Jesusfreak (Historical Fiction)

 

by Joe Casey (Author), Benjamin Marra (Artist)

Publisher : Image Comics; Illustrated edition (March 26, 2019)

Hardcover, 64 pages

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As the writer Joe Casey points out, this is not a religious story, but it is the story of a religious figure. The freak in this case is Jesus himself. The book here attempts to tell an alternate story of Jesus, free of previous religious context and the tales spun in the Gospels or the Quran. The authors obviously put some research into the story, especially in terms of what else was occurring in the land at the same time and in terms of history - which is often left out of the stories presented in faith documents. Thus we have a much more historic looking and acting Jesus and Pontius Pilate.

Jesus is shown as a very tan, brown-haired Jew - as he would be. Though the only physical image we are given of him is in the Book or Mark where he is described as having curly hair - here he is shown with straight hair. He is a man wrestling with a burning desire though he doesn’t quite know what that is at first. Ultimately he finds it in religion when he hears the preaching of John the Baptist. Upon John’s execution, he takes up the mantle of preacher (or rabbi), but seeing as how John’s zealotry and calls for violence against the Herod kingship and the Empire of Rome, lead to his death and the destruction of his ministry, Jesus takes a more circumspect and peaceful attitude.

The character of Pontius Pilate is also more historically accurate. In the Biblical accounts, he seems hesitant to execute Jesus, but the historical Pilate had no such qualms. It had only been a handful of years since the Zealot uprisings and Rome was eager to squash all remnants of rebellion in Jewish territory. Thus the roman governor wasn’t hesitant to crucify anyone stirring up political trouble in the territory. He was so brutal in fact that many Romans wrote complaint letters to Emperor Tiberius - though historians have pointed out his caution may have been because his patron Sejeanus had recently been executed by Tiberius. It is interesting to note that in the Ethiopian Christian Church, Pontius Pilate became a Christian and they venerate him as a martyr and saint.

The point many readers get stuck on are the violent bits, especially where Jesus has a kung-fu battle with a reptilian demon in the courtyard of the fortress of Machaerus. If any scene were not meant to be taken literally it’s this one. It represents the protagonist’s internal struggle with doubt and fear, ultimately representing Jesus’s rejection of violence as an effective force for political or religious change - at least in his case. 

 For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst

The Children's Crusade (Historical Fiction)

by Marcel Schwob  (Author), Kit Schluter (Translator), Jorge Luis Borges (Foreword)

Publisher : Wakefield Press (March 27, 2018)

Softcover, 56 pages

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“Hear now the disposition of these children. They were dressed in white, and wore woven crosses on their clothes. They appeared to have no idea where they were, and did not seem distressed. They trained their eyes constantly on the distance. I noticed one among them that was blind, and that a little girl held him by the hand. Many have red hair and green eyes. Those ones are Franks who belong to the emperor of Rome.”

If you are unaware of the facts or legends behind the historic Children’s Crusade from around the 13 century, then you will probably not enjoy nor understand what is happening in this collection of short stories. An assumption is made by the author, that reader is educated on the subject, or has a basic working knowledge. Failing that, the very short stories - almost flash fiction- will be half gibberish or half obscure in context. That isn’t to say that stories by Marcel Schwob aren’t beautifully written and translated for they are. I simply found that refreshing my knowledge on this event added to my enjoyment of the book.

Author Marcel Schwob

The traditional story is probably cobbled together from factual and legendary events. It begins with either a French or German boy having visions telling him to go to Jerusalem and peacefully convert Muslims in the Holy Land to Christianity. This started a popular movement of children heading to the Holy Land. Many children were tricked by merchants and sailed over to what they thought were the holy lands but, in reality, were slave markets. There seems to have been two such movements. One in Germany where around 7,000 people followed a fifteen year old shepherd. The second was in France where another shepherd, around 12 this time, collected a following of some 30,000 people to follow him. Both movements, as we know, ended in disaster.

