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Monsieur

by Emma Becker, Maxim Jakubowski (Translator)

2.34 of 5 stars 2.34 · rating details · 71 ratings · 21 reviews

What sort of
woman has a taste for middle-aged, married men? Ellie, twenty years old and living in Paris,
leads a light and carefree life until she meets “Mister”—a
married surgeon approaching middle age. Beginning with their frenzied affair in a hotel room in the
fifteenth arrondissement, Monsieur details the clandestine
Tuesday morning hotel meet...more

Paperback, 256 pages

Published November 2012 by Arcade Publishing (first published January 13th 2011)

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Oct 31, 2012 Stacia ~ Mistress of Mediocrity rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult

Adult review for explicit content. Proceed at your own risk.

So...Monsieur. I wanted to read this book from the moment I viewed the summary.

What I was expecting : Gorgeously written Erotic Literary Fiction with a reverse Lolita-esque twist.

What I was smacked down with : Tucker Max-style sex which made me want to throw up a little in my mouth.

I wish I were kidding. Talk about false advertising. It says in the summary : Often shocking but never gratuitous. I call LIE.
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Now, I'm not a fan of Tucker...more

33 likes · like · see review

Dec 22, 2012 Zara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own, review-list, erotica

Monsieur by Emma Becker will strangle you into its story of erotic passion that started as a young woman’s naive and rebellious curiosity that slowly and thickly becomes a lethal, emotional, and lustful obsession.

It’s a story of 20-something-year-old Ellie, a “nymphet,” of who she describes in the fictional work, “Lolita” by Nabakov—the title, too, is the opening sentence of the first chapter of the book, which should elicit or at least allude to the passion and erotica to come in the novel (no...more Monsieur by Emma Becker will strangle you into its story of erotic passion that started as a young woman’s naive and rebellious curiosity that slowly and thickly becomes a lethal, emotional, and lustful obsession.

It’s a story of 20-something-year-old Ellie, a “nymphet,” of who she describes in the fictional work, “Lolita” by Nabakov—the title, too, is the opening sentence of the first chapter of the book, which should elicit or at least allude to the passion and erotica to come in the novel (no pun intended—well… maybe a little)—and her all-consuming affair with her married lover, a man twenty-five years her senior who she affectionately refers to as, Monsieur.

And while the name in itself, “Monsieur,” denotes a sense of maturity, propriety, or even a formal politeness or regality; the character referred to as “Monsieur,” is anything but (again, no pun intended and yet, you will need to read the book to understand exactly what I mean—the word “arse” is not only repeated numerous times in the text, but is a focus of delight and fascination by the perverse and lustful character of Monsieur).

This is no light romance of youthful fancy and sentimental imaginings. Readers of innocent and inexperience youth, the blushing, shy, and embarrassed prudes of moral superiority and those who detest or fear sexual deviancy should not read this book. The context of Monsieur and Ellie’s affair is sordid, crude, and highly brazen. Like the book. Like the narrative.

But, it’s no simple piece of pornographic literature or smut either, though you might think so when first coming across such loud and filthy words in your reading like “cunt,” or “cock.” And trust me when I say, there’s a purpose to this language in the book. It’s at the centre of its context—as well as the style and source of its characters’ torturous affair.

The language of the book (and its couple) is brazen and unashamed, while the sex acts are primal, deviant, and cruel. But, it’s the source and expression of their arousal. It’s what connects their commonality, it’s the fuel to their egotism, and their secret vice.

To finish reading my review, you're more than welcome to visit my blog, The Bibliotaphe Closet:

http://zaraalexis.wordpress.com/2012/...#

Thanks,
Zara Alexis @ The Bibliotaphe Closet(less)

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Apr 02, 2013 Jacque rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

Monsieur is a story about Ellie, a twenty year old and living in Paris, and her pursue of Monsieur, a married surgeon approaching middle age. Follow this reverse Lolita story as it starts out as a shared love of erotica novels that evolves into an affair. Spanning over several months their intense sexual adventures consists of random phone calls several, Facebook and meetings in a hotel on Tuesday mornings. As their brief affair comes to its conclusion, how will Ellie survive its devastating aft...more

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Dec 23, 2012 Laura rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was pretty tedious stuff. Given that this was a French older man-younger woman story, I was hoping it would be a bit like 'The Lover' by Marguerite Duras; what I got was more on the level of E.L. James - something I would have known, had I read the review on the back cover describing this as the next 'Fifty Shades of Grey'. My mistake. The writing was overwrought and the story repetitive, with a lot of pointless details and characters who were nothing more than names. I hated the girl-talk...more

1 like · like · see review

Oct 24, 2012 Alicia rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-books-read, 2012-reviews

I seriously don't know how to even write this review right now. I'm still in shock over what I just read. This book was high on my list in terms of expectations and man, did it fail me in every way possible.

