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Esta es una historia de amor tan poco frecuente, tan apasionada, tan extrema y, a la vez, tan real, que el lector no podrá sino seguir, fascinado, su ritual desarrollo. Dos personas, cultas, civilizadas e independientes, se encuentran un día por casualidad en una calle de Nueva York, un domingo de mayo, a principios de los años setenta, y dan comienzo a una relación que pronto pasará a ser una experiencia sado-masoquista de insólita intensidad. Desde el inicio, establecen espontáneamente entre ellos estímulos sexuales que obedecen a un instintivo ritual de dominación y humillación, ritual que, por supuesto, es aceptado gozosamente, primero con sorpresa y luego con fruición auténtica, por la autora de esta estremecedora narración. Naturalmente, a medida que avanza la relación, la pareja emprende juegos cada vez más elaborados y sofisticados que, al cabo de nueve semanas y media, la conducen a ella al absoluto descontrol de su cuerpo y de su mente.

Better than the movie, darker, somehow. ( )

This book leaves much unsaid as it opens up. Don't read unless you can do so with an open mind. ( )

Curious as to the BDSM trend in recent years and the popularity of these titles, I decided to read this book (after being disappointed with 50 shades). Keep in mind that this a true story (memoir).

What I found remarkable overall was the candid voice of the narrator, her honest, at times quite rational, explanation of her experiences, without regard to the shock and condemnation she risks eliciting in the reader. The fact that this was written in the mid seventies makes her 'I don't care how you perceive me' attitude all the more admirable. Her prose, although at times erratic, is for the most part poetic and impassioned. One cannot escape the feeling that she is writing this for herself, searching for whatever is inside her to have made her submissive love affair so all consuming.

I also was intrigued with the way she presented her lover, whose name we never learn, and who is only exposed through his habits and his short dialogues. An in-depth profile of him is also cleverly presented when she rummages through his doors and describes his clothes and possessions, a potent method of giving a stark picture of him and adding depth to his persona.

During the course of their relationship, she comes to a personal revelation that her submission is liberating, resulting in an unmatched satisfaction and euphoria. Her emotional breakdown at the end is not surprising given that the author has had previous bouts of depression, and the trigger could have been the realization that she will never experience something so intense again. ( )