This beautifully prose is written from the points of view of eight different characters commenting on various points in the Crusade’s journey. They are beautiful, majestically written, with prose that falls off the page and seeps into your soul. I’m kicking myself for not reading more of Schwob’s work earlier. Highly recommended to one of all, both for historical context and artistic endeavor.

For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst.

Borgia: Power and Incest (Historical Fiction)

 

by Alejandro Jodorowsky (Author) & Milo Manara (Illustrator)

Publisher : Heavy Metal Magazine (June 30, 2006)

Hardcover, 56 pages

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With the insane talents of Alejandro Jodorowsky and Milo Manara what do you expect except tits and ass, sex and brutality, love and murder. What you should not expect however is historical accuracy. While the big things are true, Rodrigo Borgia was Pope Alexander the VI, he had various children -Ceseare, Lucrezia, Gioffre (who may or may not have been a homosexual), and Giovanni - with possibly up to six others. He often married his children off for political gain, as was the custom of European monarchs. Lucrezia was married to Giovanni Sforza, however she was not forced to participate in the sexual act with witnesses until she was married to her second husband, I believe. Anything else in this story is the subject of rumor or has been fabricated for dramatic effect, especially the incest parts.

That is not to say this isn’t a good book. If you want a slice of sleazy romance and taboo sex set against the background of Renaissance Italy, when the Roman Catholic Church was at its most decadent, then climb aboard. The art is incredible, the story exploitative, and every woman is a slice of masturbatory heaven. The scenes of old Rome are loving reproduced, sometimes the architecture overwhelms the panel, distracting from the story. While the large panels of people in the streets of Rome is lake that of a Bruegel painting with all of the hidden naughty bits front and center.

This is second in a trilogy and opens just after Rodrigo Borgia has taken power as Supreme Pontiff. To secure the people's love, he fakes a satanic attack on a beloved family and frames a devoted servant for the attack. He then calls all of his illegitimate children to him and arranges for them to be placed in positions of power to cement not only his own power, but the possibility of creating a Borgia dynasty around the position of pope. Much evil is committed in the attempt to make this dream a reality.

 For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst.

Three Thousand Days & Nights (Historical Fiction)

by Benjamin Farley (Author)

Publisher: Lydia Inglett; 1St Edition (2012)

Hardcover, 352 pages

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“It was the 11th of May, 1753. All around the dogwoods had unfolded in full bloom, their petals white and centers yellow, crested with beads of red, but Francois was nowhere in sight. Of course, anything might have happened. Turtle Creek ran especially high. Its cold water cascaded blue and white before converging with the Mononghelia. He had selected a site for his camp, protected from the raw winds of the west, hidden from view, yet with a vista towards Ohio. Numerous circles of blackened rock bore witness to the countless travelers who had passed this way.”

Historical fiction can be a mixed bag. You will either love or hate it, depending mostly on what time period it's set in and how much you know about that era. I find the less you know about a historical setting, the more you will enjoy the fiction crafted about it. Otherwise, you’ll be scanning the pages just looking for inaccuracies and anachronisms. Well this story takes place during the French-Indian War some twenty years before our glorious Revolutionary War. In fact the taxation placed on the 13 Colonies by the British Crown were an attempt to recoup the losses faced during the French-Indian affair.

However much as I know about the results of the French-Indian War, I know very little about its specifics, so I enjoyed the book quite a bit. What little I do know is reflected well in the story. While, as far as I can tell, it is historically accurate, it’s pretty obvious that this is the first book published by the author. While primarily an adventure novel with some sizzling romance toss in, you don’t get much of a chance to see the characters or know them, before it all starts. Too many names pop in and too many extraneous details clog the flow of the story. But otherwise it is a fine novel and a fun look into the past.

  For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst.