I actually had to read this book in sections because I just couldn't get past a lot of stuff. The first 150 pages shocked me, and not in a good way. I was expecting the writing to be more along the lines of Nikki Gemmell, but instead was shocked to find it more like E.L. James, but slightly...more

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Jan 13, 2013 Blair rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, read-on-kindle, translated, 2012-release

After managing to avoid the Fifty Shades of Grey phenomenon completely, an erotic novel wasn't at the top of my reading wishlist. I was intrigued by a couple of reviews I've read of this on book blogs I follow, though - one absolutely tore it to pieces, the other was very positive. Then it was reduced to 99p in the Kindle sale and I just thought, why not? It's always interesting to give a different type of story a try, and the first couple of pages grabbed my attention as I immediately liked the...more After managing to avoid the Fifty Shades of Grey phenomenon completely, an erotic novel wasn't at the top of my reading wishlist. I was intrigued by a couple of reviews I've read of this on book blogs I follow, though - one absolutely tore it to pieces, the other was very positive. Then it was reduced to 99p in the Kindle sale and I just thought, why not? It's always interesting to give a different type of story a try, and the first couple of pages grabbed my attention as I immediately liked the narrator's voice.

Monsieur is ostensibly the story of an affair between Ellie, a twenty-year-old student, and 'Monsieur', a married plastic surgeon who is twenty-six years her senior. It may have been widely described as an erotic novel but it's only really erotic in the sense that a) the sex scenes are very graphic, and b) the narrator is always thinking about sex. The majority of the story is actually about the aftermath of their affair - Ellie angsting and wringing her hands over why Monsieur is ignoring her and how things could have been different. Oh, and (because he's told her to) she is also writing a book about their time together, which is called, you guessed it, Monsieur.

I loved the very beginning of the book: Ellie encounters Monsieur's eldest son unexpectedly, thinks about all the ways she could potentially introduce herself to him but doesn't dare to speak, and ends up sobbing, alone, on the train. I was instantly captivated and wanted to know the backstory, the whole messy tale of how Ellie had ended up here. Unfortunately, I didn't really get that. Instead I got some detailed sex scenes (most of which aren't very sexy), pages and pages of Ellie and Monsieur texting each other (!), and long interludes in which Ellie just spends a lot of time thinking about and analysing... well, not a lot. It's clear that Ellie has an unhealthy obsession with Monsieur but rather than addressing why, the story throws up so many questions that just don't get answered. Most importantly, why is she even bothered about him? He treats her pretty terribly, is always either patronising her, manipulating her, or ignoring her - often more than one at the same time. On top of that, he doesn't even satisfy her sexually, and she has a (bewilderingly large) collection of other lovers who she seems to be getting more enjoyment out of. Obviously, she wouldn't be the first woman to fall in love with a horrible man, but I didn't feel like the book was doing anything to explain to me why this would have been the case here.

It's hard not to see Monsieur as partly autobiographical when you learn that the author is in her early twenties - and she's given the narrator the same last name as her (as well as a very similar first name). Given that knowledge, it's hard to tell whether certain aspects of the protagonist's character have been created deliberately - which would make it a better book - or whether this is the author talking about herself - which would make it worse. On top of the problems with how the relationship is portrayed, Ellie isn't a very likeable person. She's unbelievably self-centred and her naivete is extraordinary, all of which makes her seem more like a spoilt child than a woman in the throes of a meaningful affair. Of particular note is the fact that she seems to take Monsieur calling her 'my love' to mean that he's in love with her, and she is bizarrely naive about some aspects of sex and relationships for someone who seems to think of nothing else. If the character's identity didn't seem so close to the author's then I would assume we were supposed to see Ellie as almost comically gullible and childlike, but I could never be sure.

