Erotische Erzählungen (Fischer Klassik) (German Edition)

Anais Nin is famous for writing erotica that was decades ahead of its time; this is a collection of several of her erotic short stories. They are quite good, quite well-written, but I can't say that they're flawless. There are two main problems, one of which is certainly the result of her having written the stories for a patron whose stated interests clearly colored her writing, and the other of which may be a result of the same influence or may be the result of Nin being, in spite of her best efforts at being liberated, a product of her time and culture.

The first problem is that the stories seem rather rushed and disjointed; she provides a fair amount of description and plot, but somewhat spottily and occasionally sacrifices both to rush to the descriptions of the sex act. This is clearly the result of the creative tension between her desire to write a good story, and the fact that her patron was constantly telling her to cut out the boring stuff and get to the sex. The second problem is that far too many of her stories involve female characters longing to be dominated by aggressive, even brutal men. This may well be a common fantasy, but it's far from as universal as she portrays it to be, and I'm unsure whether she utilized that fantasy as frequently as she did because she was catering to what she expected her patron to be interested in, because it was privately a fantasy of her own, or because she was a product of her time and assumed it to be near-universally true, but in any case I found it somewhat off-putting.

Other than these two quibbles, I find this book to be very nearly as good as its author's reputation would suggest.

Delta of Venus, Erotica by Anais Nin contains of fifteen erotic stories written by the author, and Anais Nin is known for her erotic writing. So be advised, all of the stories in this book are X-rated.

In my opinion, Anais Nin is an excellent storyteller. Of course, I have read harsh reviews by other readers. Some say she can't write a story. And those readers are certainly entitled to their opinions. After all, that's what this whole exercise is about, diversity of opinions. But I liked her stories. She writes in short paragraphs with lovely descriptions, and more adjectives than I have in my entire memory. And she definitely knows how to use words, colorful words, sensual words, to create the exact image and the precise message she wants to convey to her readers. Some of her stories are outrageous, and her story plots are simple. But it's sex. How complicated can it be? But like I said at the beginning, these are erotic stories, and their only purpose is to entertain and titillate your libido. So whatever your sexual proclivity, I'm sure at least one of her stories will arouse your primal pleasure center just as surly as if you had tiny electrodes implanted into your brain. Plus, Anais Nin's charming style moves her stories along smoothly and at a reasonable speed. You can easily get through most of the book in one or two sittings. I give the book five stars.

The author documents her sad life of nymphomania while seeking the elusive - joy.
I was expecting an insight to her relationship with Henry Miller during the Paris years.
It post-Paris, the American years, when Miller had gained some fame and notoriety.
He showed up broke, horny and looking for what money she could spare.

I suggest a more accurate title for this book, "Bored with Copulation" by Inane Nincompoop.
Don't expect this shoddy diary to enhance your bag of sexual tricks to surprise your lover.

Nowadays, we use the terms "erotica" and "pornography" interchangeably, with "erotica" having a slightly more positive connotation. It is interesting to note that "erotica" is derived from the name of the Greek god of love, Eros, while "pornography" is derived from a Greek word "pornos" that means "on the slave market" or "sold on the slave market." Hence, the higher quality, more artistic, more noble works of titillation are described as erotic. This book, Delta of Venus, defines erotic. There are some passgaes in it that read like music, others that are so subtle, and yet they all arouse the senses and cast an erotic veil around the reader. This book is a feast for the senses. If you want to be turned on, buy this book. If you are seeking the blow-by-blow of Penthouse Letters, go somewhere else.

Anais Nin brought an artistic elegance to her erotica. Delta of Venus is a fantastic example of her craft. Written in the 1940's for an anonymous collector, the short stories explore various aspects of sexual expression with a delicate sensibility that does not shy away from darker impulses.

