44th out of 100 books
—
48 voters
The Torture Garden (New Traveller's Companion)
Following the twin trails of desire and depravity to a shocking, sadistic paradise - a garden in China where torture is practiced as an art form - a dissolute Frenchman discovers the true depths of degradation beyond his prior bourgeois imaginings. Entranced by a resolute Englishwoman whose capacity for debauchery knows no bounds, he capitulates to her every whim amid an e...more
Paperback, 128 pages
Published
August 28th 2004
by Olympiapress.com
(first published 1899)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,395)
Mar 16, 2012
Paquita Maria Sanchez
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
literature
This one is defeating me as far as creating a formal review is concerned, so let me just instead tell you why I stuck with it, and why I may have been in a prime position to enjoy it as much as I did. Well, 'enjoy' is probably not the right word, because it is certainly not tons of fun to read. It's sexually-charged violence which explores the fork-tongued, heads-in-the-sand nature of the West in relation to its methods of maintaining order, punishing crime, and Civilizing the Natives the world...more
I wouldn't recommend this book to someone who is looking for an erotic thrill at bedtime. It's more of a literary curiosity. Here is a typical sex scene:
"The next morning, after a savage night of love, we put to sea again en route to China."
It's not that Mirbeau can't write erotic descriptions. He can. Look at this:
"Divinely calm and pretty, naked in a transparent tunic of yellow silk, she was languidly stretched out on a tiger skin. Her head lay among the cushions, and with her hands, loaded wi...more
"The next morning, after a savage night of love, we put to sea again en route to China."
It's not that Mirbeau can't write erotic descriptions. He can. Look at this:
"Divinely calm and pretty, naked in a transparent tunic of yellow silk, she was languidly stretched out on a tiger skin. Her head lay among the cushions, and with her hands, loaded wi...more
Ug...so I thought this would be a good time to review The Torture Garden since I just finished watching Diary of the Dead and don't want to sleep at the moment. If there's a common thread between some of what I've been reading and viewing lately, it's that we're all gluttons for the horrific--so long as the horror is one stepped removed from us.
The Torture Garden involves a relationship between a man and his mistress who loves to call him an "insignificant little woman." Despite the title, it's...more
The Torture Garden involves a relationship between a man and his mistress who loves to call him an "insignificant little woman." Despite the title, it's...more
Feb 12, 2008
Danger Kallisti
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
dissolute Francophile philosophers
Shelves:
debauched-intellectualism,
must-read
This book was really one of those once-in-a-lifetime finds. I was randomly surfing through Amazon.com, reading about Artaud and movements in contemporary theater, and that somehow led to weird recommendations for sadomasochistic turn-of-the-century French writing. It was translated and released by a small indie publisher dealing in out-of-print and hard-to-find erotica, mostly from the 60s.
One could easily tell by the very poor editing (which I’m starting to get used to, after this year, but wh...more
One could easily tell by the very poor editing (which I’m starting to get used to, after this year, but wh...more
As a well-meaning reviewer, I'd say: Don't read this book. It's disgusting. Just it is also considered so very diverting. But see if it's for you---Contains SPOILERS
Scene One: Our Parisian friend and hero of the book tries to get elected in a remote rural area of France, after a short tutorial on the beetroot crop (and how to improve it) from a friend. But alas: Obviously the peasants can smell ignorance when it comes to beetroot.
Scene Two: Having failed in politics, he takes up travel and falls...more
Scene One: Our Parisian friend and hero of the book tries to get elected in a remote rural area of France, after a short tutorial on the beetroot crop (and how to improve it) from a friend. But alas: Obviously the peasants can smell ignorance when it comes to beetroot.
Scene Two: Having failed in politics, he takes up travel and falls...more
Sep 30, 2010
Nate D
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Nate D by:
Mike E, via goodreads.
Shelves:
fin-de-siecle,
france
Blood from blossoms, blossoms from blood, les fleurs du mal, terrible and exquisite sensations. Vicious, grotesque, fleetingly beautiful, then again utterly abject. Necessary and unnecessary. I'm startled, both by the fountaining bile of the book, and that any can claim this has been dulled by time into quaintness.