I really like stories about all-consuming affairs, difficult relationships and the marks they leave on the people involved. For example, Anna Raverat's Signs of Life, one of my favourites of 2012, would fit into that category, and it's this kind of story I was hoping for from Monsieur. I was never all that bothered about the sex scenes either way - it wasn't the promise of erotica that drew me to this book, although if they'd been good they would have added some much-needed spice to the story. As it happened, they were okay: not quite Fifty Shades levels of bad, but they often strayed into cringeworthy language, and after a while they became unsurprisingly repetitive. Becker actually seems to be better at portraying sexual tension and anticipation, most evident in the scenes between Ellie and Lucy, a female friend she finds herself attracted to, but sadly there wasn't enough of this.

Becker definitely has talent: when I re-read the beginning of the book to write this review, I could still see exactly why I was sucked into it, despite knowing that I didn't much like what came after those first few chapters. It's just a shame those glimmers of good writing weren't put to better use. If you want a brilliantly written story about a destructive affair, read Signs of Life. If you want a good erotic novel, well, I'm not really sure what I'd recommend, but it wouldn't be this. (less)

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Nov 13, 2012 Marleen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When twenty year old Ellie finds out that a colleague of her uncle has an interest in and a collection of erotic literature the thought excites her and awakens her curiosity. It isn’t long before she has found this man on Facebook. When, soon after, she sends him a message, indicating both her own interest in erotica and subtle hints at where those might lead she sets in to motion a chain of events that will take her on an emotional roller-coaster and will, eventually, leave her devastated. Init...more When twenty year old Ellie finds out that a colleague of her uncle has an interest in and a collection of erotic literature the thought excites her and awakens her curiosity. It isn’t long before she has found this man on Facebook. When, soon after, she sends him a message, indicating both her own interest in erotica and subtle hints at where those might lead she sets in to motion a chain of events that will take her on an emotional roller-coaster and will, eventually, leave her devastated. Initially the two illicit lovers meet regularly, on Tuesdays, in a cheap hotel in Paris where their encounters and especially Monsieur’s needs and demands are of such intensity that they both intrigue and revolt the young woman. This state of affairs doesn’t last long though. After only a few weeks their encounters become less regular and contact between them fragmented and ever more one-sided. Torn between need and despair Ellie doesn’t know what she wants or needs anymore. Other lovers can’t distract her from the need she feels for Monsieur and neither can her girlfriends. She will have to make up her mind if an affair, conducted according to his schedule only, is something she can live with or whether her, ever more fragile, hold on her sanity requires her to make a clean break.

This was a book unlike anything I’ve read before and I’m not quite sure what I think of it. Exceptionally well written this story is both shocking and thought provoking. The reader finds themselves alternating between very graphic and often crude descriptions of sexual intercourse and philosophical thoughts about love, life, erotica and relationships. And because the story is told by a girl in her early twenties we are spectators as she slowly grows up, learns things about herself she might not want to know and discovers her boundaries.

As for Ellie, there were several occasions on which I felt like slapping some sense into her. I wanted her to make up her mind about what she wanted and needed. Either she enjoyed the way he was treating her – in which case continuing made sense – or she didn’t – which should have her walking away from this unpredictable and utterly selfish man. It was hard not to feel that the young woman was as addicted to this man as she was to the bad way in which he was treating her. The way she describes her despair had me thinking that those feelings were as important to her as her physical need for him was.

One issue I had early on in this book is that it wasn’t always clear who was saying what. The perspective could shift from one paragraph to the next and there were occasions when I would have finished reading a paragraph before realising that, apparently, the perspective had changed. I think this might be a language issue though. It’s been years since I last studied French in school but I do remember enough to know that if I were (able) to read this book in the original language the use of gender based words and word-endings would have made these shifts more instantly recognisable. I also find myself wondering if I made allowances for this story and the language used because it is, originally, a French story; as if the French are entitled to behave, think and talk in ways that I wouldn’t find acceptable coming from any other nationality. Even now that I’ve finished the book, I can’t answer that particular question.

This book is very sexually explicit and doesn’t mince its words. In fact at times the language in this book is crude. The author doesn’t shy away from using vulgar words, doesn’t try to make the sexual acts the characters indulge in look or sound polite. These two characters abandon themselves in each other and in the animal attraction between them; the words they use reflect their very basic needs. Any shame Ellie feels is there for the reader to share, and the words used make it easier for the reader to do just that.

Fascinating and disturbing, beautifully written and at times almost philosophical, vulgar and shocking; there are so many aspects to this book and it raised so many, conflicting, reactions in me that I’m at a loss to come up with a short description of my feelings about this work. What I will say is that this is not a book for those who find themselves easily shocked or offended. And it is also not a book for those who want a quick and easy erotic tale. This book provides the reader with both a shocking story and lots of food for thought. This is a story that, for a variety of reasons, will linger with the reader.