The characters in Delta exist in a hedonistic fantasy. Nin's Paris is full of writers, artists, models and whores. They have enough money to spend on drinks, drugs, parties, hotels, prostitutes and cafes, but none of them seems to have jobs that interfere with their passions. Monogamy isn't an expectation in marriage and a single glance across a bar is enough to spark an anonymous liaison in a closet. Everyone seems both comfortable with their own bodies and willing to explore someone else's. In the hands of a lesser writer, these stories might come out no better than the artificial letters in Penthouse Forum. In Delta of Venus, Nin creates a vision of Paris that is decadent, sensual and stylish.

If you're not a fan of stream of consciousness writing, this book might be hard to follow. Characters in stories will often tell stories of their own that can become confusing, especially if you're listening to the audio book. Nin also has a tendency to float away on tangents about Parisian women or German occupation before WW II that accentuate the setting but diffuse the erotic tension. None of this takes away from the quality of the writing, but it does take some getting used to.

Anais Nin is one of my favorite writers and Delta of Venus is one of her best books. If I could create an intimacy in my writing that comes anywhere close to this, my journey as a writer will be completely. Maybe I just need to move to Paris...

Have fun.
Gamal

I totally disagree with the reviewer who says that Ms. Nin doesn't vye for female rights. The stories in DoV show women as empowered. In those tales where they let go of their "empowerment" it is only, as you will notice, for a short time. The natural state of females in this text is sexually subversive, creative and soulful beings. Words like wanton harlot are hurled by threatened males on the make...Ms. nin will last for all time...because she summons the essence and sublime beauty of Venusian power like no other woman writer has before or since. Thanks God for Ms. Nin especially in this day and age when the desexualization of our entire culture by the cyber age has made sensuality and true erotica like DoV a thing of the past...

These are selected and re-worked stories from those she wrote for a collector during the dark period in her career when the war weary times were not producing a market for her work.
They were innovative in being erotica in English by a serious talented writer, and also in being erotica written by a woman from a woman's point of view.
The stories are diverse and amusing. Most are based on incidents she heard about from here diverse friends or experienced herself as she lived a life designed to be written about.

With other kinds of literature, we might say that a story is successful if it entertains, if it strikes us as realistic, if we recognize ourselves and our lives in the characters and events, or any number of other characteristics. With erotica, the temptation is strong to assume that it's only successful if we read it and get horny. And with "Delta of Venus," with its intended female point of view, we might be inclined to say that it's only successful if it makes women horny.

Still, that seems an unlikely criterion. This is not sheer pornography, after all, even though Anais Nin claimed that she wrote these stories for an anonymous collector who constantly demanded more sexual content and less literary quality. Whoever the original audience was, collector of smut or otherwise, Ms. Nin at the time hung around with a group of extremely inventive and daring writers, including Henry Miller. The likelihood that she would write without at least intending to do so with quality is pretty slim. So the question remains - if the intention of these stories is at once to arouse the reader and to satisfy the author's writerly ambitions, how can we tell if they are successful in their intent? Particularly if we are a man reading erotica allegedly aimed at women? (Which is exactly what we are, by the way, in case you were wondering.)

One way in which these tales stumble is the odd and very noticeable tendency to refer to body parts in the abstract. Surprisingly often, a character will be looking at or touching the body of another, and the narrative will refer to "the breasts" or "the hair", not to mention "the" other things. I found this a little surprising. In many essays on the politics of writing about sex, feminists protest that sort of dissociation, advising that tearing the body apart in words is exactly the opposite of erotic and recommending that we find a way to appreciate the entire body, and the mind and heart while we're at it, in our erotica. Given that, I would not have expected a woman writing for women to use the article "the" quite so often. But maybe I'm being unfair to Ms. Nin - she was exploring an area of erotic writing that had barely been touched upon in her day. And besides, however uncomfortable it makes me personally, why shouldn't a women objectify a partner from time to time if she wants to?

Thus we bump up against one useful element in "Delta of Venus" - as it did when first published, it can provoke some very useful debate to this day. Which is all very well, but you could say the same thing about any controversial piece of junk; "The Turner Diaries" might provoke useful debate, for goodness' sake, but it's still a piece of fascist propaganda and artistically illiterate besides. Political usefulness does not necessarily make for good fiction.

