Taming the Beast

by Emily Maguire

Book Overview

At the tender age of fourteen, Sarah Clark is seduced by her thirty-eight-year-old English teacher, Daniel Carr, and becomes entangled in an illegal, erotic, passionate, and dangerous affair--a vicious meeting of minds and bodies that ends badly. Devastated by grief and longing, Sarah embarks upon a series of meaningless self-abasing sexual encounters, hoping to reclaim the intensity of that first relationship. Then, seven years later, Carr unexpectedly...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061122165
• ISBN13: 9780061122163
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

SUPERB WRITER!!!!

Throughly enjoyed this wonderfully written book. Characterization done so well that the reader hates and loves (or should I say sympathizes with)the main character, Sarah. Couldn't put the book down; and, now have passed it on to my friends at work.

Sensational

I couldn't believe what I have read so much erotic and sex subject that it almost seems that I am in the room and actually seeing and feeling it. Emily is a really good writer and you almost feel sorry for both caracters. You could feel the dirt, the pain and sickness of love on both sides. You could also feel sorry and even hate the main caracter because of the way she lives and acts but further down the road you almost feel sympathy and sadness. Even for the Beast you want to tame something that is almost impossible. I couldn't stop reading this book and every chance I got I picked up the book and want to read it one breath. This is really a book that isn't for one mind only thinking you have to be open minded to understand the caracters and you get different feelings and vibes. This is really a book for any bookclub you can really get an discussion going on.

One of the best books I've read all year

At the age of 14, Sarah Clarke is seduced by her 38-year-old English professor. Precocious beyond her years, Sarah uses her love of literature to bind him to her and is sure that they'll be together forever. Theirs is a torrid love affair filled with violent couplings, staggering emotion and unfathomable passion. Or so it seems in Sarah's adolescent mind. When their affair ends in an abrupt, jarring fashion Sarah is left adrift wondering how to put back together the pieces of her previously uncomplicated life. Instead she learns to use sex as a weapon and sleeps with anyone and everyone in an attempt to find the consuming passion she felt with Mr. Carr. For seven years she has indiscriminate sex, lives in squalor, and strings along any of the many men who would try to put her back together again. Then Mr. Carr reenters her life and things go from bad to worse. The consuming passion that she felt might overwhelm her at 14 is still as engulfing at 21. Even as she tries to recapture the what she felt for him as a child, she realizes that their lives have changed so much that they can't really go back to where they started. The only thing left between them is this fiery emotion that threatens to burn not only them, but anyone who threatens to come between them... This book was engaging, enthralling, and all-around unforgettable. I found myself unable to put it down and read it in one sitting. Sarah is the kind of flawed hero that you can't help but enjoy and admire even as you watch them self-destruct. Elements of so much classic literature shape this character as evidenced by Sarah's obsession with Jane Eyre, ability to quote Shakespeare at length, and the fact that she uses poetry as a tool for seduction. At times I pitied her, throwing her body away and using sex as a means to feel something--anything; but occasionally she would show someone a side of herself, that there was something there besides the vapid, shallow, self-absorbed slut that everyone thought she was, and those moments made this book entirely worthwhile. I LOVED the characters, loved the writing, loved the book. I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed Maggie Gyllenhaal's flawed heroine in the movie Secretary or those who can look pass the sex and get into the story. The Sydney Morning Herald has said about the author, "Emily Maguire embodies the great romantic myth of the writer who emerges from nowhere, fully formed." I'll second that. I found this book buried away in the back of the library and picked it up because the caption said it was reminiscent of Lolita. It was, and I know for a fact that I will run, not walk, out to buy it for myself. It's that good.

You won't put it down

This book explores very difficult topics such as pedophilia, rape, and sadomasichism. It is extremely well-written with a very believable plot. As its plot unfolded, I became unnerved with myself for not being more disturbed by the book. It was as if Sarah Clark somehow seduced me, as a reader, into her world, desires, and afflictions. I would not recommend this book to people who cannot handle discussing the aforementioned topics in a very real way. Nothing is sugar-coated in this book, but if you can handle it, it delivers an amazing exploration of a woman's exploited sexuality.

powerful violent Aussie Lolita

In Australia, her family encourages doing excellent in school so fourteen year old Sarah Clark works hard to meet their expectations. When she meets charismatic thirty-eight years old English teacher meets Daniel Carr, no one thought twice of his spending time with her because of the respect the family has for educators. However, Daniel provides the teen with hands on lessons that would devastate her family if they knew; he teaches her S & M sex before leaving for a new position in Brisbane. Sarah is depressed by her mentor's departure and her schoolwork reflects this gloominess as she no longer is interested in learning though a few years later she attends college. Instead the nymph has no time to brood or study as she experiments with unsafe encounters with hundreds of men seeking a Daniel clone to quench her seemingly endless appetite for violent sessions. As the years pass with her needs never fully satiated she turns to her childhood friend Jamie until Daniel reappears seeking a tryst. TAMING THE BEAST is not an easy character study to read though it is well written and very deep as Daniel sexually assaults the willing underage teen even if Sarah encourages him. Neither of the characters is likable as he abuses his position of trust as a sexual predator preying on the young while she has become a sex addict whose needs override everything else. Emily Maguire provides a powerful violent Aussie Lolita. Harriet Klausner