The Diary of a Chambermaid/Gamiani

by Octave Mirbeau

Book Overview

" John Baxter is] a man with a great appreciation of what makes Paris tick." -- Newsday A "flip book" featuring two classic novels of sexual exploration, translated from French by John Baxter ( Immoveable Feast, We'll Always Have Paris ): Octave Mirbeau's The Diary of a Chambermaid and Alfred de Musset's Gamiani, or Two Nights of Excess , classic erotic tales of pleasure and excess.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061965332
• ISBN13: 9780061965333
• Release Date: April 2010
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 512 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 5.8" x 7.1"

Customer Reviews

The best novel I have ever read

The fact that the publisher is trying to sell this book as a salacious novel says more about the publisher than the book. Mirbeau was a social critic and a disciple of Tolstoy, not the pervert that the publisher would have you believe. He believed that modern civilization was built on cruelty and that much of society, especially the ruling classes, were morally corrupt. The fact that this novel was adapted by such sensitive artists and social critics as Jean Renoir and Luis Bunuel should tell you that it's a serious work. Read the novel and watch the films. Note how the story is so powerful that both filmmakers had to water it down for film audiences. I consider this the best novel I have ever read because this novel, in my opinion, is the work of art that comes closest to revealing women's true nature. It should be a touchstone for any woman who reads it. Because Mirbeau does his best to make Joseph as despicable as possible. But, Women, when you've read the book ask yourself, "Do you like Joseph"?