The same can be said for the erotic quality of these stories. I, for one, found some of the later ones arousing, and many of the early ones not at all. Ms. Nin had the courage to explore a wide variety of sensual expressions, and I'm a trifle surprised to find that in many of these stories the female protagonist ends up unsatisfied or discovers her greatest joy in utter submission to some man. Sensibly, however, the author expanded her repertoire of sensual plotlines to include a good many other possibilities, including tenderness and violence, voyeurism, domination, love and anger, even more troubling activities - everything, indeed, except monogamy and marriage. Oh well.

None of this addresses the question yet of what may make "Delta of Venus" good fiction, rather than only erotic fiction, but it does begin to get at the point. As I said, regardless of what her personal tastes may have been, Ms. Nin was careful to include almost as much variety of experience as she could in her stories, which necessarily required her to include as much variety of character as possible. In other words, the narrative takes an obvious interest in the sexuality of these people, but it also takes an equally intense interest in the other parts of their lives, although without the same emphasis. So "Delta of Venus" approaches the whole person as a sensual being, and is all the more sensual for that. It's a lovingly humanist approach to the erotic. Yep, it's good fiction.

Some of the psychology seems a little elementary in this day and age, and as with most erotica the characters are all impossibly attractive, but I for one find myself grateful to read stories about people enjoying each other's bodies with their minds and hearts fully functional. Whether they turn me on at that moment or not.

Benshlomo says, The body is holy.

Delectable is the word that sprung to mind while I read Delta of Venus. The stories are erotic to the core, but they also contain a great deal of symbolism and darkness. Rape, exhibitionism, voyeurism and incest are a few of the disarming and disturbing subject matters addressed in this book. My favorite stories are "Boarding School," "Mallorca," "Manuel," and "The Hungarian Adventurer." These stories enthralled me from beginning to end. They were a delectable reading experience! I look forward to reading more of Anais Nin's work in the future.

"Delta of Venus" is an absolute pleasure to read. Each short story here flows seamlessly into the next, making it read like a never-ending hallucination. Anais simultaneously shocked and aroused me with her stories. Her writing is startlingly beautiful, like that of an (eroticised) angel. While her style is conspicuously feminine, Anais Nin doesn't shy away from more hardcore territory, as she confidently explores the taboos of sex: incest, bisexuality, paedophilia (The Boarding School), bestiality and even genital mutilation. Anais's decadent world is rich with exotic imagery and opulence. This is no "Mills and Boon" - this is a literary delight I'd recommend to anyone seeking an all-out retreat from reality. The sheer majesty of Anais's talent for writing is just as seductive as the erotic content within the book.

A truly brilliant and breath-taking fusion of the art of writing and the art of love making. I have read and re-read this book countless times and each time discovered something new about it - like a precious gem when held in the sun, gives out a different shine with every turn and twist, each distinct from the previous yet equally dazzling! A note of caution, this book is not for the devout conventionalists! Everyone else, read it! you won't be disappointed.

Other reviewers have used "poetic" several times, so that sort of leaves that one out for me. This is though, some of the best writing, erotic and non-erotic, you will find. The writer approaches the subject with great passion, and there is no way you cannot appreciate her use of words. I enjoyed and think quite highly of the author's Little Birds, but I do feel she probably does even a better job with this one. If you buy one of the works, you might as well go for both of them as each belongs in your collection. Recommend this one highly.

Anais and Henry Miller belonged to a group of writers who were under contract to produce erotic stories, paid by the page. This is a collection of some of those stories.

She gets right to the point - little story and character development, but sensual and erotic writing.

Other reviewers have used "poetic" several times, so that sort of leaves that one out for me. This is though, some of the best writing, erotic and non-erotic, you will find. The writer approaches the subject with great passion, and there is no way you cannot appreciate her use of words. I enjoyed and think quite highly of the author's Little Birds, but I do feel she probably does even a better job with this one. If you buy one of the works, you might as well go for both of them as each belongs in your collection. Recommend this one highly.

