The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty

Rating:
Summary: ZZZzzzzzzzzz
Review: Don't waste your money. This was a serious snoozer. I kept thinking something of interest would eventaully happen given that the author is so popular but alas, no such luck. The main characters had no depth or redeeming qualities and the other characters were sooooo boring and of no consequence - maybe there was some point about that which she was attempting to make but who cares. Zzzzz......

Rating:
Summary: Total erotica
Review: This book is well writen and just jumps in with total dominance over Beauty and eventualy yourself. Once you start it you cant put it down. It has your totaly attention and submission.

Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected
Review: I have enjoyed several of Annes vampire books and decided to give this a try. I am not into torture and humiliation and this book is packed with both. I do enjoy a very steamy romance which is what I thought I would be reading. It was difficult to even get to the mid point of the book which is where I am now and I find the only thing that encourages me to read on is the hope that at some point the prince and all of his ... kingdom will get whats coming to them. If you are thinking of buying this because you like a romance with some eroticism in it this is not the book for you. The entire book is filled with absolute cruelty and .... On the other hand, if thats what you're into then this is the book for you.

Rating:
Summary: A powerful, dynamic, erotic book
Review: This powerful book will shake the complacency of everyone who reads it.
If read as an allegory, it is a marvelous story about the subservient role all of us accept to function in society.  We face it every day in traffic;  we sometimes have bosses who are overbearing;  we deal with people who are a pain in the neck but to whom we must be polite.  Our whole lives consist of suppressing our natural urges and instincts out of respect for the rights of others;  in that sense, the human is never free, we are always a slave to the opinion and respect of others.
        From the beginning, Rice's story sounds like an allegory to military training in which the goal is to destroy the individual's sense of personal identity and replace it with loyalty to the group.  In the military, such dominance is enforced.  In private life, companies sometimes spend inordinate amounts of money to develop similar loyalty  --  consider the pressures to be a "team player" in most organizations.
        One of the key statements is on page 62:  "She must please him, must make him loving again, and then any pain at all would not be too much."  Some women long to be dominated, they will do anything in an effort to please others.  It's very sad, really. That is the story of this Sleeping Beauty.
        It's why I have long been horrified by zoos;  the thought of animals deprived of their freedom breaks my heart.  Modern zoos are changing, one of the sad facts is that zoos have become necessary to save various animals that would be exterminated if left in the wild.  It's better, sometimes, to be "in protective custody" than extinct; that may also apply to loveless marriages.
        If so, Rice's story is a portrayal of the hell some women go through to please a husband.  Any woman who's been in that situation, any woman who's broken free of it, will understand and sympathize.  It will be exciting and erotic for them, because those feelings were part of their original love.  It may even be something to try again, but it will not be something they can live with for long.
        Various books are written as allegories.  Frank Baum wrote "The Wizard of Oz" as a pro-capitalist story to counter the socialism that was prevalent at the turn of the century;  Jack London wrote "Call of the Wild" to justify socialism.  Both are still popular, with "Call of the Wild" regularly assigned in school.  It's no longer regarded as "socialist" literature  --  now, it's simply a good story.
        Rice may have intended a similar allegory for this book.  The popular image of marriage is of love and tenderness;  her book says some marriages are an indoctrination into strict and absolute obedience.
        This fight for dominance is by no means unusual.  Look at the continual battle among even pre-school brothers and sisters for dominance.  It's just not the older ones,  the younger will continually challenge.  The result is a continuing battle.
        Rice tapped into a universal theme, that of dominance and the yearning to please.  Some people demand unquestioning obedience, and I've worked for employers like that.  A popular term is "control freaks." Rice was clever enough to apply it to some very personal themes among people;  because it is very personal, it makes the story very frightening despite its intense eroticism.
        I'm reminded of "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" by Alexander Solzhentsyn, and "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding.  Solzhentsyn tells of the petty humiliations forced on prisoners to make them compliant;  Golding writes about an degenerating battle for dominance, and the need to inflict humiliation on the weaker.  Prison life is a good example of such behaviour, where daily life is a close example of some of the humiliations inflicted upon "Sleeping Beauty."
        Even the name is demeaning.  She may have been the "Sleeping beauty," but her real name is never used.  That is as demeaning as always referring to a person by a number instead of their name  --  a common habit in prison; or the "Hey, you" or worse by a domineering spouse.
        Rice taps into some of our deepest emotions and builds a scary story based on those feelings.  It's a powerful combination. The sex will infuriate some readers, but it is an essential element; the dominance theme will infuriate everyone who treasures individual freedom. But, if you read it at anything above a fairy tale level, it will make you think. And perhaps even cry. And that is good.

