Transgressions

by Sarah Dunant

Book Overview

Elizabeth is a modern woman. Smart. Independent. As sexual as she wants to be-with whomever she wants to be. But a breakup with her academic boyfriend has hit her harder than she cares to admit. And... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812974301
• ISBN13: 9780812974300
• Release Date: June 2005
• Publisher: Random House Trade
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

The Road Less Traveled: Examining Inner Life

I admire Sarah Dunant as an author because she has the ability to flay open her psyche and share it with us readers. In Transgressions this took courage because it is politically incorrect to imply that rape could be so complex as to (under the right circumstances) sexually stimulate the "victim" as well as the rapist. She also explores the complexity of a rapists motives. This isn't the usual binary good vs evil simplicity that most thrillers offer. Here, the author risks our disapproval by taking her protagonist into the shadows along with her tormentor. The subplot regarding a trashy novel that is being translated mirrors the main theme in a fascinating way. This is a very thoughtful novel which asks us readers to explore our own knee jerk reactions to good and evil. In doing this we must confront the possibility that our world may indeed be more of a "Net of Indra" than a simple good/bad cartoon. Dunant spent a most of this book doing what, I think, she does best, which is to deftly psychoanalyze her characters' motives, thoughts, impulses and imagination. She is brutally candid both with herself and with us, her readers. As a man, I enjoy the insights she permits us into the female psyche. This was not a classic mystery thriller. For me it was an invitation to explore that part of the human experience which rarely gets brought to the "party". We all have private thoughts and desires but do not ever reveal them. Dunant does an exquisite job of letting us into her shadow world. Bravo.

AN ENJOYABLE PIECE OF REAL LITERATURE

When I bought BIRTH MARKS, by Sarah Dunant, I thought I have read the best detective book of the world. I haven't read all the detective books of the world, but I know that I really read one of the best ones ever written. After loving so much this book, I couldn't resist but pick another piece of the same writer. And, as she showed me once, Sarah is just one of these authors whose books you're never tired of (although she doesn't respond to your letters if you write her. No problem: one day she'll ask for MY autographs and I won't give any to her! Nobody is perfect. Who cares...) :) But, much different from the book mentioned, we're not talking about a detective book here. TRANSGRESSIONS is much more than that. It has power, a good plot and, the most interesting of all: it's well written because the writer has criated her own style. She knows exactly how to keep the reader on the edge the whole book, without start to seem dizzy. It's not the kind of summer reading because that's not "just one more novel". It's a triumph.Marco Aurelio

SARAH DUNANT IS THE BEST WRITER I'VE EVER READ!!!

Since I started reading Sarah Dunant some months ago with BIRTH MARKS, I did not know that since then I was missing an important part of my literary life. Sarah is the better crime fiction writer I've ever read. She make us wants to go under the bed and laugh out loud at the same time. I just wonder why she has written so little quatity of books. She's the kind of writer we could keep reading forever. And TRANSGRESSIONS is the kind of book you just can't put down. Excelent plot, excelent characters and everything a reader wants: action, suspense and sense of humor. BUY THIS BOOK!!! You'll never want to stop reading Sarah Dunant.Also recommended: BIRTH MARKS & UNDER MY SKIN

If you don't mind a little kink, this is an exciting read

Four months ago, Lizzie Skvorecky split from her lover Tom. Since their nasty break-up, Lizzie has thrown herself into her work, translating novels into English. Her current work is a Czech police procedural that she originally found very distasteful, but the cheap porn has since hooked her. Recently, someone has been entering Lizzie's London flat. Little things like a Van Morrison CD have either been stolen or moved elsewhere in the house. One particular night, Lizzie awakens to see a man holding a hammer sitting on her bed. She manages to seduce the man, but later on learns about the serial "hammer rapist". Though knowing the danger she might face, Lizzie decides to turn the tables and stalk the rapist. TRANSGRESSIONS is a novel that should have been great but falls just short of the mark. Lizzie is an interesting character, whose motives may seem strange but are well developed and comprehensible. However, the poignant story line is hampered by the intrusions of translated extracts from the Czech novel and Lizzie's own porno additions. Apparently, the talented Sarah Dunant purposely added a poorer writing quality to these sections to keep the overall flavor and authenticity of the books premise. Skip those pages (unless the reader needs a cheap thrill) and peruse the main plot because that is an intriguing cat and mouse thriller. Harriet Klausner