Murder is the very bed-rock of our social institutions, and consequently the most imperious necessity of civilized life. If it no longer existed, there would be no governments of any k...more
This is a remarkable book, a brilliant book, a powerful book but two warnings are in order for the general reader.
The first is the more obvious one. The second half contains descriptions of sadistic torture and of erotic responses to cruelty that are remarkably frank and will be disturbing to most people.
Nothing is spared. Do not pick up this book if you cannot draw the essential mental distinction between reality and the imagination.
As for the second, it is also only fair to warn that this is...more
The first is the more obvious one. The second half contains descriptions of sadistic torture and of erotic responses to cruelty that are remarkably frank and will be disturbing to most people.
Nothing is spared. Do not pick up this book if you cannot draw the essential mental distinction between reality and the imagination.
As for the second, it is also only fair to warn that this is...more
октав мирбо. сад пыток
сплетение страсти и боли – сад благоухающий и экзотический, в котором отражается страсть, боль и женщина, – бездна чувства и бездонность власти над смертью. смерть призываемая и убийство оправданное, красота цветка, источающего страсть и тьма страсти, пропитанной красотой. кровь черная и красная, напитывающая собой песок и битый кирпич, блеск металла пыточных орудий и лаковая шкатулка с полетом гусей над водами, в которую складываются инструменты страсти, называемые приспос...more
сплетение страсти и боли – сад благоухающий и экзотический, в котором отражается страсть, боль и женщина, – бездна чувства и бездонность власти над смертью. смерть призываемая и убийство оправданное, красота цветка, источающего страсть и тьма страсти, пропитанной красотой. кровь черная и красная, напитывающая собой песок и битый кирпич, блеск металла пыточных орудий и лаковая шкатулка с полетом гусей над водами, в которую складываются инструменты страсти, называемые приспос...more
First things first ...the front cover shown on Amazon to accompany the book gives rise to that adage 'don't judge a book by it's cover' as it gives the look of some pulp throw away wheras a better book actually lies behind the cover(replicated in virtual 'glory' by the Kindle).
The book itself is one I had heard of but had never got around to reading...however at 75p on Amazon.co.uk I thought maybe it was time to give it a go I am glad I did.
It's been a solid decent read starting as in the way of...more
The book itself is one I had heard of but had never got around to reading...however at 75p on Amazon.co.uk I thought maybe it was time to give it a go I am glad I did.
It's been a solid decent read starting as in the way of...more
Voy a comentar este libro en español porque nadie lo ha hecho y porque fue el idioma en que lo leí. Llegué a “El jardín de los suplicios (Le jardin des supplices)” de manera casi casual.
A los catorce o quince años de edad encontré en la biblioteca de la secundaria a la que asistía un libro con un título y tema similar, en ese entonces, siendo más joven, el libro me impresionó profundamente y aún la considero una de esas lecturas que aparecen una vez en la vida y dejan su marca. Años después com...more
A los catorce o quince años de edad encontré en la biblioteca de la secundaria a la que asistía un libro con un título y tema similar, en ese entonces, siendo más joven, el libro me impresionó profundamente y aún la considero una de esas lecturas que aparecen una vez en la vida y dejan su marca. Años después com...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
"Mostri, mostri! All'inizio non ci sono mostri! Quelli che chiami mostri sono forme superiori al di fuori della tua concezione. Forse che gli dèi non sono mostri? E l'uomo geniale non è forse un mostro come la tigre, il ragno, come tutti gli esseri che vivono al di sopra delle menzogne sociali, nella splendente e divina immortalità delle cose!".
Pubblicato nel 1899, questo libro ha qualche pregio provocatorio nel suscitare una vera e propria ripugnanza per il narratore, mezzasega figlio di comme...more
Pubblicato nel 1899, questo libro ha qualche pregio provocatorio nel suscitare una vera e propria ripugnanza per il narratore, mezzasega figlio di comme...more
To the priests, the soldiers, the judges
to those people
who educate, instruct and govern men
I dedicate these pages of Murder and Blood
‘Torture Garden’ is one of the most extreme, lurid, sickening and beautiful books ever written.
