Les Crimes de l'amour by Marquis de Sade

The arguments and philosophising of the characters and narrator are thought provoking. Books are well written or badly written.” Fortunately this one is well written, albeit the language is archaic at times. As Wilde said, “There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. He is responsible for what is probably the most disturbing and vile piece of literature ever created.Ĭrimes of Love is not an evil book, nor is it by an evil author. Having read his magnum opus, The 120 Days of Sodom, I can assure you that his work can go beyond pornographic. He was imprisoned for his pornographic writings and is to this day considered dangerous.

If you are squeamish or prudish, you should avoid this book and anything else by the Marquis de Sade. His writing is archaic but still accessible to the modern reader. They rarely receive their just desserts.Īlso, reading the author’s footnotes is intriguing, as Sade discusses dreams and states how long it would take a cannonball to reach the sun. The endings of these stories are moral, but not moral enough, as the damage caused is irreparable and the antagonists merely repent. The contrast between the villainous and virtuous characters is fascinating. Sade’s villains stop at nothing to fulfil their evil plans, and have no motivation other than to cause suffering. As well as that, he soars through the solar system on an eagle who gives him advice and words of wisdom. The young girls he has murdered and raped haunt him throughout his journey. One involves a journey by Rodrigo, the King of Spain, to hell and back for money. They contain murder, incest and intrigue.

The stories themselves are witty, moral, extremely tragic and bizarre, all at the same time. This should be expected after all it is from him that the term “Sadism” is derived. This book is tame compared to the author’s other writings. Now five of these weird and wonderful tales are available to modern readers. Crimes of Love, a collection of short stories, was first published in 1800.

Les Crimes de l'amour by Marquis de Sade