Rome West (Historical Fiction)

by Brian Wood  (Author), Justin Giampaoli (Illustrator), Andrea Mutti (Illustrator), Lee Loughridge (Illustrator)

Publisher: Dark Horse Books (July 31, 2018)

Softcover, 112 pages

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This is for the alternate history fans. In AD 323, a group of Roman ships is lost in a storm and wash up on the shores of the New World, a preceding Columbus by a thousand years. Unable to return home, they establish a new colony, Rome West (Roma Occidens), completely altering America history and subsequent world events. This is not a straight story of events, but a series of vignettes following the line of one family through nearly two thousand years of events.

Some people find this book annoying, not having one protagonist, but you have to look at the main character being the land of Rome West itself, and see it grow, thrive, go through struggles - both foreign and domestic- and eventually question everything about itself, when it becomes the greatest superpower in the world. Once you accept that, the stories are much more enjoyable and you watch society change in time.

There are some complaints, mostly about the gear the Romans are using with the time period- these might be true, but who cares? The story only lasts eight pages, then jumps ahead two hundred years. The only objection I have is the encounter with Columbus, where the centurion on the island makes several leaps of logic about these people he’s never seen before - sure seemed like the author making a speech.

There was also an objection about Christianity being unknown to the people of Rome West, until the Spaniards arrived, while the Romans would’ve known about it (the emperor at the time was Constantine, who converted to the religion), but the religion they do have seems to be a mixture of the old Roman Gods and Algonquin beliefs. So it make sense that none of the Romans who washed up were Christians and just didn’t pass on the knowledge of this religion while struggling to survive.

While you might argue with the events and time period that they occur in, this is still a fascinating book, and one to cause discussion. The art is amazing and backs up each time period ably. Characters are distinct and action is fluid. Well worth a look.

   For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst.

The Hunting Party (Historical Fiction) (Graphic Novel)

by Pierre Christin (Author), Enki Bilal (Author, Illustrator)  

Publisher: Humanoids Inc (September 15, 2002)  

Softcover, 96 pages  

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From the author of the long run Valerian series comes a very different type of story. Set in the 1980s, a group of men of power, each very active in their various Eastern European communist governments, each member states of the Warsaw Pact, come together to honor their Russian patron, Vassily Chevchenko, who has suffered a stroke, become non-verbal, and thus must step down from his position in the politburo. They celebrate their patron through a few days of hunting. Starting first with birds, then stags, then boars, and finally bears. 

To truly understand this book, one must first have at least a cursory understanding of communist political life in Eastern Europe during the first half of the 20th Century; the countries involved, the key players, the deceptions, the brutality, and the endless rounds of purges when men were ground underneath the Soviet machine, forced to confess to non-existent crimes then locked up for slave labor in some Siberian gulag, or killed outright. Many mentions are made of now-footnote-in-history political leaders whose downfall brought sorrow and tragedy to the men in this story.  

The hunt is symbolic of an inhuman political system which routinely eats its young. As the men progress through the days of killing animals, we see each of their personal stories, of the horror they witnessed and the horror they had to commit in order to stay alive. Starting as idealists, ultimately the men had to become greater monsters than those they fought to keep their scalps. We see the communist/socialist lie for what it truly is a never-ending series of murder and violence.  

While the story is dramatic enough, what truly elevates this book is the superb art (as always) by Enki Bilal which captures the darkness, the gloom, and menace of the cold Siberian landscape. Everything is haunted, even during the happy scenes of relation, when the men are enjoying themselves, a menace and gloom shrouds them. The book is worth a look if only for the art.  

For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst. 

The King in the Golden Mask (Historical Fiction)

by Marcel Schwob; Kit Schluter (translator, foreword)

Publisher: Wakefield Press; First Edition (May 23, 2017)

Softcover, 176 pages

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“At that time, the human race was close to perishing. The orb of the sun was as close as the moon. An endless winter caused the soil to crack. The mountains which had erupted, spewing the earth’s flaming entrails into the sky, were now grey with frozen lava. The lands were riveted by parallel or starry trenches; tremendous crevasses, suddenly yawning, engulfed the things above as they collapsed, and one could see, moving toward them in heavy sideslips, long queues of glacial erratics. The dark air was sequenced with transparent needles; a sinister whiteness hung over the land; the  universal silver glow seemed to sterilize the world.” 