It’s divided into three sections.
The first:
(view spoiler)
The second:
(view...more
This novel is an exploration of the fine line between lust and violence. However, the sadism Mirabeau portrays is so overwhelming that it often detracts from the work as a whole, and the conclusion left me feeling as though it could've definitely used some work. I felt as though he was reaching a deadline of some sort and so he simply made a conclusion within a few minutes! The entire first half of the novel is an allegory, but for those who know nothing of French politics during this era it'll...more
OK, it's probably both borderline racist and borderline misogyny-- let's get that out of the way before we start in.
But it's also supremely fucked up and awesome and lushly descriptive, sadomasochistic but also kind of not really, vaguely political (there's a political message in there somewhere...), simultaneously Nietzschean and anti-Nietzschean, bizarre, unclassifiable, and just generally kickass. Pain is life is sex is death, and we try to impose categories to make sense of it-- whether or n...more
But it's also supremely fucked up and awesome and lushly descriptive, sadomasochistic but also kind of not really, vaguely political (there's a political message in there somewhere...), simultaneously Nietzschean and anti-Nietzschean, bizarre, unclassifiable, and just generally kickass. Pain is life is sex is death, and we try to impose categories to make sense of it-- whether or n...more
Sep 11, 2009
Tim Mayer
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
karl-wagner-memorial-library
"Fin-de-siecle decadence at its best. At one time one of those 'suppressed' books and now chiefly remembered as one of Frank Frazetta's better paperback covers"
-Karl Edward Wagner, 1983
"In a broader sense the expression fin de siècle is used to characterize anything that has an ominous mixture of opulence and/or decadence, combined with a shared prospect of unavoidable radical change or some approaching 'end.'"- Wikipedia
First published in 1899, Torture Garden still leaves a taste of decadence i...more
-Karl Edward Wagner, 1983
"In a broader sense the expression fin de siècle is used to characterize anything that has an ominous mixture of opulence and/or decadence, combined with a shared prospect of unavoidable radical change or some approaching 'end.'"- Wikipedia
First published in 1899, Torture Garden still leaves a taste of decadence i...more
Jul 07, 2008
Chris
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who likes to boast they've read some shocking, underground fare
Recommended to Chris by:
the nincompoops at Amazon.com
Recommended by Amazon.com, and when have they been wrong, aside from the last ten suggestions haphazardly tossed my way……
I picked this up hoping to be disgusted, to be so shocked, startled, and overwhelmed with mind-blowing perversity that I wouldn’t be able to turn my sickened eyes from it while plumbing the depths of depravity. What did I get? A bunch of botany and some pretty pathetic torture sequences. What happened to the ‘detailed descriptions of sexual euphoria and exquisite torture’ tha...more
I picked this up hoping to be disgusted, to be so shocked, startled, and overwhelmed with mind-blowing perversity that I wouldn’t be able to turn my sickened eyes from it while plumbing the depths of depravity. What did I get? A bunch of botany and some pretty pathetic torture sequences. What happened to the ‘detailed descriptions of sexual euphoria and exquisite torture’ tha...more
"Ah, yes! The Torture Garden! Passions, appetites, personal interests, hatreds and lies, along with laws, social institutions, justice, love, glory, heroism and religion. These are its monstrous and hideous flowers--instruments of eternal human suffering. What I saw that day, what I hear, exists and cries out and yells outside that garden, which for me is no more than a symbol of the whole earth. I have vainly sought a lull in crime and rest in death, but have found them nowhere."
I'll be honest, this is pretty much my favourite book of all time.
A swingeing satire painted in lurid brushstrokes broad enough to appear crass to some. The depiction of fin de siecle French politics is perfect and the decadent ruminations on the nature of man could hardly be more attuned to my taste. Erudite, incorrigible and fresh enough to still be shocking, if this book became flesh there'd be a queue to join his gentleman's club.
