Reviews

Our Lady of the Flowers by Jean Genet

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belunes's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

hannahmatsu's review

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challenging dark emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

casparb's review against another edition

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Almost certainly the finest piece of gay erotica I've read this year this is an incredible incredible piece of literature and I'm glad it arrived today. Genet is brilliant, a natural - the first half of this novel is honestly some of the best prose writing I've found. I was comparing this to Miller as I was going along (something of the Parisian and the sordid I expect) and as I said of Miller - there is brilliance, perhaps even prose genius, but it comes in flashes. With Genet it doesn't flash so much as hum throughout the entire piece and yet seems entirely natural. He resists the temptation of prosaic flamboyance and instead gives us unrepentant filth, delicious.

I'll get to more JG. Our Lady exceeded the expectations which even then were high

ralowe's review against another edition

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5.0

i'd want to say that it was hard for me to finish reading this because i couldn't stop masturbating but honestly i was masturbating because of something else. which is not to say that this book was a contributing factor. i think the spate of masturbation which coincided with the reading was because i was having anxiety about my neighbor screaming, which did make it very hard to read the book and really enjoy it. so you see i share something in common with genet"Уdisclosing too much information. i can see the roots of what we would one day call anti-relationalism in the description of farts, the joy of watching babies fall off balconies and ratting out your friends. i'm not saying that there's nothing here for other people to masturbate to. i really want to say that the beautiful masturbatory imagery just took me to this place, but maybe if i read it a bunch of years ago. this is the first piece of fiction i've read for a while. the last thing i read shares some similarities with genet"У120 days of sodom"Уboth french, incarcerated, perverted and canonical. please don't get the wrong idea about me. i want to find out what angela davis thinks about genet's writing.

monte1000000's review against another edition

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challenging funny reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

derhindemith's review against another edition

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3.0

It was well written and lovely poetry, but it was very clearly written by a mid century homosexual.

pizzledmilk's review against another edition

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challenging funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

misterwonders's review against another edition

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I just got bored with the conceit of the book. It is brilliant in so much as what it's doing, but after a while it became tedious. I think I got more out of the introduction by Jean Paul Sartre than the novel itself. That being said, there are things I will return to.

yolained's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

squareblobfish's review

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challenging dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

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