-         The Death of Odjigh

Marcel Schwob is not a name well known in modern literary terms- I have no idea why- yet he is one of the most vivid writers of the later half of nineteenth century French writers. He has been called a "precursor of Surrealism", which I cannot disagree with.   

In addition to over a hundred short stories, he wrote articles, essays, biographies, literary analysis, and plays. He was extremely well known and respected during his life and notably befriended a great number of intellectuals and artists of the time. Yet, he is all but forgotten…. But not completely. 

Marcel Schwob

Luckily, much of his work is being “rediscovered” and translated into English. Once again this prompts me to learn French with a greater intensity, as I’m worried about how much great material I’m missing, because this is the first time this collection of short stories has been translated into English- and the book was originally published in 1892. The 21 stories in this collection are primarily dark, grim tales, with mostly unpleasant endings. They range from slight fantasy, to grim modern, to slightly sci-fi. 

The stories are a cruel, almost sadistic, telling of characters trapped in an unforgiving world. The narration is cold, matter-of-fact, or lusty in thick details (as we see above). What will happen to his characters is up in the air, with a fifty-fifty shot that the protagonists will survive. Each paragraph is charged with poetic energy, placing him on par with Ambrose Bierce or H. P. Lovecraft. I consider it almost a crime, he hasn’t been translated into English before. 

The style of the stories are a little odd. Most of the material in it build-up to an event which then happens quickly, leading to a hasty end. Let’s say for a ten page story, eight is mostly exposition. In fact, several of them almost seem to be completely background material for a larger story, which the author never wrote, or should have written. Still, it is so beautifully composed that I don’t care that much and simply enjoy the ride. 

The translator writes that Marcel Schowb didn’t believe in originality, and several of the stories are recycled plots from classical sources or historical events, but this worked in the author’s favor. Like Shakespeare, by not having to focus on plot, the author is free to focus all his creative energies on his style. And it works out for the best.

For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst. 

The Desert Peach (Historical Fiction) (Graphic Novel)

by Donna Barr  

Publisher: A Fine Line Press (April 4, 2013)

Softcover, 566 pages

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This is truly a unique book. I have never read a comic series whose plot comes even close to what occurs in The Desert Peach, which is why I’m now a fan. As one of my old writing instructors used to say, “You don’t have to do it better, just differently.” War comics set in World War 2 are nothing new. War comics set in Rommel’s desert campaign are rarer, but not unheard of. But a war comic where the protagonist is a German officer and in which there is almost no violence is rare item indeed. This volume collects the first seventeen issues of the series.

The main character is the fictional homosexual brother of German General Erwin Rommel, also known as the Desert Fox - hence, the Desert Peach. His full name is Colonel Manfred Pfirsich Marie Rommel and he commands the 469th Halftrack Gravedigging and Support Unit of the Afrika Korps. According to his fictional biography, he was born in 1900 and died in 1990, the author keeps his story going in the series Afterlife.

The Desert Peach’s unit is a dumping ground for lunatics and misfits, the rejects of other military units. The character is openly homosexual, even claiming to be engaged to a Luftwaffe pilot, and hates violence, always trying to find another way to resolve a situation. The rest of the crew aren’t much better. Hidden Jews, shell-shocked soldiers, incompetent zealots and so on. 

The action takes on the attitude of a farce, breezy weird stories often about mischievous antics of the unit, or them conniving to keep a character from being sent from the unit. Despite the silliness of some stories there is an element of realism hiding just beneath the surface. Similar in tone to Catch 22 and MASH (at least the good seasons of it), the backdrop of war makes a lot of things seem plausible.

The author’s attention to detail in military equipment and uniforms enhances this comic realism. The author has a very distinctive voice in her art, which adds to the oddness of the series, and continuously plays with the form, whether it is with word bubbles, or the “Mad marginals” sayings or cartoons creeping about the borders of the page.

