Why weren't they calling her back? Why did this one stop interesting her just as he wanted to get serious? How pretty were another one's eyes? It's a little self-indulgent, perhaps, and rambling, too. But Dark Desires does rub up against an uncomfortable truth that began to emerge in the late s and early s, around the time her notebooks were originally written: Women were suddenly finding success in work and business, but were failing at love.
Valenzuela could be a case study in Female Perversions, Louise Kaplan's groundbreaking Freudian study of this phenomenon. Women who felt powerful in their chosen professions were, in their love and sex lives, willfully subjugating themselves to their male partners. Luisa Valenzuela is the author of more than a dozen works of fiction and nonfiction, including Cambio de armas and Cola de lagartija.
Dalkey Archive Press hide caption. Told in fragmentary anecdotes, theoretical asides and excerpts from letters and journal entries, Valenzuela's book is the attempt of one woman to examine, understand and break out of this pattern. She wants to feel she's worthy of her career success, trying "to reach some kind of acceptance, some kind of profound recognition.
Not of exterior recognition, the applause that's also implicit in that word," but something internal. In doing so, she might be able to accept that "the male of the species also has his little heart" and stop simply using them for sex, inspiration or a prop for her self-esteem. If this were a traditional memoir, Valenzuela would ride off into the sunset with one of the men in the book — Dieter, Pale Fire, Duck, Joe.
She has no pat answers, just a continuing quest to overcome doubts and bad habits. Dark Desires and the Others is a brave book, a vulgar book and a riveting read. It's the testimony of one woman trying to surrender the fight in the war between the sexes, but who remains unable to lay down her arms. Luisa Valenzuela, translated by Susan E. You'll think that I died, and something like that is indeed happening or has happened.
Dark Desires - Encyclopaedia Metallum: The Metal Archives
You can't tell anymore what's alive and what's dead, or rather, who's going around these worlds, seemingly dying. Remembering is like being left hanging from something that you don't have anymore — if you ever really had it — one reason to be more or less agglutinate, magnetic. Remembering here and now, in my house in Buenos Aires, as if I were at the top of a mountain, and even further, as if I were lying at the bottom of the sea, which is where these things tend to happen. Sometimes yes and sometimes no. Sometimes the memories flow when it gets dark; they appear and they fade, they amaze us at the turn of a page and perhaps we should hurry to retain them.
Perhaps we should offer more to memory, that form of madness. I found a piece of paper. I found a writing pad — and I write and I write and I write. I'll write until the ink runs out and there's nothing left of what I care about to jot down. Here there is order, calm. I don't want to leave this house anymore. I don't want to be distracted. I prefer to keep seeing objects that I'm fond of, encouraging the winds of inspiration, getting up early and sometimes running through the park to buy something to eat or more ink. Cartridges of ink to write a bit, fire more shots, all made of words.
And now — now that the phone isn't working — how I long to stay here shut in between these caressing walls! I feel so good facing myself, facing mountains that look like water, but which are really wool, mountains woven stitch by stitch, only suggested. A small tapestry that will accompany me on my trip, though I no longer want to travel.
The house is beautiful, I like each and every thing, and the cats are playing in the middle of the room and tralala tralala. I keep on in my singsong and can't get away from it. And again my doubts: To bathe or not to bathe? How I need the little securities of life, or should I say, how I'd like to have the larger ones! I would like not to have to take the plane or the boat, not to climb once more into that enormous floating belly, to float in that endless amniotic fluid, the ocean — and go sailing peacefully toward other latitudes, writing my novels.
I have to learn how to write during this trip, an errant writer so to speak — a roving writer. Further along the dates will have to be erased, but at the end of '78, the person I was then was getting ready to jump, knowing her absence will be a long one. She's been invited to be Writer in Residence at Columbia University for a semester, and that will be — she intuits already — the longest semester of her life. She breathes in huge gulps of her city's air, the verb a lie at the time, because the air had become unbreathable. With vandal-like delight she is disemboweling her library. Some books will have to disappear — the word alone produces goose bumps — others are simply dismantled in order to preserve this story or that essay or those three chapters that she knows she'll need for her course, or that she wants to keep with her in spite of the weight limit on planes.
Get rid of everything to be able to leave as lightly as possible. She knows that if she stays in her own country, she won't write anymore. She can't show her latest work to anyone. She's afraid of putting those readers in danger. She also has notebooks and notebooks — disheveled, awkward diaries with no continuity at all. From those she likewise vandalizes — or, in this case, rescues — some fragments that will later form the microstories of a volume titled precisely Libro que no muerde Book that Doesn't Bite.
