The Sexual Life of Catherine M
1 journaler for this copy...
Translated from the French original.
Contrary to most people's expectations, this book lacks "juicy" details. It will bore the pants off anyone expecting a titillating memoir. That's why it has few (and mostly negative) reviews on sites like Amazon. But...if you are interested in reading about what goes on inside an (intellectual) woman's mind with regards to things sexual, this is a revealing book.
Catherine Millet, as an educated professional who has been trained to respond "analytically" towards all things aesthetic, treats her sexual escapades the way she treats paintings in a gallery. She may view her encounter with a group of men the way she responds to a series of paintings hanging in one room -- she experiences them all at once, or one at a time. All may move her, or none at all. She may ignore the general picture of a man's body, choosing to focus instead on a detail or a single movement of his body, just as she may zoom in on a particular hue or brushstroke of an artistic composition.
She has her own aesthetic philosophy of sex, one that goes against that which sociology or psychology tells us tends to be the norm among women, or even that which most women would like to aspire to.
In that sense it is a characteristically "French" book, with its detached tone and its aesthetic/philosophical attitude towards carnality. Millet may have been influenced by works such as Jean Genet's The Thief's Journal or even Joyce's The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. I shall try to read Genet again after a long long while, and compare the two.
Millet is probably conscious of the difficulty of a woman writing (literary) fiction about women's sexuality. (Strange how few woman dare to follow in the literary footsteps of Pauline Reage.) This might explain her need to claim that her text is 'real' and 'revealing,' even though she provides little in the way of intimate biography.
What is most interesting in this book is following the process of Millet's thoughts on writing. Even when claiming to be 'open' and 'honest' the writer is always re-creating and structuring reality through the process of writing. Writing is artifice, and the 'naked' reality of one's experiences can't be conveyed with precision. Like painting, truth lies in the eye of the beholder.
For Millet to be more revealing or intimate than she is here would be against her aesthetic convictions. Thinking, rather than xxxxing, is the essence of her being. On that score, she does succeed in baring her self to the reader.
Contrary to most people's expectations, this book lacks "juicy" details. It will bore the pants off anyone expecting a titillating memoir. That's why it has few (and mostly negative) reviews on sites like Amazon. But...if you are interested in reading about what goes on inside an (intellectual) woman's mind with regards to things sexual, this is a revealing book.
Catherine Millet, as an educated professional who has been trained to respond "analytically" towards all things aesthetic, treats her sexual escapades the way she treats paintings in a gallery. She may view her encounter with a group of men the way she responds to a series of paintings hanging in one room -- she experiences them all at once, or one at a time. All may move her, or none at all. She may ignore the general picture of a man's body, choosing to focus instead on a detail or a single movement of his body, just as she may zoom in on a particular hue or brushstroke of an artistic composition.
She has her own aesthetic philosophy of sex, one that goes against that which sociology or psychology tells us tends to be the norm among women, or even that which most women would like to aspire to.
In that sense it is a characteristically "French" book, with its detached tone and its aesthetic/philosophical attitude towards carnality. Millet may have been influenced by works such as Jean Genet's The Thief's Journal or even Joyce's The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. I shall try to read Genet again after a long long while, and compare the two.
Millet is probably conscious of the difficulty of a woman writing (literary) fiction about women's sexuality. (Strange how few woman dare to follow in the literary footsteps of Pauline Reage.) This might explain her need to claim that her text is 'real' and 'revealing,' even though she provides little in the way of intimate biography.
What is most interesting in this book is following the process of Millet's thoughts on writing. Even when claiming to be 'open' and 'honest' the writer is always re-creating and structuring reality through the process of writing. Writing is artifice, and the 'naked' reality of one's experiences can't be conveyed with precision. Like painting, truth lies in the eye of the beholder.
For Millet to be more revealing or intimate than she is here would be against her aesthetic convictions. Thinking, rather than xxxxing, is the essence of her being. On that score, she does succeed in baring her self to the reader.
Reserved for "wild release" at the Porn Film Festival.
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Thank you for picking up this book. Do with it as you please... read it, give it to a friend, keep it, release it in the wild - it's up to you.
Enjoy!
~~~~~ ΓΙΑ ΤΟΝ ΕΠΟΜΕΝΟ ΑΝΑΓΝΩΣΤΗ ~~~~~
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Ευχαριστώ, και καλή ανάγνωση!
Καλό ταξίδι βιβλιαράκι!
You have in your hands a free gift. This book is yours to do with as you wish...read it, share it, keep it, pass it on!
I've registered this at BookCrossing.com so that I can keep up on where it goes, who reads it, and what they thought of it. I'd love to see an entry letting me know it is safe with you.
To get started, just enter the book's BCID number (you'll find it inside the book) at the BCID field (top left of this webpage) and press Go!
If you like the BookCrossing concept, you might want to register yourself with a screen name. (but you can remain anonymous also and still journal this book), so that you can follow this book as it travels, and maybe release other books. It’s all confidential (you’re known only by your screen name and no one is ever given your e-mail address), fascinating, and fun!
Thank you for picking up this book. Do with it as you please... read it, give it to a friend, keep it, release it in the wild - it's up to you.
Καλωσήρθες στο BookCrossing!
Διάβασε το βιβλίο, αν θέλεις, και μετά βοήθησέ το να συνεχίσει το ταξίδι του αφήνοντάς το κάπου (σε ένα παγκάκι, σε έναν τηλεφωνικό θάλαμο, στο προαύλιο του σχολείου, στο τραπεζάκι μιας καφετέριας, κλπ.) για να το βρει κάποιος όπως το βρήκες κι εσύ. Μπορείς ακόμη να το χαρίσεις σε κάποιον φίλο σου!
Μπορείς να συναντήσεις άλλους Έλληνες BookCrossers στο Ελληνικό Φόρουμ του site για να σου εξηγήσουν ό,τι χρειάζεσαι να ξέρεις. Επίσης μπορείς να ρίξεις μια ματιά στον Ταξιδιωτικό Οδηγό BookCrossing και στο Ελληνικό Bookrossing wiki που θα σου λύσουν κάποιες απορίες για τη λειτουργία του site.
Για να αφήσεις σχόλιο (αρχικά να με ενημερώσεις ότι βρήκες το βιβλίο!), γράψε (επάνω αριστερά στο "Enter a BCID") τον κωδικό αριθμό που βρίσκεται στην ετικέτα μέσα στο βιβλίο, και πάτα "Go".
Ευχαριστώ, και καλή ανάγνωση!
I released this book last Saturday at the Porn Film festival at Gagarin 205.
I hope you find this book interesting!
I hope you find this book interesting!