One of the drawbacks of this volume is the size. Granted you get an incredible amount of material for the price, but the pages had to be shrunk down to fit the book’s dimensions of 6 x 1.3 x 9 inches from 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches, which cuts down on the clarity and spaciousness of the book. In its original form, the author’s material filled up the page, taking in most of it with barely a millimeter missed. Here it's all scrunched together, making the material that much harder to read. Essentially you have to move the book closer to your face to take in all of the excellent details.

For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst. 

Secret Path (Historial Fiction) (Graphic Novel)

by Gord Downie (writer) & Jeff Lemire (Illustrator) 

Publisher: Simon and Schuster (October 18, 2018)

Softcover, 96 pages

Probably one of the most depressing graphic novels I have ever read, and also one of the most unique. It is an oversized edition - 12 X 12, while most graphic novels are 6.5 X 10.5, and it is supposed to be read accompanied by music. Tucked away in the back of the graphic novel is a download code for the album by Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip. The lyrics to the album are written on pages in the novel, so you will know which one to play during the various section. Of course it might run short or fast depending on your reading time, but the lack of words in the novel generally means the average reader can get through it at a decent clip.

Each code has a onetime only use apparently so if you're buying a used copy make sure the slip of paper bound at the end hasn't been torn open. Also, apparently the Kindle version of the book doesn't have include a download code at all.

The whole of this books is a mass of bleak emotions. Almost wordless, except for music lyrics and the line “Goodbye” it is showered in a blue daze of depression, with a few bright spots to make you really feel the depression afterwards.

Thing is, to truly grasp what is transpiring in this story you do have to read the notes on the back cover. Otherwise, it just seems like the story of a boy who ran away from an orphanage and was trying to find his way home.

I am including the back cover notes verbatim, “Chanie, misnamed Charlie by his teachers, was a young boy who died on October 22, 1966, walking the railroad tracks, trying to escape from the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School to return home. Chanie’s home was 400 miles away. He didn’t know that. He didn’t know where it was, nor how to find it, but, like so many kids—more than anyone will be able to imagine—he tried.

Chanie’s story is Canada’s story. We are not the country we thought we were. History will be re-written. We are all accountable. Secret Path acknowledges a dark part of Canada’s history—the long suppressed mistreatment of Indigenous children and families by the residential school system—with the hope of starting our country on a road to reconciliation. Every year as we remember Chanie Wenjack, the hope for Secret Path is that it educates all Canadians young and old on this omitted part of our history, urging our entire nation to play an active role in the preservation of Indigenous lives and culture in Canada.”

For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst. 

Jazz Age Chronicles: The Case of the Beguiling Baroness (Graphic Novel)

By Ted Slampyak 

Publisher: Caliber Press (1991)

Softcover 140 pages 

          Now here’s another piece of near-forgotten comic history for you 80s comic buffs, Jazz Age Chronicles. This came during the comic renaissance when many talents, who might otherwise have been unknown, found havens in smaller comic publishers. Such is the case here.

          The story set in the 1920s teams up Harvard professor Dr. Clifton Jennings and scruffy private eye Ace Mifflin in a twisty story over the sale of an evil arcane artifact that turns into a bad case of murder...and there’s a vampire. Obviously a lot of research went into making sure this comic looked and sounded right. The dialogue contained a lot of obscure slang from the era (“sheiks” for guys, “shebas” for gals) and there was not an anachronism among the dress styles, architecture, or vehicles from what I could see.

          While well put together and wonderfully illustrated, the story itself feels tired. A collection of cobbled together cliches. The university professor archaeologist, the gruff private eye, his faithful secretary who stays with him even though he’s always late with her check, the supernatural elements in the 20s ala Lovecraft. I didn’t see that much originality here. Maybe it got better as the series went on and I would definitely read more if I could find them cheap enough.