Rating:
Summary: Of questionable value
Review: I have read several of Rice's books and have found them compelling. I knew this book was in the erotic genre, which, knowing Rice's descriptive capabilities, sounded interesting. I did not, however, read the reviews prior to purchasing the book as it came highly recommended from a friend. I was saddened to find that Rice used her abilities to describe pain, humiliation and torture in the name of erotica. I do not believe that a walk on the dark side equates with uninhibited sexuality. Pain and pleasure are not inexplicably linked and brutality, by any other name, still hurts.

Rating:
Summary: A sensual experience...
Review: Okay, I read the other reviews place here before I began writing mine. I came by this book from a friend who informed me that if I'm sexually repressed, in any way, not to read it. That's the exact advice I will give anyone reading this review. In a bizarre twist, Rice creates a "grown up" version of what happened to Beauty when her prince came, no pun intended. As all fairy tales, this is from pure speculation and made up for pure enjoyment. Of course this story is not realistic, get real! But it is an intriguing read. I think Rice did a great job at creating a world where this type of "bondage" and slavery could exist. In the first book of this trilogy, Beauty is awaken from her 100 year sleep by her prince intuating sex. From there, her prince takes her as his slave, with her parents' consent, and brings her to his kingdom. From there the story takes many twist and turns that are sometimes hard to follow, but they also managed to grab your interest. I found this book erotic and gripping in the tale that is told. It is also very graphic, and at times, obscene. If you're looking for a romance with great sex scenes, pick up a Catherine Coulter book, but if it's raw sex and the darker side of the human nature you're looking for, this is the book you should read. For all of you who have read this book and found it disguisting and not at all what you expected, how about reading the writing on the back of the book? You know that thing that tells you what to expect out of the book, it gives you a brief description of the book? What do you think it's there for? Sheesh!!

Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected
Review: Well this book was definitely interesting...Good for an article written in playboy, but not what I expected from Anne Rice, whose books I do enjoy.There was sex on the second page, and the plot escaped me for most of the novel. It was graphic and filled with meaningless sex which to me makes the entire book pointless. Buy a Penthouse instead...it costs less and there are pictures to go along with the text.

Rating:
Summary: cruel and unusual
Review: Bought this as a light beach read - oops! Boring, repetitive, cruel, mean-spirited - there are only so many interesting ways to describe raw genitalia. And I prefer my s&m consensual, thanks. Wrapping a good plot around it might have helped - a little. I would give it 1/2 star if I could.

Rating:
Summary: Beyond the beyond
Review: After I made it past the first chapter...(do not read it at night)...I could not put the book down! I had to take a day off of work to finish it! Money, beautiful people, luxury, a plan, travel, cruel revenge made for an exceptionally exciting ride. I was amazed at how hooked I became. Make sure you have enough spare time to read the whole thing through, or you'll be sorry. Have fun and remember, it's only make believe.

Rating:
Summary: Modern women don't serve anyone!
Review: ...I was thoroughly discusted with this book! ...I enjoy erotica, but this was not it. It was disturbing and filled with terrifying mental images. Beating people until they bleed is not sensual, its sick! There is enough torture in the world around us, I certainly do not want to read about it, glorified in a book. I didn't finish the book, nor will I ever purchase another one of Anne Rice's books.