Rating: 
Summary: .
Review: Gothic metaphysical pretension doesn't get any better than this. This is one of Bataille's best. Extroadinarily adept in evoking Bataille's rich and profoundly unique atmosphere, and compulsively readable provided you can handle pages upon pages of extremely taboo pornographic imagery. But this is very different from reading, say, De Sade -- there is a spellbindingly dreamlike quality to Bataille's writing and incredibly effective aesthetic sensibilities. Sure, it's often pretentious, but it remains dazzling and thought-provoking at the same time -- it is never cliche or anything less than utterly, twistedly original. Burroughs fans ought to enjoy this, or people who find De Sade's excess interesting but consider his writing to be unreadably dry.
Rating:
Summary: If your curiosity is piqued one iota, get this book.
Review: Here is a masterfully rendered piece of erotica. Manifold psycological implications, however at first read there is a draw in his style that I've not discovered in any other erotic writer. Picture yourself reading along, builing in anticipation and excitement, and, whammo, it hits you: you've just been turned on by an eyeball removed from its socket. And then, here's the trick, you keep reading.
Rating:
Summary: The Story of the Eye
Review: I decide to read this out of curiosity, both because Björk quoted it as her favourite book (saying everyone should read it) and because everyone I knew that had read it, told me it was really shocking. It's a short read, basically about a guys fascination with his friend Simone, a coquettish young girl. They flirt around and indulge in strange and erotic behaviour. Then one day they involve another girl Marcelle in their erotic games. Simone becomes fixated with Marcelle, who is very shy and reserved. Simone's behaviour becomes more and more frenzied, eventually climaxing into a wild animal-like orgy among friends. Marcelle reacts strongly, coming out of her shell and going crazy. Then she's institutionalized at a asylum in the countryside and the two conspire to break her out. Eventually they have to go on the lam to Spain, where Simone gets even worse. Well, I don't want to ruin it. It's graphic and definitely not for the squeamish (or prudish). I wasn't as shocked as I thought I'd be, but I wasn't disappointed either! It's a good page-turner.
Rating:
Summary: The Story of the Eye
Review: I decide to read this out of curiosity, both because Björk quoted it as her favourite book (saying everyone should read it) and because everyone I knew that had read it, told me it was really shocking. It's a short read, basically about a guys fascination with his friend Simone, a coquettish young girl. They flirt around and indulge in strange and erotic behaviour. Then one day they involve another girl Marcelle in their erotic games. Simone becomes fixated with Marcelle, who is very shy and reserved. Simone's behaviour becomes more and more frenzied, eventually climaxing into a wild animal-like orgy among friends. Marcelle reacts strongly, coming out of her shell and going crazy. Then she's institutionalized at a asylum in the countryside and the two conspire to break her out. Eventually they have to go on the lam to Spain, where Simone gets even worse. Well, I don't want to ruin it. It's graphic and definitely not for the squeamish (or prudish). I wasn't as shocked as I thought I'd be, but I wasn't disappointed either! It's a good page-turner.
Rating: 
Summary: Dreamlike and darkly pornographic
Review: I decided to read this book after hearing it was Bjork's favorite (I'm a huge fan). Like most people, I found it shocking and disturbing (and I'm not someone who's easily shocked), but not without merit. It really reads like a dream ... the kind you want to forget as soon as you wake up, and the kind you would never, ever want to describe to anyone else. So there's a definite courageousness to this book. The author had the guts to put all his demons right out there for all the world to see (well, read), and so, as disturbing as the book is, you have to respect that.
Rating: 
Summary: Basically, a shallow little moan.
Review: I have a twittering fizzing sensation building in my ears. PLug in, touch keys, flicker, flicker. Words unreadable, unspeakable (don't speak them, breath into them, give them banal life!) divulged on this surface of a wirring surface...They hav'nt a beginning or end, flocks of letters and font in rzizomatic hoards , simply drifting to and fro. I send them migrating south where they'll sail and overshoot the mark, rushing on overhead...not honing birds, graceful, seeking. They have an impossible etiology. Quite frankly, and without gilded tongue, the internet has gone some way towards disproving the theory that an infinite number of apes, typing for an given amount of time, on a given number of type-writers (simian compatable, of course), will some day produce the works of Shakespeare, Melville, Pynchon, Myself. Smash this screen, go outside, and shout at an object. An object.
Rating:
Summary: beautiful.....
Review: i have an intense love for a certain female who reminds me of Simone. This book made me want to express that love for her no matter how insane that expression may be. And i would want her to express herself in that same open, carefree, extremly intense way. thats all i can think of to say.
Rating: 
Summary: Hardcore.....it's amazing that it was published so long ago
Review: I have read many shocking books, seen many shocking films, and listened to all the most "shocking" music. None of this desensitized me enough to prevent me from raising my eyebrows and read with my jaw open multiple times during this short read. Maybe it was BECAUSE it was written so long ago that I was actually surprised by it's text. It's literally as shocking as anything that you will pick up today in the hardcore erotica/horror genres. If you can stomach some of the horrifically perverse and depraved ideas presented in this book, it really is an intriguing tale. A young boy and his female companion spend the entire book doing and fantisizing about every sort of debauchery conceived. You can finish it in one night, and even if you do not find the majority of the story offensive, the vile climax is sure to leave you a bit stunned. The most classic piece of pornographic literature ever put to page, it's sure to disgust and fascinate you. If you are curious as I was about this lost little gem of filth, by all means, do pick it up.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect
Review: I just finished reading Story of the Eye, and it is already one of my favorite books of all time. It has a very engrossing stroryline told in the first person, and a perfect ending that brings everything together. This book is as shocking as it is romantic and beautiful. I suggest reading this book if you are at all curious, because you will not be disappointed, and after you finish, you will be glad you read it.
Rating:
Summary: sexually bizarre surrealism
Review: I read this book when I was 19, after the works of Sade. Bataille was admittedly very influenced by Sade's works and I guess this little novel shows how. Bataille said he wrote "Story of the Eye" while bedridden one hot torrid summer in a state of extreme horniness. Written in a surrealistic style, this is the story of a guy and his girlfriend and their sexually aberrant behavior, including elements of mental illness, sacrilege, murder, and other things better left unmentioned haha. This book had a strong impression on me, but I wondered if others would feel the same, so I lent it to a friend. He too found it very interesting. There is no doubt it is also disturbing, especially the autobiographical psychological stuff involving Bataille's blind father urinating with his eyeballs rolled up and Bataille's equating this with eggs. If you're in the mood for a sexually odd book, this is the one to go for. David Rehak
author of "A Young Girl's Crimes"
|