          It was originally published by E. F. Graphics, a house so small I literally cannot find any information about them except that they apparently once existed, but quickly folded. It was then picked up by Caliber Comics and ran for 9 issues. This collects the first three of them and several short stories, both illustrated and prose, starring one of the main characters. Caliber Comics (restarted in 2012 as Caliber Press) is the company who brought us Dead World - the original zombie comic book and far superior to The Walking Dead. And such classic as Baker Street, Kabuki, Renfield (Which is Dracula as told from Renfield’s point of view), Nowheresville, and Brian Michael Bendis’s first works Fire, A.K.A. Goldfish and Jinx.

           For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst. 

Alvar Mayor: Death and Silver (Graphic Novel)

By Carlos Trillo & Enrique Breccia

Publisher: Four Winds Publishing (March 1989)

Softcover 56 pages 

          This is a classic strip, originally appearing in the comic magazine Skorpio in 53 episodes from 1977 - 1983. Despite being written and drawn by the two masters Trillo and Breccia, this series has only once ever been translated and published in English. Why? I can’t say. It’s a pity, because I would certainly like to read more of Alvar Mayor.

          The titular character is a former conquistador that has turned his back on his heritage and embraced the ways of various Indian tribes. That part I read in the forward by Chuck Dixon, and good thing he wrote it, otherwise I wouldn’t have known. It certainly doesn’t appear in any of the stories presented. In fact, Alvar Mayor is more of a cypher or framing device than a character. He has no development, no real personality other than he doesn’t speak much and stares gloomily a lot.

          That’s not to say these aren’t good stories. It’s simply that most of them didn’t really need the titular character in them to be interesting. There are four stories here, all taking place somewhere in the wilds of South America. The specific location isn’t specified, but it really isn’t needed. Here Alvar Mayor encounters a curse and cure, a death by dreams, a gamblers last stand, and the defense of a town from bandits. All done in a beautiful and brooding black drenched design that is distinct and appealing.

          I could find very little on the publisher 4Winds Publishing (that’s not a typo, their company put no space between the 4 and Winds). They came and went in two years. Apparently the company's aim was to translate and publish European and South American comics in the United States. Not an original idea, Epic and a few others had been doing it more or less successfully for years, but there was still a lot of room for scope in the proposition. They produced a total of eight graphic novels, thin volumes like this one, before folding. Their finances must have been shaky as hell to fold so fast. Still if this volume is anything to go by their taste in art was excellent.

           For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst. 

Juliette, or Vice Amply Rewarded (Historical Fiction)

By The Marquis De Sade

Publisher: Grove Press; 1st Complete American Edition (January 31, 1994)

Softcover, 1205 pages

“I proceed to compare the pleasures vice and virtue procure; I start with virtue, I sample it, savor it thoughtfully, thoroughly, critically. How dull, how vapid! How tasteless, how bland! It leaves me cold, nothing moves me in this, nothing stirs me, virtue makes me listless, the pleasure has gone to whom I have served and, in return, for reward, I have nothing but his distant and aloof gratitude. Now I wonder: is this pleasure? And what a difference between this virtuous exercise and the next one of vice! How my senses, my nerves are brought alive, how my organs bestir themselves! I have nothing just to caress the misdemeanour I am plotting and lo! The divine sap starts up and rushes through my veins, I am all afire, fever assails me; the thought hurls me into ecstasy, a delicious illusions spreads aureate across the whole landscape of this world I am about to conquer through a crime.” Originally published anonymously in several parts between 1797 and 1801, this is the companion novel to Justine, or Good Conduct Well Chastised which is about a young girl who constantly clings to her ideas of morality and chastity and is abused in every conceivable manner. Julliette is her sister whose travels take her down an opposite route. She becomes a nymphomaniac libertine, who has no regard for any philosophy, morality, or individual. She lives entirely for her own pleasure, which eventually leads her down the path of criminality, murder, and cannibalism. It is considered one of the most provocative (to put it mildly) and condemned works of literature ever penned. Not putting his name on the cover did not save De Sade from public scorn. Napoleon himself demanded the arrest of the author. He spent the last thirteen years of his life in prisons and insane asylums. Paying for his art with loss of freedom. 

