For me, this book was very much a case of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly; of which the result is something not totally dire, but certainly not fantastic either. Although there are numerous plus points, they happen to be countered in equal measure, if not superceded, by negative ones. My breakdown is thus:The Good: The premise is interesting, as is the cerebral style, and the filmic and literary references. I'm actually a fan of the disjointed, train-of-thought type of narrative, and I also found the lead character's semi-existential musings on certain things (both sexual and otherwise) fresh and interesting. The Bad: The oft-repeated "plot is subservient to character" feels very apropos for a story that concerns the workings of the main character's mind, than what actually happens in the plot. I can, however, see why this might prove frustrating for readers who are seeking a plot of some substance; because not a hell of a lot actually happens at all. The plot itself certainly gets bogged down pondering and exploring the 'minor' details - which seems deliberate, as if Grey is trying her utmost to stir readers' own inner film and literature critics - and if that's not your bag (and perhaps even if it is) then at best it has a tendency to drag and at worst it seems nauseatingly pretentious.The Ugly: The execution, however, and the sex and fantasy sex scenes themselves, are what really let this story down. For all the criticism the main character levels at porn, the erotica reads exactly like it - ultimately, staged and fake - and for a book that's been hailed as thinking people's erotica, it feels horribly like false advertising. My biggest qualm, however, has to be Grey's idiosyncratic turn of phrase. Her particular fondness for inserting periods/full stops and new paragraphs where there should be none is all well and good, and even effective, in small doses; however when it's nearly 400 pages it quickly turns from pleasingly quirky and snappy to something that reads like a poorly rendered free verse poem.In summation, it's an ambitious attempt, but ultimately it never surpasses 'just okay' for me; and I wonder, were it authored by anyone other than a celebrity, whether it would have found publication at all. I've known Sasha Grey for years because she started her career in the adult film industry. All of the people who saw me reading The Juliette Society thought the novel was about Sasha Grey's experiences in the industry. Honestly, that's what I thought at first. The Juliette Society is... kinky and crazy. I actually liked the flow of the story, but when I finished it, I wasn't satisfied enough. I don't even know if I liked the whole novel or if I hated the ending only.
What do You think about Klub Juliette (2014)?
I like Sasha, but, ahh.This book is soooo boring. In brief, pure porn, zero story. Pity. :(
—kilroyd
Seemed more like a script for a cheesy Cinemax (late night) movie.
—chaachigirl
nice book; i loved it more then the fifty shades series.
—Kenyaaaa
Such a horrible book. The writing is fucking appalling.
—symm3trik
