Les Liasons Dangereuses (original 1782; udgave 1964)

I might never have read this book if I hadn't joined a book club, and I really would have missed out. I'd expected to have to slog my way through, but not at all. I was drawn in right from the beginning.

The aristocratic Marquise de Merteuil and Vicomte de Valmont were once lovers, and have remained friends. They take pride in their heartlessness and amuse themselves by seducing and ruining the vain, the naive and the virtuous. To please the Marquise, who wants revenge on a former lover, Valmont carries out a campaign to seduce the ex-lover's fifteen year-old fiancee, Cecile, who has just left the convent. Normally the daughters of the aristocracy remain cloistered in the convent right up until the last moment, but Cecile is at her mother's house because the wedding has been postponed, so she is at risk. On his own account, Valmont plans to seduce the Presidente Tourval, a virtuous, religious woman.

This is an epistolary novel. Valmont and Merteuil plan their detailed, long-range, intricate campaigns by letter and manage to get hold of their victims' letters as well, so they can measure their progress, plan their next moves, and amuse themselves at their victims' naivete. At the same time, Valmont and Merteuil are trying to manipulate and dominate one another, and this is what leads to their downfall.

I read the Penguin Classic edition, translated by Helen Considine. Very easy to read. ( )

Flowery letters
fun sex pranks to play on friends
makes orgies seem dull. ( )

Colección La sonrisa vertical

Very fun. The letter format was perfect. ( )

In pre-Revolutionary French Society, two libertines plot the downfall of a young virgin and a virtuous wife. ( )