Customer Reviews

Little Birds

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Little Birds is a compilation of Anais Nin at her best - these stories are jagged, sweet little pieces of the author herself. As you read them, you reassemble them for a clearer picture of her. Nin was far ahead of her day, always. She can be outright disgusting, but in a way that is absolutely beautiful and touching. She brings out things we've all thought of. And some of have acutally acted upon - if you have not, Anais Nin will inspire you to do so.

Choosing a favorite is nearly impossible. They are all good and so elegantly constructed that when they are over, you don't want them to be .... you are left wondering what is to become of these characters that have been breathed to life by their creator.

Having read Delta of Venus, I couldn't wait to read another Anais Nin book. Little Birds is the follow-up to Venus. Again, Nin captures your intellect as well as your senses with her dark, lurid and erotic stories. "The Model" is my favorite vignette. Stories that center on painters of nude men and women and their models are always insatiable. This one, of course, is not an exception. I must point out, however, that this effort does not exceed Delta of Venus. The first collection is far more memorable than this one. Even so, Anais Nin explores female desires with unflinching clarity. Little Birds is a true masterpiece written by a woman for women. What beautiful effort! I shall read more of her work in the future...

Nin, in this interesting collection of very short stories, tersely and quietly impugns the social stigma of promiscuity in a greater context of fantasy and symbol. Virtually devoid of florid descriptions of classical love and the game-like foreplay of courtship, "Little Birds" opens a passage into sedate, frank accounts of tenderness and the force of pure sexuality. Nin knew her audience well, and in tampering with sacrosanct traditions ever so lightly, she caresses the eroticism of taboo as much as that of standard sexual fantasy. This is truly a sublime read.

Let me begin by saying that I had not previously read Nin before, but was recommended to it. I was familiar with the works of Pauline Reage - but this took my breath away. Where Reage is dark and desparate, and a victim to her passion(obsession?), Nin rejoices in the tastessightssmellssensations of pleasure with the soul of an artist and a gourmet. There is a wealth of emotion here - If anyone is confused about the difference between pornography and erotica, this will set them straight. Erotica is literature, and transcends the purely physical. This is as much an arousal of the mind as of the body. Men especially need to read more works of this type if they are looking for a deeper understanding of how women think and feel about sex.

Anais writes erotica like no other writer. She makes you feel what her characters are feeling. You escape into their world of fantasy. Anais brings out the erotic side in you. She makes you want to experience everything that her characters are experiencing.

This is a very compelling collection of short erotic stories. Anais Nin does an excellent job of pulling the reader in and captivating them with descriptive and sensual imagery. A highly recommended collection! Also recommended is "Delta of Venus".

anais nin documents the poetry and beauty of arousal and sexuality in little birds. little birds is a series of sketches of varying length which all deal beautifully with desire. while her subject matter is the erotic, her writing itself is also lush and exciting.

I never read Anais Nin before. My introduction to her came via Henry Miller. She writes unlike Miller in every way except one and that is seeking for an expression of the "truth" of humanity. I found myself stirred in more than one way. Books are a private thing. And in the privacy of this lady's world, as in the privacy of Henry Miller's, one can find everything that is beautiful about living.

"Little Birds" was my first foray into the world of Anais Nin. I haven't decided, after reading this, whether I like this or not. On one hand, I love her use of the English language, her spare style, her sense of character and story-telling. On the other hand, too many of the stories presented here ended abruptly, with no real sense of resolution or how the characters got from point A to point B. The most glaring example is in the story "The Model," in which we get detailed descriptions of the narrator's first two would-be lovers, but almost nothing about the third guy. Flaws aside, this little volume is probably the best way to get acquainted with Nin without investing too much.

I adore this book. It's really erotic, but tasteful and refined; it also is cleverly written and sensual, so much that you'll be transported into the stories. I didn't like two of the tales at all, but if you leave them out, this is a very good book. I also reccomend Anais Nin's diary.