And it didn't, really, unless we say that irony has a bite. Those were certainly times that lent themselves to furious biting. She did what she could with regard to the situation; she got involved and she wrote and later she wrote partly about her involvement. These pages however, only took in the shrapnel — shrapnel that was noted down in new and multiple foreign notebooks.
So that all that's left is to write the good-bye bite:. Her loved one of the time, ex-loved one now because of his abandoning her when everything seemed to promise the opposite, reappears after almost a year of absence in order to declare his passion and his anguish and to confess his error. The woman I was then has one foot already in the stirrup and treats him with disdain, and when he desperately swears that he will never stop searching for her, and asks, using these exact words, "Now what do I do?
So that's where, in New York, and without realizing it, her notes about herself, about her efforts to become a woman, begin. The moment has come to say it, to become consistent. View all 20 comments. Deliciously Gothic Dark Desire had all the makings of a great gothic novel. Damien is a brooding, secretive and seemingly haunted man. A doctor that secrets himself in his laboratory. Darcie is running for her life. She too has secrets and fears. She is sent to Damien for help. She finds him to be more than she expected.
He is beautiful and she feels drawn to him. Even after being warned against him. A wonderful tense read that has sweet moments and hints of hopefulness. White chapel is searching Deliciously Gothic Dark Desire had all the makings of a great gothic novel. White chapel is searching for a madman. No one is safe. It has been a long time since I found a book that meets all the gothic criteria.
It might be more palatable if you're new to gothic romance in general, but don't be fooled if you're a hardened genre fangirl. Speaking of which, why did everyone who knew Damien keep scaring Darcie off? They all seemed to know he was a Nice Guy who didn't do anything wrong, yet they're so mysterious re: And don't get me started on the endless dialogue.
This was just a cheap knock-off. View all 9 comments. I really enjoyed this. My only issue would have been the power gap between the H and h. However, I managed to get over this as Damien was a good beta and was nothing but kind while still managing to be dark to Darcie, and treated everyone with respect. I also assumed there was an age gap, as Darcie was only 20 and Damien was a doctor, but his age was never explicitly stated.
Generally I don't enjoy age gaps as a personal preference, so I thought I'd mention it. This was a dark and dirty romance I really enjoyed this. This was a dark and dirty romance with a bit of blood as stories set in Whitechapel during this time period seem to be. Damien was one of the sexier heroes I've read about in a while. I'm definitely interested in more of Silver's work!
I started out really liking this book - had a dark, gothic atmosphere. The heroine started out meek then got stronger as the book went along and the hero, though mysterious, was revealed to the heroine one layer at a time. He didn't tell about himself, just stepped back to let her find out for herself and I appreciated that.
However, toward the end, the suspicions the heroine had for the hero got to be too many. At every turn when something bad happened in the story, she immediately thought that I started out really liking this book - had a dark, gothic atmosphere. At every turn when something bad happened in the story, she immediately thought that just maybe he was to blame. At every bad thing. That was an eye-roller for me. The other thing that I found absolutely, completely unbelievable for this man of science to do was view spoiler [when his sister died, he tried to revive her aka Frankenstein!
No matter how grieved he was, that was a bit too much. Aside from those things, I enjoyed the story, the hero's angst and the heroine strongly-growing confidence in herself. Her apparent salvation arrives as the opportunity to work for the handsome, mysterious, and brooding Dr. He is an anatomist with a private laboratory and lots of secretive late night hours. When several prostitutes are butchered in Whitechapel, Darcie wonders if the suspicious goings on in the household are somehow connected to the gruesome death 3. When several prostitutes are butchered in Whitechapel, Darcie wonders if the suspicious goings on in the household are somehow connected to the gruesome deaths.
She finds herself attracted to Dr. Cole and at the same time aware of an unidentified malevolence that seems to be closing in. Is it from without the household or from within??? Eve Silver's prose paints an eerie suspenseful tone throughout the Dark Desires story. Although very well done, the story moves forward a little slowly for my taste possibly due to an attention span shortened by my affinity for action-adventure-romance. If you enjoy creepy-suspenseful-Gothic-mystery-romance, Dark Desires may be just the ticket. Oct 13, Pamela Shropshire rated it really liked it Shelves: Whitney - but after I was introduced to historical romance, I grew away from gothic.
Recently, gothic seems to be making a comeback, both through rereleases of old ones and new authors to the subgenre. I confess I bought Dark Desires mainly because of the gorgeous, moody cover. But in this case, the contents lived up to the cover.
