This book in its entirety is idiosyncratic… Within the first couple of pages already the author writes about the four main wealthy libertines- the Duc de Blangis, Bishop, Durcet, and the President de Curval, and their sexually deviant escapades. In my life I’ve never read such a vulgar book. The author blatantly writes about paraphilia, coprophilia, necrophilia, bestiality, incest, rape, and child sexual abuse; which to most people would be considered heinous acts that are forever unforgivable. For example, in our present day culture most of the deeds committed in this novel would oust them from society if not land them in prison. The author also knows that his novel contains explicit material that is considered grotesque and not socially acceptable as many times he writes that his characters know their acts are malicious and unwanted yet they still carry them out. There are just so many moments when I had to set the novel down and just ponder what was written in front of me. The beginning of the book is shocking due to the descriptions of the different orgies that were brought together specifically for the enjoyment of these men and the meticulous nature of the types of people that were to be present. As the book continues on it becomes increasingly more uncomfortable as Sade tells the reader about the men themselves including their sexual fantasies and incapability to have an erection or ability to cum over and over again without tiring. Even later the sexual encounters themselves begin to be more descriptive and the book just becomes increasingly violent and depraved. I just believe it is unnecessary to write a book about men that seemingly prefer other men over women and then truly have sex with women just to degrade and abuse them. It was just extremely unnecessary to publish an entire work about all your sexual fantasies. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