Anais and Henry Miller belonged to a group of writers who were under contract to produce erotic stories, paid by the page. This is a collection of some of those stories.

She gets right to the point - little story and character development, but sensual and erotic writing.

This is one of the classics of sex and eroticism. As a teen, I stole my mother's copy and it inspired many a fantasy. The writing is wonderful and the sex is, well, just hot. I've ready many similar books since then, like right now I am reading Abby Lee's Diary of a Sex Fiend: Girl with a One Track Mind. Reading about sex is always "stimulating" but this classic has lasted generations.

This collection of erotic short stories by Anais Nin, along with her other collection "Little Birds", is something I remember as one of the most sexually interesting and erotic books I've ever read. Nin likes to break taboos in her erotica, which will shock and disquiet a few readers, yet she does it with an originality and sensuality that makes you curious to read on.
David Rehak
author of "A Young Girl's Crimes"

This is my first foray into classic erotica and Anais Nin is the best classic eroticist--??--known. I found the work to be very good, though some might say that it is a bit flowery--but then again, it was a different time when she wrote it. I really liked it and would recommend it to others, esp. those new to erotica as this is a good one to start with. I'd also recommend her other, more famous work, Henry and June: From "A Journal of Love" -The Unexpurgated Diary of Anais Nin (1931-1932). (Also watch the movie starring Uma Thurman--it's fantastic!!)

Delta of Venus is a shameless piece of erotica, not to say pornography. The characters are driven by their carnal appeites the way crack users seek a fix. There's little likeable about any of them in this strange circus of personalities.

But.... but.... it's really well written! Anais Nin is a talented writer and brings all her talent into this book -- which is dreamlike and surreal, a completely courageous examination of lust in technicolor. There's no real love in the book. No romance except in the adventure-sense of the word. Delta of Venus is a book that celebrates the exietcne of lust in all its variety and it's tough not to respect it for that. Some of it is disturbing, like The Hungarian Adventurer with its depiction of an addiction gone hopelessly out of control. When I finished the book I felt like I had passed through a circus of sexuality.

Its a captivating read but nothing for puritans.

Anais Nin is the greatest erotica writer I've ever read. She blends sex with life. When I read her novel, I was young, just a teen like a few of the characters within the novel. Far better than my sexual education classes, I learned of the softer more passionate sides to sex, I gained a true understanding of why sex is not merely something done to perpetuate the species, that there is nothing in it unless some feeling coincides.

This book is quite special. THe stories are sublte and poetic and not hard to take at all. I liked this volume of erotica better than the next. Nin got paid a dollar a word for these stories, she should have gotten more. Also read, Story of O, Vox by Baker and Lip Service by Rose

This book was so exciting. Parts of this book were however very sadistic. I think to truly enjoy this book the reader has to be open to the ideas Anais Nin portrays in her book. Two stories were especially provocative. The story of a female body being pulled from a river and being sexually manipulated by a young man was the first. The second was a story of a man being aroused by two very young girls, and how the three of them play together. Otherwise I thought that most of the stories could be anyone's fantasies.

Granted Anais Nin is a great author of erotic lit but the author writes to a specific kind of reader.
I found the writing to be rather disjointed and if you love digging for truffles, or reading Jane Austen's 'Pride and Predjudice' type of books, you'll probably like this one ...
For me, like celery, I can take it or leave it, in this case Ill leave it thank you.

Picked this up at a library book sale thinking it was going to be erotic ADULT oriented stories with class and sex appeal. Wow, was I wrong. Sex stories involving children is just plain SICK! I didn't read the whole book, just started reading one of the stories and wanted to throw up! I took it right out to the burn barrel and set it ablaze. Had I known what it was before I bought it, I would have informed the library staff. Even more disturbing is that this piece of junk is getting high reviews on here! I don't care how "talented" the writer was supposed to have been. This isn't ok for any era. It forces you to give it a star on here which I didn't want to do, but if I don't, my review warning others will not be seen, that's the only reason for the one star..... Absolutely GROSS.....