Sex, Submission And 'Dark Desires'
Darcie Finch was the stepdaughter of a wealthy merchant but has lately I discovered gothic romance in high school - authors like Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt, Phyllis A. Darcie Finch was the stepdaughter of a wealthy merchant but has lately fallen on hard times. She finally goes to her sister for help, the sister who is a madam in the Whitechapel district. Abigail sends her away, telling her to go to Dr. He assigns her to be his assistant, for he is an anatomist and needs a skilled artist to draw and label body parts during his dissections. I really enjoyed the story and the atmosphere was very well done.
Just enough mystery and horror to be thrilling but not overly frightening, and a happy ending! I read Dark Desires as part of my challenge to read a different subgenre of romance each month, and the first month happened to be gothic romance, just in time for Halloween. Apparently, Jane Eyre falls into this category?
Anyway, I chose Dark Desires for two reasons: It was a fairly recently published goth I read Dark Desires as part of my challenge to read a different subgenre of romance each month, and the first month happened to be gothic romance, just in time for Halloween. Partly because I wanted steaminess. Also, it was free on Kindle. I was going through a super depressed phase when I read this, and I read it instead of reading what I should have been or studying for an exam. In fact, the night before and morning of the exam were spent devouring the book instead of studying.
See a Problem?
The book is about an anatomist Damien Cole and the girl he takes on to help around the house Darcie Finch. Except that she ends up seeing disembodied hearts and things. I mean, I had to study anatomy as part of my undergrad degree, and I still have all my textbooks and posters, including a very detailed photographic book of anatomy.
So why the hell was I so squeamish about some of these scenes?! Cole had not been forthcoming as to the reason that a fresh corpse sat in his carriage. It was only logic that told me that I had to be missing something, because this was supposed to be a romance novel in which, presumably, the heroine ends up living HEA with the hero. So again, props to Eve for messing with my head so well. I mean, the chemistry was pretty good, and there were a couple of ooh la la, get yourself a fan scenes.
Oh, and innocent Darcie learned the value of a well-placed knee, if ya know what I mean. While the scenes were graphic, they were super short.
So maybe some people will actually prefer this book to something more sustained; maybe I just need more heat than most people while still having a plot. Literary nymphomania is a potential diagnosis. But let me make this clear: I did enjoy the chemistry. There was definitely insta-lust, but the deeper feelings built over time. Damien was such a tortured soul, so he definitely fit into the whole gothic romance hero stereotype. However, he was also very caring, and he backed off when he believed his advances were unwanted. Also, he really respected Darcie and saw more to her as a woman than other men of the time.
I mean, I knew Darcie was going to get herself in trouble, and she was completely reckless, but the how and who of it?
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In all honesty, though, the end was a little weird, which made it more unexpected. It got a little bit rushed and…sloppy? Overall, I had fun reading this, even if it made me queasy at times. Actually, it probably made me enjoy it more. This review was originally posted on Love in a Time of Feminism Apr 21, Celestine rated it really liked it Shelves: This Victorian Gothic romance novel pushes all the right buttons: It has been hard to find a Gothic romance in the tradition of Victoria Holt, but with a more sensual edge. This book by Eve Silver fit solidly into that category. Darcie is the down-on-her-luck woman sent by her sister to serve in the household of the enigmatic Dr.
He does mysterious, bloody things in t This Victorian Gothic romance novel pushes all the right buttons: Soon, Darcie finds herself closely involved in the doctor's work, but only told as much as necessary to complete her tasks. Cole hiding information or just being fastidiously discreet?
The dreary London location comes through clearly in the book, as does the danger. Women are being horrifically murdered, and Dr. Cole seems some how connected. The relationship between Damien and Darcie is charged with attraction, but fairly abruptly tips into more. Darcie moved very quickly from skittish mouse to secure siren, and it struck me as a little unrealistic. Sure, she had grown into a more confident woman, but sadly I didn't think she had become a stupid one at the same time.
I had hoped Ms. Silver would not stoop to such a common plot device, but I was disappointed. Regardless, the end was exciting and climactic and had a thorough and pleasing epilogue. If you are looking for an overtly sensual romance paired with a moody, suspenseful Victorian historical featuring touches of horror made popular at the time by Mary Shelley, then I recommend you pick up this first book in the Dark Gothic series by Eve Silver.
