A review by meetmeinmalkovich
Story of O by Pauline Réage
3.0
I really don't know where to begin to organize my thoughts on this book, so this review will be all over the place and probably incomplete. Forgive me in advance; this will not be very detailed.
Before I begin, I will say: Don't tread lightly. This book is, for lack of a better word, disturbing in more than one way. I will also note, that the activities occurring are between consensual adults, and there is no point wasting energy on wondering why O enjoys her enslavement, just accept the fact that she does and she derives her own great joy from her submissions, as well as her own female conquests. She prides herself highly in her desirability, and regards other men she has been proffered to or the tools used to whip/flog her simply as instruments used by her master for his pleasure, and ultimately her own. She relishes the bite of a cane, and while she might struggle through the submissions, she succumbs and enjoys it.
Now, [b:Story of O|40483|Story of O|Pauline Réage|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1464369941s/40483.jpg|2462307] is NOT some plushy erotic romance like [b:Fifty Shades of Grey|10818853|Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1)|E.L. James|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1385207843s/10818853.jpg|15732562] that involves some minor beating and hardly rough and tumble sexual exploits. O is a piece of property that is introduced to the reader on the threshold of the Chateau Roissy with her master/lover, Rene. It is abundantly clear that she has spent a lot of time under Rene and obliges his every whim. He preps her by stripping her of all undergarments and proceeds to pass her around among the men of the elite gentlemen's club. She is there for training to become a better submissive and is upon arrival collared and shackled in leather cuffs, which unsurprisingly she cherishes the feel of. While there, O is subject to the whims of the men and her lover. During the day she does menial chores, interrupted only when someone wishes to possess her in any way they see fit. During the evening however, O is blindfolded and subsequently flogged and/or whipped -- this is on a daily basis for goodness knows how long. Before, during, and after this affair she is possessed so many times that not only can she not gauge how many men are taking her, but she cannot discern between any of them (not even her lover). When she finally does leave Roissy, she is praised by Rene and it ignites her flames.
This I can wrap my head around. This I can rationalize in my head, no matter how debasing this all truly is to O. I can rationalize why she acts the way she does, and I can accept that this is something she enjoys having done to her. But what I can't understand is why Rene so willingly relinquishes O to Sir Stephan. I believe their "arrangement" came around because Rene was, in comparison, light on O because he loves her in his own fucked-up way. This "arrangement", I believe, was originally a way to make O a better submissive for Rene, and also for Rene to have a stronger influence over her body. I believe he was under the guise that he would share her with Sir Stephan, but Stephan had other plans. He completely took O over, claiming her body in ways that Rene never did. She is so far detached from emotions concerning her own well-being that she doesn't even feel a pang of betrayal when Rene eventually claims he loves another woman, and basically hands her over to Stephan.
Instead of worrying over the loss of her lover, she replaces Rene's ownership/love with Stephan's. He has her "nether lips" (love that term) pierced with permanent, heavy engraved iron rings, and brands her with a decently large insignia on her backside, forever marking her as his property before he dumps her back at Roissy and abandons her there -- or says the ending paragraph of this book. I am assuming that the second book delves into her second visit to Roissy.
Overall, I am shamed to admit that I did like this book, even though I have a lot of questions and observations left unspoken.
Before I begin, I will say: Don't tread lightly. This book is, for lack of a better word, disturbing in more than one way. I will also note, that the activities occurring are between consensual adults, and there is no point wasting energy on wondering why O enjoys her enslavement, just accept the fact that she does and she derives her own great joy from her submissions, as well as her own female conquests. She prides herself highly in her desirability, and regards other men she has been proffered to or the tools used to whip/flog her simply as instruments used by her master for his pleasure, and ultimately her own. She relishes the bite of a cane, and while she might struggle through the submissions, she succumbs and enjoys it.
Now, [b:Story of O|40483|Story of O|Pauline Réage|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1464369941s/40483.jpg|2462307] is NOT some plushy erotic romance like [b:Fifty Shades of Grey|10818853|Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1)|E.L. James|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1385207843s/10818853.jpg|15732562] that involves some minor beating and hardly rough and tumble sexual exploits. O is a piece of property that is introduced to the reader on the threshold of the Chateau Roissy with her master/lover, Rene. It is abundantly clear that she has spent a lot of time under Rene and obliges his every whim. He preps her by stripping her of all undergarments and proceeds to pass her around among the men of the elite gentlemen's club. She is there for training to become a better submissive and is upon arrival collared and shackled in leather cuffs, which unsurprisingly she cherishes the feel of. While there, O is subject to the whims of the men and her lover. During the day she does menial chores, interrupted only when someone wishes to possess her in any way they see fit. During the evening however, O is blindfolded and subsequently flogged and/or whipped -- this is on a daily basis for goodness knows how long. Before, during, and after this affair she is possessed so many times that not only can she not gauge how many men are taking her, but she cannot discern between any of them (not even her lover). When she finally does leave Roissy, she is praised by Rene and it ignites her flames.
This I can wrap my head around. This I can rationalize in my head, no matter how debasing this all truly is to O. I can rationalize why she acts the way she does, and I can accept that this is something she enjoys having done to her. But what I can't understand is why Rene so willingly relinquishes O to Sir Stephan. I believe their "arrangement" came around because Rene was, in comparison, light on O because he loves her in his own fucked-up way. This "arrangement", I believe, was originally a way to make O a better submissive for Rene, and also for Rene to have a stronger influence over her body. I believe he was under the guise that he would share her with Sir Stephan, but Stephan had other plans. He completely took O over, claiming her body in ways that Rene never did. She is so far detached from emotions concerning her own well-being that she doesn't even feel a pang of betrayal when Rene eventually claims he loves another woman, and basically hands her over to Stephan.
Instead of worrying over the loss of her lover, she replaces Rene's ownership/love with Stephan's. He has her "nether lips" (love that term) pierced with permanent, heavy engraved iron rings, and brands her with a decently large insignia on her backside, forever marking her as his property before he dumps her back at Roissy and abandons her there -- or says the ending paragraph of this book. I am assuming that the second book delves into her second visit to Roissy.
Overall, I am shamed to admit that I did like this book, even though I have a lot of questions and observations left unspoken.