describing the intense, kinky, sensual, relationship between a dom and his submissive parter. However, it wasn't - it was about a woman who was used, abused, and discarded. I was impressed and was disappointed.Book Review: Disturbing...
Summary: 4 Stars
Story of O was my first erotic novel, but I have heard from others that in reality the Story of O is not, by many, considered erotica.I have to say that there where some parts that totally scared me, but in turn there were parts that thrilled me. A strange understanding of the character "O" began to claim me, and I realized that the story itself is not about sex, it's not about S&M - it's really about a woman who NEEDS to be loved - NEEDS to be desired, a woman that we carry in all of us (women that is). I think over all we need the abandonment sometimes - we want to be desire so that we become enslaved, but most women can draw a line in the sand and say - I will not allow this to be done to me just to prove my love, but others like "O" are not strong enough to withstand the consequences of what may happen if we do not obey.
I loved this story - it did change me. But I still would never want to be flogged.