Opus Pistorum
Opus Pistorum is a pornographic book attributed to the American writer Henry Miller (1891–1980). The Latin title literally means "work of the millers" (Miller is English for miller).
content
It tells of life in Paris in the 1920s and contains almost exclusively erotic and pornographic material. The desire for humiliation, excessive, unrestrained sexuality is decisive. The protagonist enjoys satisfying mature women's desires as well as letting young girls' fantasies come true. He is always at the center of her pleasure while he makes use of her. He observes sex with child girls and how a German shepherd rapes a short woman who initially defends herself but later enjoys it. Together with his cronies, he rapes an unruly neighbor, but at least as much enjoys the willing "depravity" of his other partners. Critics complain about the clear and vulgar language and the lack of a plot, others appreciate the "direct" style and rate the book as one of Miller's best works.
history
"Opus Pistorum" was only in 1983, and thus after Miller's death of the bookseller Milton Luboviski from Hollywood releases. He described the book as a commissioned work from Miller's pen and added the following affidavit to the first edition :
“Henry, who needed money, suggested that he write texts for me to sell. I offered him a fee of one dollar per page, for which I received all rights ... I always paid cash, as agreed. After a few months the accumulated pages resulted in a complete book, which he named OPUS PISTORUM. "
Henry Miller himself says at one point that he did not want to write these stories, but urgently needed the money at the time. So he let a friend write the stories, passed them on to M.Luboviski under his name, and shared the fee with the author.
For several years now, the work has also been republished under the title Under the Roofs of Paris .
reception
The book was indexed in Germany in 1988 by the Federal Testing Office for writings harmful to minors because of the explicit sexual representations , but in 1993 it was removed from the list of writings harmful to minors. The Federal Court of Justice also dealt with the work in 1990 and found in its judgment that pornographic representations do not rule out that it is art within the meaning of the Basic Law .
The rapper King Orgasmus One takes Elfenklänge in his title , which appeared on his album La Petite Mort , with reference to the work and to the author (“I'm on the road like Henry Miller…”, “Not talking is relaxation for me, I read Opus Pistorum and I'm thinking of you").
expenditure
- Henry Miller: Opus Pistorum. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2004, ISBN 3-499-26476-5 (= Wunderlich paperback , volume 26476).
Web links
- Proof of case law at dejure.org
Individual evidence
- ^ Henry Miller: Opus Pistorum. Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 1990, ISBN 3-499-26476-5 (blurb)