If you enjoy slow sweet soft sexuality then this is the book for you. I enjoyed the style of narration used in the third person. Women and Men will find this collection of short stories to be arousing in many ways. The sexual descriptions are bold but not what modern readers would call hard core pornography. A new or used copy of this book will make a welcome addition to your erotic bookshelf. Enjoy.
Master Jeaux

Apparently, Nin wrote this for a client who didn't want it to be written in a sensual ,poetic form. I thought this book was going to be sexy and steamy like the title. I was so far from it. The first story talks about a father who rapes his two daughters then rapes his son in his sleep. A girl is made to have oral sex from a dog by her husband. A gay couple, a man gets raped not enjoying the sex from his partner. A man finds a dead woman by the water and has sex with it. An exotic man makes a woman not take a shower for several days and then keeps her underwear and smells it. There was just so much bizarre situations. This book did not get better. I was so disturbed. It was so dry. I gave this horrid book away. It's so creepy.

Just stop. It's so just- no.

I was a little worried when the first story featured a pedophile, but the rest of the stories were hot. I guess what turned people on back then can still turn them on now. I liked the lives of the French painters and the women who loved them.

I found a beautiful red hardcover copy of DELTA OF VENUS in a Red Cross Op-Shop.I paid 50 cents for it.It is now my favourite book.Seriously beautiful, poetic, intellectualised erotica.Overflowing with rich and sensuous imagery.It takes you away to another time and place.

My comments here are the same as for the aforementioned novel. I got these books on the assumption that I would learn more about a woman's attitude and reaction to sexual behavior from an articulate writer.

This book is full of amazing short erotica stories. Anais writes with her heart & soul. Once you pick up the book you don't want to put it down. It makes you want to be the characters she's writing about.

This book was intense, graphic, sensual, moving, deliriously engaging. It was the second book I'd read by Nin (Little Birds was the first) and I especially enjoyed the second half. Her stories offer a three-dimensional perspective on sex, love, lust--I loved it!

Overwhelming, this work incited literary jealousy in me. I had long avoided her works based on the snobbish assumption that her's was mere lustful, romantic slough. Assumptions are the root of ignorance. She is the poet of flesh.

I thought "Delta of Venus" was a decent book, but as far as being erotic, it hardly sparked my interest. I would only recommmend this book for one that likes their reading material intense, or is just plain sick.

Brilliant, beautiful prose and an effortless ability to seemingly turn every action into an erotic act by the magic of her pen makes this collection of short stories not only great erotica but also great literature. Beautiful.

Overwhelming, this work incited literary jealousy in me. I had long avoided her works based on the snobbish assumption that her's was mere lustful, romantic slough. Assumptions are the root of ignorance. She is the poet of flesh.

I thought "Delta of Venus" was a decent book, but as far as being erotic, it hardly sparked my interest. I would only recommmend this book for one that likes their reading material intense, or is just plain sick.

I hope more and more people will discover the flame in her writings - and see the frustration and the real pain in this hard living woman. Please keep you heart protected while reading - it's a tuff one.

I have read this book twice now. Trying to understand why anyone would think it to be wonderful, beautiful, sensual or erotic. It is just the opposite. I don't care what time period it was writing in! I am open minded but there is just some stuff that is JUST PLAIN SICK! She writes beautifully but i don't think genital mutilation, raping kids or necrophilia is OK! Not to mention incest or both sexes. IF YOU ARE A SICK HUMAN BEING THAT LIKES HAVING SEX WITH YOUR OWN FAMILY MEMBERS, CHILDREN OR DEAD BODIES THAN HAVE AT IT!

Apparently these pornographic novels was a commissioned work for an unknown book lover in Paris. Anaïs Nin seems to have an inclination towards describing sexual scenes bordering on tabu areas like violence and incest.