According to an interview with the author this is a semi-autobiographical story which makes me wonder if the man she calls Monsieur in this book has read it, how he feels about it and if they have had contact (in any way, shape or form) since the book was published. At the same time I’m not sure whether to admire the way in which the author described herself or be shocked by her apparent lack of shame. What I will say though is that if an award was given for brutal honesty in a novel, this book would be in with a good chance of winning.
(less)

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Jul 27, 2012 Ametista rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook

Un'adolescente appassionata di letteratura erotica si avvicina tramite facebook ad un chirurgo dall'età matura, anch'egli lettore di Calaferte ed ex-collega di suo zio.
Scambi di email e messaggi incrementano la tensione erotica creatasi tra i due, tensione che dirompre quando si incontreranno e daranno vita ad una relazione da proibire.

Personalmente non amo le storie che vedono come protagonista la ragazzina giovane e peccaminosa, nè libri scritti da autrici donne.
Gran parte del libro è occupata...more

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Mar 28, 2013 Suzanne Stroh rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: erotica

Disappointing début, but we have been waiting a long time for the spawn of Marguerite Duras and Anaïs Nin, and so I will stay open-minded in anticipation of the next book by this erotic novelist writing in French, formerly living in France, and now apparently in Berlin.

I kept wondering, as I read: were my twenties really so shallow?

Makes you long for the days of Henry and June, My Blue Notebooks and Marguerite Duras's The Lover, eh? Or I'll even take Damage by Josephine Hart, as far as tales of...more

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Apr 14, 2013 For Books' Sake rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"From a title that conjures up Gallic mystery, to a book cover suggesting a certain type of abandonment, to the blurb that enthusiastically sets this up as the female opposite to Lolita…you might expect something a little heady, a little glorious from Emma Becker’s Monsieur (translated here from the French by Maxim Jakubowski, and, rather interestingly, titled Mr. in its original version)." (Excerpt from full review at For Books' Sake.)

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Nov 07, 2012 Ellie marked it as to-read

Shelves: dnf, translated

DNF - 228 pages read

It’s not that I didn’t like this one; it’s not bad as far as erotic fiction goes…but because of its nature I didn’t really want to read it in public and therefore it got left behind a lot. I just sort of got half way and lost interest. There’s only so much sex I can read about before it becomes boring and at the beginning Ellie (the character, not me) makes it clear that they broke up so there was nothing to read on for. Except maybe the why, but that didn’t seem all that mys...more

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May 11, 2013 Lynxie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1st-reads-won, autumn-challenge, dead-tree-books, 2-star-review, not-for-the-feint-hearted, swear-tastic

Review to come...

And no, that pun wasn't intended.

Things you will need to know about Monsieur before you pick it up:
1. This book is about sex
2. This book is about kinky sex (primarily anal sex)
3. This book is VERY descriptive and holds nothing back (and I do mean nothing!)
4. It also uses some very colourful language, so if you're not a fan of the C-bomb and various other words used to describe that part of the female anatomy, this book is NOT for you.

Things I'd like to say:
1. Emma Becker is a g...more

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May 01, 2013 Constance rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: erotica

I was expecting a lot from this book. In some ways it delivered. It's a delightful and intriguing story but a lot of it started to feel hollow after the first section of the book. The first part was fresh and arresting, the remainder fell a bit flat. The sex scenes are decently hot but overall nothing that hasn't been done before. It was also supposed to be an obsessive story and I think obsession can be done a lot better. It tries really hard, it's a good effort. Leaves a lot to be desired.

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May 21, 2013 Tess rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: dropped

I got 71 pages into this book and just couldn't bring myself to finish it. I like finishing books, even books I don't necessarily enjoy. No matter how disinterested I am in the topic, I can't go out without know what happens in the end.

Thankfully, Emma Becker saved me the time and effort by telling me what happens in the end, though that is exactly what killed it for me. What's the point of writing about an illicit romance if you tell people up front how it's going to end? The fun of this book c...more

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Dec 19, 2012 ugo rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Un roman prétentieux, une histoire banale et scandaleusement conformiste.
(l'étudiante avec le riche docteur)
Malgré les références à la grande littérature érotique, le roman se limite à des questionnements post-ados pour un homme égoïste tout à fait banal.
Un livre surement surévalué, une opération commerciale voyeuriste.

