Justine

In a story told by a woman named Therese; Justine is a frighteningly sadist novel with some really distressing scenes of rape and GBH. This is not for the light-hearted - and here's me thinking that because it was written in the late 1700s/early 1800s, it would be a "light read" and not as disturbing as A Clockwork Orange. I can now say that A Clockwork Orange didn't surprise me this much. This book made me feel physically sick. But, on the other hand, it is brilliantly written. 

Characters: 

My favourite character in this novel was Therese. She seems to be an understanding and loving character with her only intention being the rhetoric of the story - she seems both caring about the message and completely submissive towards the abusive encounters of the novel. 

Themes:

The best theme (but not my favourite) in this novel is abuse and misfortune. My favourite theme in this novel is probably guilt and redemption. These themes are best explored in the truly graphic scenes and their aftermath. I'm trying not to say too much - purely because I want to keep these reviews PG-13. 

Storyline:

The storyline - like Tess of the D'Urbervilles is just one depressing misfortune after another. Nothing is ever her fault - but it ends up being her fault anyway. I really enjoyed 120 Days of Sodom but this just takes the cake when it comes to being depressive, graphic and just plain disgusting. But, on the other hand, you hardly notice that you've been dragged backwards through Hell with this character - because it's ironically so poetically written that it kind of cushions the blow. Only a little. 

Verdict:

I give this book 7/9 

2/3 for characters: I just feel that the characters all suffer so much - there could've been ONE happy thing about it. But nope, nope and nope. No happiness for anyone. 

100% for themes: De Sade does this part the best - contrasting themes with the storyline and still managing to make everything piece together properly. Bravo. 

2/3 for storyline: It's the graphic scenes. They're so long. I could've done without some of the explanations of graphic rape. Nope. Nope. Nope.