The Real Thing
I have always thought it nothing less than brilliant to base a novel a bout sadism on Laclos'Dangerous Acquaintances. And how it paid off!  --Thom GunnThis brief, elegant psychological novel is what might be imagined if Andre Gide and Marguerite Yourcenar had decided to collaborate on the ultimate S/M double-whammy.  From a cool, cool beginning it rises to a truly astonishing pitch of excitement.  By the end it's equally astonishing how much we know about these people, considering how artfully little we've been told. --Samuel R. Delany