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Dec 18, 2012 Emma Louise marked it as to-read · review of another edition

hahahaha I want to read this because of the bad reviews

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Apr 04, 2013 Roberta Mazzei rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: good-books

It looks like just 5 people liked this book, and I'm one of them.
It is not a conventional romance at all, it doesn't have a happy ending, the narration is actually tricky but in a good way; it's not that tricky that doesn't make you understand pretty much anything, it just want to let you out of the story. I felt like I was a spectator, not like I was living the story, I know that usually it's a bad thing, but with this book, it just got me hooked. When Emma Becker will be publishing another boo...more

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Mar 25, 2013 Vicky rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another erotic novel with French flavour.

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Jan 03, 2013 Minne rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

well not what I what it!

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Apr 11, 2013 Jo rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: erotica, fiction, romance

Student Ellie has an affair with a man old enough to be her father, a colleague of her uncle's. To be honest, this was a little disappointing. I was expecting something sexy and passionate (they are French after all) but it was sordid and tawdry. If they had simply fallen into an affair it wouldn't have been so bad but Ellie seeks him out on Facebook in order to sleep with him despite knowing he's married with 5 children.

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Feb 07, 2013 Stephanie Mcglinchey rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013

This is the first time I have struggled to read an erotic novel. I kept losing my place in the book, and forgetting what I had read. It may have been a combination of the narrative, or the characters, but it didn't do it for me!

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Jan 15, 2013 Andrew Schirmer rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: french

French erotic fan fiction is better than Twilight fan fiction. But not by much.

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May 23, 2013 Amanda marked it as no-interest · review of another edition

May 22, 2013 Helen Belk marked it as to-read · review of another edition

May 20, 2013 Tarklovishki rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: erotica

May 17, 2013 Sonia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

May 15, 2013 Lisette Sanchez is currently reading it · review of another edition

May 14, 2013 Jackiie Schaffer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

May 05, 2013 Alex marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: need

May 05, 2013 Lucka Simova marked it as to-read · review of another edition

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Quotes from Monsieur

“Parce qu'il faut bien le dire, le sexe dans ses bras est un immense et luxuriant espace de jeu où rien, mais absolument rien, n'est interdit. J'ai l'impression de gambader toute nue au milieu d'herbes hautes infiniment plus douces que le plus doux des gazons, sous un ciel parfait, et Monsieur me pousse pour que j'atteigne des sommets inédits sur une balançoire née des pinceaux de Fragonard – et bien sûr je ne vais pas dire que je suis tout à fait tranquille en voyant le sol s'éloigner de plus en plus, mais l'ivresse est si grisante, mon Dieu, l'abandon si poignant que je ferme les yeux avec une envie insoutenable de pleurer de plaisir, mise au supplice par ce besoin que j'ai d'exprimer à quel point ce que je ressens est merveilleux, incapable de trouver ne serait-ce que des lettres pour illustrer ce sentiment; puis lorsque je suis à moitié folle d'excitation Monsieur m'entraîne à me plonger dans des marais sombres exhalant de suaves et scandaleuses vapeurs de soufre, dont l'eau est d'une chaleur obscène, et dans lesquels je me perds, orteil après orteil. Autour de nous le paysage est devenu plus inquiétant, je sais que je suis sur un territoire que Monsieur connaît par cœur, et qu'il va lui falloir me porter dans ces petits chemins de traverse que je ne soupçonnais qu'à peine. Lentement, inéluctablement je glisse dans les ornières les moins débroussaillées, et certes ma petite balançoire fleurie est loin, mais qu'il fait chaud et moite sous les ramures de ces arbres morts, plus près de l'enfer que je l'ai jamais été !...” — 1 person liked it

“Te caches-tu de tes enfants et d’Estelle pour me lire, aux toilettes, la nuit très tard, dès qu’ils ont le dos tourné ? Ou bien tiens-tu Monsieur comme on tient un SAS, négligemment, les doigts enduits d’huile solaire ? Suis-je déjà cornée, craquelante du sable que tes bambins m’ont envoyé entre les pages en jouant au beach-ball ? Ai-je enfin réussi, à ma manière, à pénétrer un peu de vos vacances en famille ?
Est-ce que tu as peur ? Quelle est la part de haine dans toutes les émotions, contradictoires sans doute, que je t’inspire de manière – disons – posthume ?
Est-ce que tu te souviens de tout ?
Y compris de ce jour ?” — 1 person liked it

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