A swingeing satire painted in lurid brushstrokes broad enough to appear crass to some. The depiction of fin de siecle French politics is perfect and the decadent ruminations on the nature of man could hardly be more attuned to my taste. Erudite, incorrigible and fresh enough to still be shocking, if this book became flesh there'd be a queue to join his gentleman's club.
I did not really get that much out of this book. At first it felt like the story is never going to get anywhere as so long is spent on the protagonist's background. Eventually, he and his lady friend end up in the Torture Garden but then the book will very abruptly come to an end.
During their visit in the garden they witness various cruel punishments which Clara holds a great deal of interest. While the protagonist tries to figure out her obsession about death and torture, he also finds beauty i...more
During their visit in the garden they witness various cruel punishments which Clara holds a great deal of interest. While the protagonist tries to figure out her obsession about death and torture, he also finds beauty i...more
Es un libro crudo que contrasta la belleza de la naturaleza en un paisaje situado en algún lugar de Asia con la crueldad y violencia humanas que pueden llegar a fascinar a algunos.
Un francés cuenta lo que vivió al lado de Clara, una mujer inglesa gustosa de los placeres carnales, la depravación y la tortura.
Un francés cuenta lo que vivió al lado de Clara, una mujer inglesa gustosa de los placeres carnales, la depravación y la tortura.
My LJ bookclub book for March. Not an easy read, but a thought-provoking one. I believe the most disturbing parts, for me at any rate, were not the graphic scenes, but just how many truths about human nature are hidden (or not hidden) in the social commentary. I can't even imagine what stir this book must have caused when originally published in 1899.
This book is not nearly as disturbing as it could have been, though for it's time period it certainly was one of the most shocking things ever written. Then again, if you've never tasted any literature of depravity before don't read it over lunch.
One of the flaws is that Mirbeau spends far more time describing the details of bureaucracy and floral botany than he does torture and lust. When he does turn to those subjects however it is merely in passive told description or explanatory dialogue ra...more
One of the flaws is that Mirbeau spends far more time describing the details of bureaucracy and floral botany than he does torture and lust. When he does turn to those subjects however it is merely in passive told description or explanatory dialogue ra...more
Although this was in the vein of other decadent works that I have read and enjoyed (A Rebours, Venus in Furs), something about this book was kind of off. Perhaps it was poor characterization. Or perhaps this was just a bad translation. I found the character of Clara rather unconvincing, and also pretty annoying. The narrator was not much better.
That said, I liked some of the descriptions of the tortures and flowers.
That said, I liked some of the descriptions of the tortures and flowers.
I expected a little more out of this one, since it's hailed as this shocking fin de siecle masterpiece. Maybe I'm jaded. It wasn't the best translation, either, and my copy has this ridiculous cover photo of a Catherine Deneuve-type from Belle de Jour, obviously meant to draw in and titillate, and which couldn't misrepresent the book and its premise any more.
Win some, lose some, I suppose. I'd probably have really dug this in high school, when I discovered Nin, Miller, and D.H. Lawrence, but I'...more
Win some, lose some, I suppose. I'd probably have really dug this in high school, when I discovered Nin, Miller, and D.H. Lawrence, but I'...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Share This Book
1 trivia question
More quizzes & trivia...
“Come now, don't make such a funeral face. It isn't dying that's sad; it's living when you're not happy.”
—
11 people liked it
“Woman possesses the cosmic force of an element, an invincible force of destruction, like nature's. She is, in herself alone, all nature! Being the matrix of life, she is by that very fact the matrix of death - since it is from death that life is perpetually reborn, and since to annihilate death would be to kill life at its only fertile source.”
—
4 people liked it
More quotes…

Loading...



































Mar 18, 2012 07:51pm
Mar 19, 2012 01:15pm