Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - Le relazioni pericolose

Oh wow, who would have thought something so risqué would have be published 250 years ago. I devoured this! I am a sucker for despicable and nefarious characters and this book has two of them who are just so enjoyable in their villainy. It is all about the rich playing with people because they have nothing else to fulfil their lives and it depicts this so well that I wouldn't be surprised if this book led some people to join the French Revolution!

Even outside of the two villains, the characters are so well drawn and all of their motivations clear. The format of the story through letters is perfect as it forces you to fill in the narrative gaps and makes the reveals all the more shocking. It also adds perfectly to the gossipy nature of the storytelling. All in all, this has been my biggest surprise of the year and a book I will highly recommend to anyone intimidated by classics but not by dark themes.

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jihyeeroy's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

4.5⭐️

Comment faire l’éloge d’une oeuvre qui survit si bien à sa postérité, voire qui a déjà méritée ses lettres de noblesse ? Les liaisons dangereuses de Pierre Choderlos de Laclos met en scène des personnages absolument dépravés qui subissent, à raison, le sort misérable de leurs actions; quoi demander de mieux d’une histoire ? C’est une œuvre choquante et étonnante pour son époque, considérant son exploration crue du libertinage, mais elle en est d’autant plus divertissante pour ces mêmes raisons. C’est une lecture qui, je l’admets, à des longueurs, or lorsque ça dérape… il devient impossible d’en détourner le regard.

Que dire aussi de la scandaleuse Marquise de Merteuil et ses multiples citations toutes aussi cinglante que satisfaites ? «Eh bien, la guerre !» déclare-t-elle comme un refus de soumission aux hommes. Son caractère froid et impétueux était si rafraîchissant; elle demeurera sans doute le personnage féminin le plus marquant que j’aurai lu dans le canon littéraire français. Tout en condamnant ses actions, il me coûte d’admettre qu’elle exécutait sa violence avec une habileté délicieuse. I support women’s right, AND women’s wrongs.

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adelekittey's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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janeloney's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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bookish_5280's review against another edition

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challenging reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I read this book in French (not my native language). I think this partly played into the reading experience, which I thought was unpleasant. But while I did not enjoy all the time that I spent reading it, I did enjoy reflecting on it and discussing it afterwards. I think it's important in multiple different ways. In a historical sense, it was a brazen book to write, and it played a critical role in the French Revolution, serving as a biting critique of the bourgeoisie and providing an incredibly progressive perspective on the rights and education of women. I also loved the style (after I got past not being able to understand parts of it :)), and the irony and sarcasm that Laclos used were really enjoyable. He was a genius in the sense that he was able to use the epistolary format to create a world in which the reader always has the upper hand, while also being able to show the world the hypocrisy and cruelty of the culture of "libertinage". I still can't decide what rating to give to this book, just because I was so miserable while reading it, but I do have to admit that it was a fascinating story to discuss and learn about. Maybe I should just reread it in English :).

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theteaisaddictive's review against another edition

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mysterious tense slow-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

2.0

(This book was read chronologically as part of Dangerous Liaisons Daily)

I think the reasons I didn’t love reading Dangerous Liaisons had more to do with the meta text of Dangerous Liaisons Daily than the text of the novel itself (primarily the frustrations of awkward divisions of text, and the asides from the Editor which read as if written today). However, in all fairness, I still can’t understand how Mme. Tourvel ever fell in love with Valmont, so maybe 18th century morality plays are just something of an acquired taste for me.

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aliquis's review against another edition

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4.5

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sillyduckie's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was such a difficult and challenging read. Most of my rating goes towards the epistolary style of the book and how authentic the characters felt. I personally feel a bit icky after reading this.

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