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 Hateful and deluded May 20, 2006
16 out of 45 found this review helpful
This is standard fare on the subject of moral perversion. It has been a favourite topic of pretentious or over-privileged writers for a very long time, discussed by writers as far-ranging as Nietzsche, J.G. Ballard, Allen Ginsberg or Albert Camus.
But THIS has to rank as one of the most openly vile, rancorous books ever written. It is typical of people such as Mirbeau, who, according to the introduction, "inherited the conservative bourgeois values of the rural middle-class", which is basically his entire problem. He has never had to struggle so instead has opted to dream up ways of livening up his life - thus 'The Torture Garden' is a morally-perverted haven for sado-masochists and general perverts alike.
The protagonist is a charming sort, proclaiming from the outset his derisory outlook on women and peasants. How ironic then that he goes on to meet Clara, one of the most vile, morally corrupt and repugnant female characters in literature.
Clara is bordering on being a nymphomaniac, is a full sado-masochist and introduces the narrator to the torture garden of the title, which is a garden of various inhumane torture methods. In one section, someone is devoured from their genitalia upward by a rat. All of this Clara finds delightful. This truly is revolting reading. Despite the fact that she is a human abomination, the narrator is attracted to her - thus superbly illustrating the truly twisted way in which men view women, or Mirbeau viewed women.
Lots of pretentious or upper-class people enjoy this book, because they like to think that morally-perverted 'art' is wonderfully challenging and subversive. It isn't. They then try to read all sorts of metaphors into it which aren't there. If it is supposed to be an allusion to how society tortures in private, whereas Clara enjoys torture in public, as the blurb on the back of the book suggests, then it has failed on that count also. It is due to this simple fact that Mirbeau is just yet another petulant bourgeois writer who like to shock people with his dirty little mind.
Books like 'Torture Garden' are useful tools for the ruling classes to use when they are trying to proclaim their intellectual superiority over the oppressed working-classes. Always, works like these reek of: "Look, we can see something in this literature that you stupid working-class peasants cannot! We're real intellectuals!" But they aren't. Mirbeau and all of his kind are nothing more than morally corrupt human abominations with too much money. Another interesting fact is that Mirbeau was given his first job as an art critic by a friend of the family. Another case of 'It's not what you know, it's who you know'. Mirbeau is actually a perfect example of that.
Other features of this novel include pretentious ramblings of over-privileged male-chauvinist politicians, gross hyperbole and deliberately pretentious language, as if to try and prove his 24-carat background. It further proves the arrogance and superficiality of Mirbeau and all his kind. They have too much money and too little struggle so they write perverted novels like 'Torture Garden'.
This is a truly obnoxious, repugnant and pretentious upper-class novel. Avoid it like the plague.
 Politics and Perversion January 25, 2005
15 out of 17 found this review helpful
Having read the other reviews on here (and Wildes recommendation!), and being a fan of this type of literature anyway, I decided to give this book a try. Despite having a cover that mimics a bad black lace novel (oh come on, it really does!) I was pleasantly surprised that the old adage is true and you can't, indeed, judge a book by its cover.The book is divided into two distinct and utterly different parts. The first deals with society as a whole, discussing the various politics, hypocrisies and foibles of the (then) modern 'civilised' life and building up the introduction to the second part. On it's own, this text represents a wonderful and thought-provoking read, the only slight criticism being that it does lean towards being an unnecessarily long introduction to the second part of the book; The Torture Garden itself. The second part is made up of wonderfully illustrative, creative writing which, when coupled with smatterings of horror and torture, make for a fascinating and interesting read. The 'love interest' in this book takes the form of Clara, a beautiful and wealthy woman with a taste for the unusual. Clara is described beautifully, as are her surroundings, and you read in fascination as she seems to become detached, lustful, unstable, perverse and everything in between throughout this incredible second part. *Slight spoiler* The main character makes an interesting transition through the book; from a criminal and a rogue, who sees himself as the darkest and most evil of creatures, who becomes what can only be described as a simpering and whining fop who, by the end of the book, seems utterly incapable of controlling his emotions. It does have to be said, the book is not quite as shocking as some of the other reviewers may have you believe. If you have ever been to Amsterdam, Prague or London etc. and looked at a torture museum, or know anything about historical torture (Dark Ages etc.), then there is nothing in here that you would not have seen before. Perhaps I am somewhat more jaded than others, but I was expecting to be shocked, horrified and disturbed and, when this failed to occur, I was unfortunately left with a feeling of disappointment. Putting aside the ever-constant problem of over-expectation, this is an exquisitely written book with incredible dialogue, wondrously lush descriptive writing and a rather unique subject matter that is absolutely worth the read.
A grey adder October 8, 2002
15 out of 19 found this review helpful
Wilde's beautifully poetic description of this materpiece of decadence is the perfect synopsis of this great work of nineteenth century anarchism. Mirbeau's form and style switch between the comic and caustic, as the narrator continues his Heart of Darkness style journey into the Orient. Set against the background of the opening of China in the nineteenth century by the European powers, Mirebau brilliantly explodes the myth of Western ideas of supperiority and insulaity that imperialism spreads. For many, the vivid metaphors of sado-masochism are difficult to stomach, but the juxtaposition of the depravity and exploitation with the decadence of nineteenth century French high society is perfectly pitched. A seminal, crucial work that firmly establishes Mirebau as one of the great French writers of the nineteenth century with Rimbaud and Zola. In these belligerent times, it is even more apt
Disgusting but Brilliant. July 23, 2002
10 out of 14 found this review helpful
This book starts tame enough and you are thinking this isnt as sick as people have described, there are indeed some very good moments which question society, in particular a large passage from Clara towards the end of the first half. Then comes the Torture garden, and again you think you can take it. Then I began to feel physically sick as I read but inspite of this i could not bear myself to put the book down. As I read the nausea got greater but I could not release myself from the books grasp -the first time a book has had an effect on me- . This book is possibly the greatest book of all time and I strongly reccommend it to anyone.
A superbly disgusting book December 1, 2000
8 out of 12 found this review helpful
Mirbeau has came up with a book which mixes the corruption of "civilised" society and the brutality which he says lies in every one of us. One of the most disturbing passages in the book contains a torturer discribing "the rat torture", however it isn't the details of the torture that is so frightning, but the joy of which the torturer has in telling it to the narrator.
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