Any really scary books?

[Lizardbeast]

I'm probably going to get beat up for saying this, but the scariest book I ever read, which is also the most enlightening book I ever read, is the bible.

[ChronoGrl]

Originally Posted by 120DaysofSodom

...If Goosebumps is your cup of tea, you will probably not be able to stomach and/or keep up with the writings of the Marquis de Sade.

LOL!! I'll stick to Goosebumps.

I know I can't stomach reading or watching Sodom but I love reading/hearing people talk about it. It's fascinating to me. Just curious - What, in your opinion, and in the opinion of critics makes it a masterpiece?

...


Back to the topic at hand - More recently the books that have seriously creeped me out are The Shining by Stephen King and Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill. And I loved King's "Children of the Corn" short story.

[horcrux2007]

Originally Posted by ChronoGrl

LOL!! I'll stick to Goosebumps.

I know I can't stomach reading or watching Sodom but I love reading/hearing people talk about it. It's fascinating to me. Just curious - What, in your opinion, and in the opinion of critics makes it a masterpiece?

...


Back to the topic at hand - More recently the books that have seriously creeped me out are The Shining by Stephen King and Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill. And I loved King's "Children of the Corn" short story.

It's hardly a masterpiece. It's pretty repetitive and boring, and any "message" was just kinda lost on me.

Originally Posted by Lizardbeast

I'm probably going to get beat up for saying this, but the scariest book I ever read, which is also the most enlightening book I ever read, is the bible.

The scary part is that people believe it.

[120DaysofSodom]

Originally Posted by ChronoGrl

LOL!! I'll stick to Goosebumps.

I know I can't stomach reading or watching Sodom but I love reading/hearing people talk about it. It's fascinating to me. Just curious - What, in your opinion, and in the opinion of critics makes it a masterpiece?

'The 120 Days of Sodom' is first and foremost de Sade's magnum opus because it is the foundation upon which all of his other works would be measured. Anybody that is audacious enough to dismiss the Marquis' greatest work as "repetitious and boring" has no real appreciation for Western literature, and the immense contribution de Sades work has given over to areas relating to and concerning psychology, especially pertaining to sexual deviance and developmental theory.

There is a juxtaposition to de Sades literary masterpiece which is in itself a critique of not just the 18th century he was imprisoned, but to the 21st century as well. The wealthy libertines each represent a position of authority: the church, the state, the bank, and the aristocracy. These libertines which hold positions of great authority, and which are so often perverted by corruption, are manifest in 'The 120 Days of Sodom' as sexual deviants. In his personal life, the Marquis was the subject of great persecution by all of these. It has even been suggested that he was ever only arrested for sexual misconduct unbecoming of an aristocrat because his father had many enemies. It was not uncommon in those days for the elite to beat prostitutes. Simpletons would not be able to see past the SCAT, bestiality, incest, pedophilia, the corruption of youth, and the torture of innocence so prevalent in 'The 120 Days of Sodom' because to them, its pornographic and nothing more. The consumption of feces is representative of the mass populace of squabbling idiots eagerness to consume whatever is spoon fed to them; most particularly religious ideology. Donatien's reputation was dragged through the dirt. The whores in '120 Days', which arouse the libertines through the telling of erotic stories, represent the propaganda machine. In his earlier work, 'Dialogue between a Priest and a Dying Man', Donatien made very clear his position as a militant atheist, but in "Les 120 Journees de Sodome", he expanded on that. There is so much to 'The 120 Days of Sodom', and when reading it, it would be best to go into it understanding the life that the Marquis lived prior to having written it.

I have little doubt that Hororcrux has read even a single chapter of 'The 120 Days of Sodom', and whose opinion is sadly based merely off the tasteless on-screen adaption of de Sade's great work.

[horcrux2007]

Where did I say I read the book?

[ChronoGrl]

Hey Sodom - Thank you for the detailed analysis! I hope the "simpleton" comment wasn't geared toward me; I don't dismiss DeSade - I am very interested in him, his work, and their place in literary history - I just know that reading the work will make me more uncomfortable than I prefer to be. I prefer to stick with consuming the analysis.

Now I'd love to hear your thoughts re the movie vs. the book but I don't want to derail this thread.

[horcrux2007]

Originally Posted by 120DaysofSodom

'The 120 Days of Sodom' is first and foremost de Sade's magnum opus because it is the foundation upon which all of his other works would be measured. Anybody that is audacious enough to dismiss the Marquis' greatest work as "repetitious and boring" has no real appreciation for Western literature, and the immense contribution de Sades work has given over to areas relating to and concerning psychology, especially pertaining to sexual deviance and developmental theory.

There is a juxtaposition to de Sades literary masterpiece which is in itself a critique of not just the 18th century he was imprisoned, but to the 21st century as well. The wealthy libertines each represent a position of authority: the church, the state, the bank, and the aristocracy. These libertines which hold positions of great authority, and which are so often perverted by corruption, are manifest in 'The 120 Days of Sodom' as sexual deviants. In his personal life, the Marquis was the subject of great persecution by all of these. It has even been suggested that he was ever only arrested for sexual misconduct unbecoming of an aristocrat because his father had many enemies. It was not uncommon in those days for the elite to beat prostitutes. Simpletons would not be able to see past the SCAT, bestiality, incest, pedophilia, the corruption of youth, and the torture of innocence so prevalent in 'The 120 Days of Sodom' because to them, its pornographic and nothing more. The consumption of feces is representative of the mass populace of squabbling idiots eagerness to consume whatever is spoon fed to them; most particularly religious ideology. Donatien's reputation was dragged through the dirt. The whores in '120 Days', which arouse the libertines through the telling of erotic stories, represent the propaganda machine. In his earlier work, 'Dialogue between a Priest and a Dying Man', Donatien made very clear his position as a militant atheist, but in "Les 120 Journees de Sodome", he expanded on that. There is so much to 'The 120 Days of Sodom', and when reading it, it would be best to go into it understanding the life that the Marquis lived prior to having written it.

I have little doubt that Hororcrux has read even a single chapter of 'The 120 Days of Sodom', and whose opinion is sadly based merely off the tasteless on-screen adaption of de Sade's great work.

And I'd never judge a book based on an adaptation of it. There are plenty of movies that were terrible but were based on good books.