The Story of O is a beautifully written novel and does have some themes in it that are disturbing and unfathomable to the modern woman. While reading it I can see why O did what she did, but then again it makes you wonder is this person whom she loves is worth being degraded and treated like a piece of chattle. I do recommend it for those who like reading classic literature and enjoy some forms of eroticism, but if you have strong feelings towards the treatment of women in sexual situations and the lengths that one would go to show their love for another than I would caution you before diving in head first.

.........that would be titilating, if it weren't so misogynistic. I don't know that this was even meant to be an erotic novel, so much as just a story about a woman who subjects herself to unimaginable degradation. Pauline Reage, the mysterious author, wrote under a psudonym, but most agree a woman wrote this, and some think she was writing her own life story. This is about a woman known only as "O", who, in an attempt to prove her love, agrees to become her lover's "property", and do whatever he wants. He takes her to a place to be trained as a slave. She is robbed of all dignity. She is whipped mercelessly. She is raped continuously, mostly anally. It is not pleasurable for her. Then her lover "gives" her to the mysterious Sir Stephen. Sir Stephen whips O on a daily basis, has sex with her only anally, and makes sure she never enjoys it. She is his thing to be possessed. This novel is very well written, and does explore themes of why O, or any woman, would subject herself to such a life, but this is a small part of the book. We get no relief from O's journey deeper and deeper into this slave world. It is far from an uplifting tale. I think I would classify it as a tragedy, more so than an erotic novel.

Story of O is a classic piece of brilliant literature. It is tastefully written but exploits the life of one main character the reader knows only as "O". A must-read for any true Erotica fan.

I have issues with this book. For one thing, it's very hard to read. By that I mean it's kind of all over the place and the descriptions of 'acts' don't go in depth enough to really understand what is happening. Erotic stories are supposed to be packed with descriptions. Secondly, reviewers and critics say this stands with Sade's works. To me, it doesn't even deserve to be in the same genre as his works. Sade writes simply and very, very bluntly so you know exactly what is going on. He also gives power to the women in most of his works. This leads me to my third complaint about the book. It's a 'slave' book. A book where power isn't given to both sexes. Anne Rice writes the same way in her erotic novels and I'm not a fan of those books either. I'm not trying to be 'feminist' about things but there's a fine line between S&M 'play' and abuse. And, maybe due to the lack of an actual story and description of things, this story is heading towards the abusive side of things. I just don't like the story. Maybe someone else will but for now, I'll stick to Sade.