Only known portrait of the Marquis De Sade

The general flow of the story has the titular character bounce from one type of libertine to another, learning that there is no limit to the depravity she can reach, nor any reason for her to feel shame in her actions. The cadence of the book follows a standard routine: she finds herself in a new place, a libertine does something horrible, then spouts a long diatribe on how the morality around the act is wrong, followed by an orgy. The sex scenes become increasingly weird and less credible from an anatomical standpoint- the arraignment of bodies and animals seems completely ridiculous. De Sade leaves no stone unturned in his assault on what is considered to be moral. His main focus is to demonstrate the base hypocrisy of morality, especially when so many successful leaders seem to ignore such conventions. The descriptions are often extreme. For example, “Cunt-fuck was all I had time to do. For I did not foresee you would wish to stop so soon; twenty fours hours is my usual stint at that house, and do not swing my ass to the fuckers until they have made a hash of my cunt. A hash, yes. Transformed it into an open wound.” or “this particular libertine’s delight was, upon nearing the spilling of his seed, to rip open part of his victim’s chest, cut a hole into the heart, and discharge into the valve.” This novel has revealed to me some new words relating to various sexual acts. Leave it to the French to have a rich lexicon in this manner. To add to my list of nasty terms, we have the verb “encunt” and “encunting” which means “to penetrate vaginally with some sort of object; a penis or otherwise.” Then we have the adjective “sapphic”- derived from the ancient poet Sappho of Lesbos, where we also get the term lesbian- this refers to women sexually enjoying each other. And so we don’t leave the men behind, there is the term “Socratic” which refers to anal sex. “Buggery” or ass-fucking is the sexual position of choice for De Sade’s libertines, with either men or women. Coprophagia (shit-eating for sexual pleasure or due to mental illness) seems to be a major source of arousal for the truly demented and libertine. There are many passages describing this activity. I’m not one to automatically ascribe the actions in a book to the author, but DeSade discusses this relatively obscure type of sexual pleasure so often and with such zest, that I am driven to believe he indulged in it himself. Nowhere, however, does any of his numerous libertines indulge in urolagnia- the drinking of urine for sexual pleasure. Why? I’m not sure. It certainly fits in his list of outrages. Several historical figures are mentioned and a few show up to take part in the action. The most notable being Pope Pius VI, the current Pope at the time of publication and an enemy of Napoleon. His scenes are the longest in the book. The Holy Father indulges in several bizarre orgies with Juliette involving apes, five year old boys, ninety year old women, goats, and all manner of instruments. At one point he impales himself in a turkey’s anus, then climaxes when the animal’s head is cut off, claiming the sphincter’s death contractions were the greatest sensation of all. He proceeds on a long diatribe on that murder should not be considered a sin, as it was part of the cycle of life. One needs death in order for more life to grow and that the idea of sin was ridiculous. After which he plants a communion wafer on the end of his penis and bangs Juliette on the high altar of St. Peter’s Basilica. As you can imagine this portrait of the Holy Father does not exist anywhere else in recorded history. Whether it was based on De Sade’s own gathering of rumors during his time in Italy, or just another example of how the powerful are all truly corrupt, is open to interpretation. Although I would choose the latter. 

