Lust

Author: (Austrian) Jelinek / Xu Kuanhua / Huang Yuyun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: It once drew criticism for its involvement with pornography, but after debate, public opinion recognized it as a unique anti-pornography satirical work. Der Spiegel magazine in Germany noted: "In 'Lust,' Jelinek plays with word games with exceptional skill, revealing clarity and precision amidst absurdity, making it a satirical and humorous read. Through the rhythm of sentences and repetition, the wife who always dominates and the husband who is always sexually voracious appear ridiculous. The book uses the husband's imagination and language to make calculations." Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said: "Jelinek's fiercely anti-pornography work 'Lust' has become a bestseller because in contemporary German literature, there is currently no reading challenge that can match it in language and intellect." A reviewer from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung felt the book's "aggressive vulgarity and ruthlessness" placed it "on a lonely peak above contemporary German literature," praising the author for "rewriting the language of foolish lechery and firmly advancing absurdity and comedy." Since the AIDS outbreak in the valley of the one, "infecting those who are fickle in love," the plant manager in the book had to give up prostitution and changing partners, returning to enjoy his wife Gerti. Gerti wanted to escape the sexual attacks, the routine, boring, and deadly repetition of imminent sexual acts. She often disappeared, sometimes ending up at the police station after drinking. As a mother, she could not have a normal sex life; maternal love and sexual desire suppressed each other. During her escape, she accidentally met university student Michael, offering him sincere love, but the youthful idol in her heart turned out to be a great liar, seducing and humiliating her. Excerpt: "Before the happy minute caressed them, Michael had already shed kindness from his belly. Yet, the woman longed to experience and achieve the highest level, as an invisible activity had already taken effect in her heart. A spring had been tapped, something she had secretly dreamed of for over a hundred years. This violence was radiated by the old horse of the same man's body and whipped by the charming woman, so they quickly rushed toward the woman's limbs. It was a localized burning, as the woman pressed tightly onto the person, as if he had grown onto her." "These two wanted to exhaust each other because they had enough energy stored. They rose to a higher wave, mysterious and wonderful, endless and ever-changing, like the newest catalog in the family secretary. But some things were no longer necessary because they were too expensive! They could provide for themselves. They flowed out, flowing through their embankments and ponds, claiming to never stop, offering every experience that lasted with them until they lost themselves, because each experience could achieve its purpose. Suddenly, Gerti couldn't resist and stomped into the hay. The patches of wetness on the mat were like those left by a more advanced animal, unnoticed by those passing by. Only when the moonlight shone did he stay there kindly, resting in a lovely situation, and longed for such a lovely equivalence."