Dec 28, Carolyn F. I think this is her first book and I like her books under her alias Eve Kenin but boy, this one was pretty bad. The story line would make you think it would be better - middle class woman fallen on hard times goes to her madame sister to work at a doctor who is known to dissect bodies perhaps illegally. But the way Darcie is attracted to Damien and him to her, totally unbelievable and no spark at all, at least in my opinion.
I'm only giving her 2 stars because this is probably her first Stinky! I'm only giving her 2 stars because this is probably her first book, otherwise this would be a 1 star. View all 5 comments. I grew up reading Victoria Holt novels, but I haven't really read much in the gothic romance genre since then. On a whim, I gave this novel a shot, and I was pleasantly surprised. It reminded me why I used to love Victoria Holt novels so much.
This author's writing is strong, the gothic elements very well executed, and the brooding hero very sexy indeed. I also liked how the author took all the elements I loved from Victoria Holt's play book, but added some heat between the heroine and hero. It I grew up reading Victoria Holt novels, but I haven't really read much in the gothic romance genre since then.
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The heroine only had one Too Stupid To Live moment at the denouement, when she runs off to Whitechapel alone. Straight into the villain's clutches. But hey, it's a gothic novel, and that's what the heroine is supposed to do. I am going to read all of these novels, and so should you! This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here. I really liked this book. As a first time reader of Eve Silver I must say that I was really impressed. It kept me on my toes at all times, kept me guessing. Dr Damien Cole was such a hard to read character and that's good because that was the authors plan, he was meant to leave you going hmm. I really liked Darice although at times I will admit I was wondering what she was thinking, for example bedding and yes I know I used the word bedding a guy you think is a murder.
Will I read more of her? Oh yes, I think she might end up being a automatic buy for me now. Creo que lo voy a releer. Sep 17, Tandie rated it it was ok Shelves: It was sort of a gothic farce. Not going to read the rest of this series. Lo mejor ha sido el misterio.
Y en general, la historia ha estado entretenida. It must be that I wasn't in the mood for this story or that I expected something different darker, more sinister or that I had just read a mystery that was superb yes, I know, comparisons are odious And it is not a bad story, no sir, but I've been finding it lacking at every step, must be that I've become deranged and believed I was Sherlock Holmes looking for the perfect crime, or something like that The most gothic thing on this romance is that the plot takes place at night or during the day when there is always a thick fog or a torrential storm.
And the darker about it are the assumptions that Darcie makes on the rest of the characters, often unfounded, and the times they actually have sense, our protagonist just suffer a TSTL moment that just remove me from the story. The best thing has been the mystery. The author uses London in , with Jack the Ripper in its background although she never refers to it, to locate the mystery and the murders, and so the atmosphere is oppressive and distressing, perfect for the suspense, but then the author ruin all the work done throwing her heroine to the streets of Whitechapel as if she were walking down Mayfair And the romance has not been bad but it had not convinced me.
There have been more lust than love, and one of the reasons why I have not managed to believe the "dark" side of the romance is because view spoiler [ Darcie believes Damian is the bad guy but still succumb to her lust, they have already had sex and she still doubts if he would be the killer or not I could have done with a less saccharine one The medical facet of the story and its historical location were what I liked most.
In general, the story has been entertaining. It has truly been a case of expectations not met more than a bad story. View all 13 comments. This wasn't exactly what I imagined by the blurb. Overall, it was not that bad but I must say the balance didn't seem to exist which means some scenes felt very out of place if one just considers the tone and the gothic atmosphere.
Dark Desires is not a page-turner but a good gothic romance. The book cover attracted my attention. It reminds me of the one house on the block where the sun never shines, and out of fear curious neighbors peek from drawn curtains while remaining behind locked doors. My first novel by Eve Silver.
She is known for writing edgy, steamy, action-packed books.
Obsession: Dark Desires
I cannot say that Dark Desires is action packed, but I look forward to reading more of her books if they are written in a romantic gothic styl Dark Desires is not a page-turner but a good gothic romance. I cannot say that Dark Desires is action packed, but I look forward to reading more of her books if they are written in a romantic gothic style: This book deserves a five-star rating but due to the writing style, it earned three stars. First, the pacing was a distraction. Obviously, a slow unfolding was the author's intent. Instead, the pace caused a non-riveting experience a star reduction.
Also, I thought the repressed characters needed more terrorizing scenes or feelings of panic events another star reduction. However, what kept me intrigued was the uneasy, instinctual, feelings the heroine sensed. Almost like a sixth sense. Next, the author wrote from the heroine's POV and by no means did I find her frivolous.