Pope Pius VI

Part of what fascinates me is the reactions from critics towards this work and how dismissive of they are of the actions of the characters in order to embrace the philosophy. His idea of “total freedom”, that is freedom to act and freedom from any sense of morality, as laurelled by Camille Paglia, is always displayed by De Sade’s characters in the most vicious of manners. For example in the first book, the titular character is corrupted by the Abbess of her convent boarding school. The height of their depravity involves deflowering a nine year old girl with a twelve inch strap-on dildo. At the end, Julliette and her lover, Noirceuil, take turns destroying their own children. The man sodomizes his son, then cuts the boy’s heart out and eats it. After which Julliette tosses her twelve year old daughter into a fire and they take turns jabbing her with a poker while she tries to escape, driving her back into the flames. The philosophy of total freedom presented in Julliette means stripping yourself from all constraint placed upon a person by religion and society, or at least those portions that go against what he calls “Nature”. Essentially this Nature is what others would call “Natural Law”, IE acting similar to animals. Look at animals in nature, do they worry about killing, or incest, or theft, or rape? Do they hesitate from giving in to their desires or impulses? Then why should we? That’s our natural state. In reality, it is barely even a philosophy. It is more a half-assed justification for a person to commit whatever depraved act pops into their skull. De Sade attempts to demonstrate his ideas with some sketchy examples on how these concepts are already embraced by various other cultures. I say sketchy, because several of his examples are either misrepresentations or outright lies. For example he writes, “Every American is much addicted to theft” and “American women enjoy being buggered by monkeys.” As most Americans will agree, that is nonsense. Other snippets come from antiquity, such as “In Athens, in Sparta, hospitality was forbidden; those who implored were put to death.” Which is the exact opposite of any source I’ve read about the ancient Greeks. Others I had not heard of, but I presume that anyplace which lauds thievery, rape, or incest is not a place one would want to live if they can help it. 

1791 edition of the sister novel Justine

DeSade certainly does not shy away from the inevitable horrific end of the idea of “total freedom”- murder, rape, cannibalism, bestiality, pedophilia, incest. Only those at the top can enjoy “total freedom” because they have the power, money, and influence to get away with it- not much different from today’s world. The concept of total freedom means misery for the majority of people. It is difficult to know how to take De Sade in his writing. Does he believe it? Is he explaining a mentality that is pervasive throughout his social class? Or did he just feel like taking a giant dump on society? It could be that we are mistaking the man for his work. A person who writes about serial killers, usually is not a serial killer himself. But the whole of his work (not just this book, several more thousands of pages) revolve around these themes, which seems on the level of obsession. So did he truly endorse these concepts, or was it all for shock appeal? Most writers who are trying to peddle an alternative societal lifestyle try to upsell their views, giving them a utopian appeal. De Sade does not. Perhaps his personal views are not important. Perhaps it is all political opinion after all. For one message is consistently clear in his writings. That is, the people who are supposed to protect you from such atrocities are the ones who are inflicting them. And if those who are supposed to be the paragons of society are false, then all ideas of morality must be a farce as well. Thus indulge yourself as much as you like, it won’t matter in the long run. Perhaps the message is even simpler than that. “Might as well be bad, because being good will get you nowhere.” 

It is interesting to note that many of the views he takes (wild and blasphemous at the time) have become embraced by various liberal causes. Abortion is constantly toted by De Sade, though he goes further and says women should have the right to kill their child at any time if they tire of the brat. Atheism is another example. Apparently his belief is that barely anyone believes in the religious myths, but are afraid to say anything. “To what then must we ascribe the existence of this dogma amongst this particular people? Either to the people’s fancy or to the plotting of its priests; these being the sources of superstition, how can you allow them any substance?” And with both of these in hand, comes the general sense that the individual (in this case Julliette) is the center of the universe, and the narcissistic impulse to treat all other people as objects for their sexual gratification. 

The world presented here is a jaundiced view of reality. There is no love, or warmth, or care. It is simply absent. People are there to be used then thrown aside by the powerful. Children are either burdens or instruments of incest for their parents. You are either treated with respect if you have money or a title, or are the dirt beneath the powerful feet. Narcissism is the common denominator. Perhaps this was the way that world was in the privileged upbringing of the Marquis de Sade. In a very real sense this is look at the world view of Hollywood and the entertainment industry. Where else does the aspect of libertinage, as described by De Sade, thrive. Where else are rape, sexual assault, pedophilia, substance abuse, and self-involvement viewed as business as usual as in Hollywood?

           For more readings, try books by Rex Hurst.