Only Georges Bataille could write, of an eyeball removed from a corpse, that "the caress of the eye over the skin is so utterly, so extraordinarily gentle, and the sensation is so bizarre that it has something of a rooster's horrible crowing." Bataille has been called a "metaphysician of evil," specializing in blasphemy, profanation, and horror. Story of the Eye, written in 1928, is his best-known work; it is unashamedly surrealistic, both disgusting and fascinating, and packed with seemingly endless violations. It's something of an underground classic, rediscovered by each new generation. Most recently, the Icelandic pop singer Björk Guðdmundsdóttir cites Story of the Eye as a major inspiration: she made a music video that alludes to Bataille's erotic uses of eggs, and she plans to read an excerpt for an album. Warning: Story of the Eye is graphically sexual, and is only for adults who are not easily offended.

I'm not sure what can really be said of this book. I thought I knew what I was getting myself into but I was way off on this one.

It's not for the faint of heart. Bataille is unforgiving and relentless in his descriptions and though occasionally difficult to get through, it's easy to see why this is considered such a step forward in the genre.

I won't be releasing this one. Instead, I'll add it to my personal collection and if anyone's interested, I'm more than happy to "share" it.