Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1748436 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Customer Reviews

Uninhibited, poetic and sensual
"Delta of Venus" remains a very special work of erotic fiction. There is a glut of erotica on the marketplace these days, much of which far more obviously sexy than "Delta of Venus" - but, more often than not, the reader ends up laughing at the creaky writing and over-the-top sex scenes.

Anais Nin's book is very different. Her prose is perfurmed, intoxicating, rather than blatant, and she allows the realm of emotion to inform her stories. Although this may not sound expecially sexy in these "in your face" days, in fact Nin's work is profoundly erotic and deeply affecting. The writing is as subtle and powerful as a Debussy prelude. A feast for the senses.

An erotic feast for the senses
Delta of Venus is a spellbinding collection of short stories, each detailing a specific erotic encounter. Some of the themes are shocking; dealing with taboos that are rarely written about, but Nin writes with such sensitivity and flair that you are swept along with the adventure willingly. The images are vividly sensual and her passion for detail ensures that the reader is always captivated and involved. Nin writes from a feminine persective that will excite and intruige male readers and amaze women with her understanding of the female pysche. The characters are well-defined and herein lies her success: their personalities are the catalyst for the action. She brings them, and the situations that they find themselves in, vibrantly to life. There is something for everyone here. This is a book that will appeal to those who are looking for something more than a mindless romp: it is a beautifully written, thoughtful and most of all dazzlingly erotic book that will keep you thinking long after you have turned the last page. Nin is perhaps best known for her diaries, and Incest, the unexpurgated diary of 1932-34 is highly recommended if you are interested in getting to know the creator of Delta of Venus. The second volume in the "Journal of Love" series, Henry and June is also captivating.

The forgotten beauty of the short story
Sometimes, just sometimes a writer is able to use the short story to give us a glimpse of a world where the characters are real, where you know they have had a past and will have a future, where the moments that we have them for, are taken from a real life. Whatever we know about Anais Nin, the bigamy, the Henry Miller affair, dosn't dilute from the fact that she was a storyteller, a storyteller of passion and great ability, and Delta of Venus is where she excelled in putting her understanding of the erotic on the page.