Anais Nin

In Delta of Venus Anaïs Nin conjures up a glittering cascade of sexual encounters. Creating her own 'language of the senses', she explores an area that was previously the domain of male writers and brings to it her own unique perceptions. Her vibrant and impassioned prose evokes the essence of female sexuality in a world where only love has meaning. Her second volume of erotic writings, Little Birds, is also published by Penguin.

Delta of Venus

Anaïs Nin

ame 

I was growing sad, sad with restlessness and hunger. I felt that nothing would happen to me. I felt desperate with desire to be a woman, to plunge into living. Why was I enslaved by this need of being in love first? Where would my life begin?

Anais Nin's Delta of Venus is a stunning collection of sexual encounters from the queen of literary erotica. From Mathilde's lust-filled Peruvian opium den to the Hungarian baron driven insane by his insatiable desire, the passions and obsessions of this dazzling cast of characters are vivid and unforgettable. Delta of Venus is a deep and sensual world that evokes the very essence of sexuality.

Elena Menendez

Having read excerpts in college, as well as extensive astrology on the author and her companions, I was excited to hold a hard copy of the book and read it cover to cover. With historical nuances in mind there was a story that made me physically nauseous that I have never felt from a book nor movie. Curious why nobody mentions this but perhaps with good reason. I’d love to love the rest of the work but currently in crisis attempting to separate art from the artist…it didn’t land how Nabokov’s works do where the author feels removed talking about a disturbed man vs this compilation. Realizing mid review my penchant for 30s era literature has left me so disturbed at racist and sexist descriptors, yet there is a certain something remarkable for how these works have paved their way to explore the inner monologue of complex individuals during an extremely repressed era. 

Heidi Sanchez

my first time reading erotica! really conflicted on how i feel about this. some of the stories have elements such as pedophilia, sexual assault and rape. there were moments where i genuinely enjoyed reading and other times where i was grossed out. i think what saves it is anaïs nin's way with words and while i think some parts turned pornographic very easily, i also loved her poetic and sensual style of writing.

marceline

as much as I love her writing, this book - a collection of erotic stories - explores very problematic sexual fantasies. the book carries heavy themes like pedophilia, beastiality and SA…

as much as I love her writing, this book - a collection of erotic stories - explores very problematic sexual fantasies. the book carries heavy themes like pedophilia, beastiality and SA…

read with caution! 

This one will have u thinkin about the limits of free speech

Madi

esperanza 

I didnt get it in the beginning but now I do….

ཐིཋྀ

its erotic it’s gross its hot in ways more than others it makes me uncomfortable but i still enjoyed reading it i enjoy anais nin works in general but this was the first one i got introduced to & im glad it was because it was something out of the ordinary for me to indulge in & i ended up being enamored with a majority of the female characters.

Joshua Line

heleen de boever

Very conflicting thoughts on this. Most of the fantasies are way too explicit for my taste and the line between erotica and pornography is easily crossed. What saves it is Anaïs Nin's tremendous skill with words.

NSFW lol - not for the sensitive souls
Really great book tho 

Sabetha Danes

Awesome read! The word choices date the book, and take a few pages to get used to but it's well worth the read. 

If you are easily offended don't bother reading this book. We don't need to mud the review section with "this book needs to be taken off the shelf!" :p

Diesel Cheung

A lot of the stories in this compilation have elements such as pedophilia, incest, bestiality and rape. The language was nice and poetic, but the subject matter was not actually erotic at all, and very fucked up. Each and every story made me uncomfortable in some way or another.

Prashant Prasad

damn people in the 20s were horny asf huh 

“I feel a little like the moon who took possession of you for a moment and then returned your soul to you. You should not love me. One ought not to love the moon. If you come too near me, I will hurt you.”

“There is perfection in what cannot be owned.”

Deailova El

Afaffirizky

Simona

Steph

Karolina Klermon-Williams

selva

A new edition of the classic selection of entertaining, poetic, and erotic stories ranges from lyrical love to high comedy and deals with such subjects as the exotic pleasures of Paris in the 1930s and a woman's awakening to her sexual nature. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.

Delta of Venus

Reviews

Highlights