Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Elfriede Jelinek's Lust: Some Quotes from the Blurb

Lust is a German novel written by the recent Nobel laureate Elfriede Jelinek. I picked up the book reading the quotes on the book's blurb. Here are some of those, I just had to buy the book after reading these!

'Elfriede Jelinek's Lust is an unrelenting look at the bleak correspondence between marriage, capitalism and sex. Every sentence slams home a truth so trenchant that it's difficult to read Lust in large doses. An almost unbelievably confrontational and blunt writer, Jelinek dares her reader to wince and turn away from these pages: it's testimony to her witchy skill that one can't...' Voice Literary Supplement

'A thorough rubbishing of romantic love, Lust is intricately written with a tumbling pace, sustained and effective wordplay and plenty of sharp, cynical authorial observation. More than good.' List

'Sport, capitalism, male penetrative sexuality, bourgeois consumerism, the family--are pilloried in between the ceaseless rapes, buggeries and other adventures. Extraordinarily well written, with many brilliant turns of phrase, this remains in my mind the most disturbing European novel I have read this year.' New Statesman

'An angry, distasteful but compelling examination of marriage as a sexual war zone.' The Sunday Times

'In Lust you can hear the axe falling. No wonder every page hurts' The Guardian

'An extraordinary, violent book...Lust is the unmasking of of sex -- all "innocence of privacy" -- as power' The Observer

So this is what it is. The Will to Power is the key to unlocking reality. Specially the reality about sexual relationships. Although when it comes to sex, I am personally more drawn to Schopenhauerian view of sexual desire as a manifestation of the malignant will behind the suffering of life than the Nietzschean Will to Power. I sometimes think what a bunch of losers these two guys were (and I am sure Jelinek is one too) and I should rather read about the conquests of Don Juan and Casanova or the memoirs of Fanny Hill or watch a good porn movie rather than spend time on Lust. Okay, will do those things after I am done with the book!

5 comments:

km said...

Although when it comes to sex, I am personally more drawn to Schopenhauerian view of sexual desire as a manifestation of the malignant will behind the suffering of life than the Nietzschean Will to Power

Alok, is that the pick-up line you are using with girls these days?? :D

Alok said...

Rubbing salt into the wounds? eh...

:-(

anurag said...

It can well be used in a Woody Allen movie as a pick up line :)

Alok said...

Anuarg, it can be used *only* in a woody allen movie :)

km said...

You guys totally pre-empted what I was going to say :D It sound exactly like a Woody Allen line.