my rolodex

The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

dates read: 11/10/2024

had to write an essay for if this story was effective as a murder mystery for my literature class. here is an excerpt from my conclusion paragraph:

“Altogether, Edgar Allan Poe's "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" remains a trailblazing work in the detective fiction genre. While the story may struggle with a very verbose opening that may initially test modern readers' patience and a very annoying detective character on which all other murder mystery detectives, such as Sherlock Holmes and Monsieur Bouc, following are based, the tale's several strengths ultimately outweigh its weaknesses, especially with the stories imagery, foreshadowing, and capricious plot."

ps an ORANGUTAN????????[ ps an ORANGUTAN???????? (hide spoiler)]



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Justine, or The Misfortunes of Virtue by Marquis de Sade

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

dates read: 2/19/2024 - 3/25/2024

trigger warnings: Rape, sexual assault, beatings, incest, pedophilia, torture, child abuse, homophobia AND MORE!

When this book was billed to me as "17th Century French Erotica," I expected wattpad or indie romance, not rape after rape after rape and torture after torture after torture. But maybe I should have listened more to the 17th century portion.

While this book was truly awful in every aspect known to man, it was compulsive. I needed to know how much more stupid she was going to be. For instance, why did she meet up with her first rapist? What did she think was going to happen? Was this a good read? No. Did I have fun? No.

This book made me feel how early 2000s, middle aged, neck-bearded fantasy elitists felt about Twilight: How could she be so dumb?

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