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maribeaux's review
4.0
What I saw here was a pattern of what the translator himself refers to as "excremental philosophy" in the introduction; although it has a bad connotation I believe Bataille is just brilliant in many ways even if only a few would agree with or even accept his worldview (even today after so much freedom of action and thought). Indeed Bataille always grasps and presents filth, darkness, eroticism, death, and immorality as ways towards achieving the unachievable something which himself calls in other works "limit experiences". His poetry is full of those and whether taken metaphorically, literally or read simply for the imagery, Bataille's poetry is a pleasureable mind-fuck only for the few.
gremlin_with_a_biscuit's review
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
blindferret's review
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
bananacowz1's review
4.0
Bataille's poetry is so interesting, it's so vulgar and erotic yet deeply, deeply sad throughout
adrianasturalvarez's review
4.0
THE ORATORIO
Characters
The Narrator.
The Whore, 90 years old, dying (she was adorably beautiful at 20; one day when she was naked she did for God what Aurcourt does for Duclos in 120 Days).
The Priest, 30 years old.
God, a sort of paving stone.
Not a great starting point for Bataille but for anyone familiar with his thinking and work the poetry collected in English translation here is a pure delight. He requires context to sort out why so many times a poem includes images of the narrator pissing on himself.
I have grown to love this weirdo intellectual and these collected poems have only deepened that love.
lunarflare's review
5.0
the eroticism is somewhat explicit and though at first it threw me off it fits really well with the themes of the collection. there are verses that are so striking that they stayed with me as i read poems that weren’t as outstanding
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