Judith's Reviews > Teleny, or The Reverse of the Medal

If you're a fan of MM books and want to,not just step,but leap out of your comfort zone this might well be one to try.



First published in London at the end of the 19th century,it's described as a pornographic novel and I can imagine it being extremely racy back then.....what am I saying it's racy now( other words could definitely be used) .Prepare to be shocked but also prepare to be a bit consumed as well.



The story centres around a young Frenchman Camille Des Grieux who becomes infatuated with a Hungarian pianist, Rene Teleny.And it seems the attraction/infatuation is returned.Camille knows he's attracted to men but tries to fight his feelings for Teleny,especially when he can't control his jealousy.



I've probably made it sound like a simple,passionate affair but there's a lot more to this book.It's quite depraved and definitely disgusting at times as the seedy world of sexual desire is explored.Strangely some of the more shocking scenes didn't bother me much,I was much more concerned with the outcome of the passionate affair between Camille and Teleny.



I'm not sorry I read it at all.My only real complaint was the abrupt,unsatisfactory (for me ) ending.

(...) I was his. Far from being ashamed of my crime, I felt that I should like to proclaim it to the world. For the first time in my life I understood that lovers could be so foolish as to entwine their initials together. I felt like carving his name on the bark of trees, that the birds seeing it might twitter it from morn till eventide; that the breeze might lisp it to the rustling leaves of the forest. I wished to write it on the shingle of the beach, that the ocean itself might know of my love for him, and murmur it everlastingly.(.. )