Reviews

Le relazioni pericolose by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

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lunasdetinta_'s review against another edition

3.0

A pesar de que me ha costado acabarlo horrores por culpa de la pésima traducción que he leído (Galaxia Gutenberg/Círculo de Lectores), la obra en sí me ha gustado, aunque a veces se me hacía un poco pesada. Quizás vuelva a darle otra oportunidad si me hago con un ejemplar bien traducido.

lucas_hbt's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

soso_yuyuki's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny reflective slow-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

tomleetang's review against another edition

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4.0

A wickedly entertaining epistolary novel filled with all the wit, sensuousness and cruelty of the 18th-century French aristocracy. It's two main characters, the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, are unabashedly sinful, seducing and ruining men and women with sociopathic delight. With so much time and money on their hands, they find the most diverting way to entertain themselves is to play with the hearts and minds of all who surround them, using their cunning to come out on top.

Laclos deals with sex in a frank and adroit way that is refreshing even today - no wonder people were scandalised 200 years ago! Valmont is openly a rogue, while as a woman Merteuil conceals her licentious adventures behind a veil of purity. We are invited to consider what is more fearful: the blatant danger of the vicomte or the hidden poison of the marquise. At the same time, who works harder to achieve their ends? Valmont, who must painstakingly break through maidenly modesty, or Merteuil, who dangles her charms before greedy eyes? A woman must appear chaste, but to seduce a man in no great task; a man may be openly sexual, but must work harder to win a woman's body - as evidenced in the comparison between the obtainment of Cecile by Valmont and Danceny by Merteuil.

But it's not all pump and grind - though it mostly is! When the partnership between former lovers Valmont and Merteuil begins to turn sour, the way that the gap is gradually clarified through the tone and content of the letters is a clever early example of unreliable narration.

Parisian society is shown to be little better than a well-bred mob, fickle and foolish. They happily condemn a man who Merteuil has manipulated into a compromising position, only to later reverse in as quick a time the verdict when other facts come to light. It's trial by popular opinion rather than by any true justice. Sounds familiar...

While Merteuil's final fate is a somewhat absurd insertion of morality-tale tropes, the last letter in the book is pure perfection. One could describe it in musical terms: it's a perfect coda, the phrasing poignant and crisp, resonating with all the motifs that have gone before and adding that little extra element that brings it all together in a satisfying conclusion - or should that be shuddering climax?

There are times when a reader can tire of Cecile's naivety, Madame de Tourvel's religious zeal, even Valmont's unctuousness. But ultimately it's impossible not to be enthralled by the depths of human emotion - and the depths of human depravity.