Reviews

Story of the Eye by Georges Bataille

liestef's review against another edition

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1.0

I cannot even begin to describe how awful this drivel was.

I like to be shocked, but this was just silly, juvenile, and downright disgusting.

*** SPOILER***

The only reason it gets a star, as opposed to none, is for the demise of the bull fighter.

Apart from that, utter garbage.

I had started reading it in French but I was so anxious to get it finished quicker that I switched to English half way through....and it's already a very short read!

If you like debauchery surpassing the absurd, then you'll like this.

I didn't think it was possible to hate anything more than Fifty Shades, but this was something else.

leonard_gaya's review against another edition

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4.0

Histoire de l’œil fut publiée clandestinement en 1928 sous le pseudonyme de Lord Auch (entendez : aux chiottes), et plusieurs fois saisie et condamnée après sa parution. Elle ne fut reconnue comme œuvre de Georges Bataille qu’après la mort de l’auteur. Le récit explore les expériences érotiques de deux adolescents en quête d’expériences de plus en plus intenses et de plus en plus tordues.

Au cœur de Histoire de l’œil se trouvent plusieurs motifs poétiques récurrents, associés aux pratiques perverses des protagonistes: d’une part, la sphère convexe, le globe, la couille, la verge, la vessie, l’œuf, l’œil, monade mâle aveugle, paternelle, pénétrante et impénétrable, tour à tour contemplée et arrachée; d’autre part, la coupe concave, le calice, le trou, l’orifice, l’orbite, la bouche, l’anus, la vulve, la plaie, la fente féminine et christique, ouverte, béante, qui aspire, avale, engloutit, contient, vomit et déverse; enfin, le fluide, le lait, l’urine, le sperme, le sang, le crachat, le fiel, qui transpirent et s’écoulent de l’un à l’autre continûment ou par spasmes et convulsions. Bref une sainte trinité des corps et des sens.

La prose de Bataille, à la fois poétique et chirurgicale, combine ces différentes images à travers une série de scènes baroques et blasphématoires, créant un mélange troublant d’excès, de dérèglements et d’obsessions fétichistes. Exemple:
Mes yeux, me semblait-il, étaient érectiles à force d’horreur ; je vis, dans la vulve velue de Simone, l’œil bleu pâle de Marcelle me regarder en pleurant des larmes d’urine. Des traînées de foutre dans le poil fumant achevaient de donner à cette vision un caractère de tristesse douloureuse. Je maintenais les cuisses de Simone ouvertes : l’urine brûlante ruisselait sous l’œil sur la cuisse la plus basse...

L’histoire elle-même semble se dérouler dans une réalité onirique, déformée, où les personnages se livrent à des actes de rage et d'extase d’une intensité grotesque, en tension constante entre le sexe et la violence, le plaisir et la souffrance, le sacré et le profane, l’attirance et le dégoût, la fascination et le rejet, l’horreur et l’humour. Bref, Bataille, comme [a:Sade|2885224|Marquis de Sade|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1388547600p2/2885224.jpg] avant lui, transgresse tous les tabous et « pousse le bouchon » le plus loin possible, au-delà des limites de la morale chrétienne et bourgeoise.

Histoire de l'œil est une œuvre radicale et déroutante. Sa place est aux côtés des expérimentations surréalistes de son époque – elle est contemporaine et, en somme, assez proche du Chien andalou de Buñuel. Son influence, quant à la place de l'érotisme et de la perversion en littérature, est évidente si l’on songe à des auteurs français contemporains comme [a:Pascal Bruckner|67062|Pascal Bruckner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1314091118p2/67062.jpg] ou [a:Michel Houellebecq|32878|Michel Houellebecq|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1587317406p2/32878.jpg].

jrrose's review against another edition

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3.0

Disturbing. Interesting read from a philosophical and artistic point of view but none the less... Not my cup of tea in terms of the graphic nature. I enjoyed the surreal aspects of it and the symbolism was bizarre but profound. I found myself deeply unsettled but also quite fascinated by the style and execution of the writing. Weird book. Shocking read for a book written in the 20s but then again, this was the peak of surreal writing and this definitely fit into that. I'm left dazed and confused... but mainly horrified.

mxncehbrt's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

biancced's review against another edition

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3.75

teens wanna fuck

dj_hillier's review against another edition

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5.0

What did I just read? Hella fun

pershephone's review against another edition

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3.0

alright ,i get the childhood trauma ,but can it not include micturition ...

ophelia_impersonator's review against another edition

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4.0

cartea asta ma tot urmareste de ceva vreme (acum de exemplu mi-am adus aminte de ea cand a bagat Godard in Weekend cateva scene inspirate) si toata lumea are doar cuvinte de lauda pentru Bataille ( cu exceptia lui Sartre, cred ca daca mai traiau acum Bataille ar fi ras de el si i ar fi zis ca zici ca e un ateu de 14 ani de pe reddit, dar in fine )

nu stiu daca eu o sa ajung pe viitor asa mare fana,
acum poate inca sunt sub efectul a ce am citit despre Bataille la final, despre cum si de ce a scris cartea asta si toate simbolurile din ea jongleaza si mai tare in capul meu, dar chiar mi s-a parut ca a fost ceva, ca a scris-o intr-un mod foarte personal, ca sa se foloseasca de niste amintiri aproape subconstiente la care altfel nici nu avea cum sa ajunga decat prin scris…

cred ca daca nu as fi citit atata Yukio Mishima anul asta poate nu mi se parea asa de interesanta. acum inteleg de ce il admira pe Bataille, amandoi erau obsedati de combinatia eros/moarte si m-a prins aceasta tematica, recunosc

“To others, the universe seems decent because decent people have gelded eyes. That is why they fear lewdness. They are never frightened by the crowing of a rooster or when strolling under a starry heaven. (…) On the other hand, I was not even satisfied with the usual debauchery, because the only thing it dirties is debauchery itself, while, in some way or other, anything sublime and perfectly pure is left intact by it. My kind of debauchery soils not only my body and my, but also anything I may in its course, that is to say, the vast starry universe, which merely serves as a backdrop.”

anandazhu's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5 stars but bumped up because i think this book is too often misunderstood. it’s challenging and unpleasant, but in more of a body horror kind of way - once you get used to the language the sex stuff doesn’t really feel sexual or erotic. and i think the epilogue (foreword?) explains the author’s intent quite clearly.

akan's review against another edition

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0.5

VILE