Review: The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by Anne Rice
“Quintessential Kinky Fantasy”
The Download… Straight from the Cover
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From bestselling author Anne Rice, writing as A.N. Roquleaure. In the traditional folktale of ‘Sleeping Beauty,’ the spell cast upon the lovely young princess and everyone in her castle can only be broken by the kiss of a Prince. It is an ancient story, one that originally emerged from and still deeply disturbs the mind’s unconscious. Now Anne Rice’s retelling of the Beauty story probes the unspoken implications of this lush, suggestive tale by exploring its undeniable connection to sexual desire. Here the Prince reawakens Beauty, not with a kiss, but with sexual initiation. His reward for ending the hundred years of enchantment is Beauty’s complete and total enslavement to him as Anne Rice explores the world of erotic yearning and fantasy in a classic that becomes, with her skillful pen, a compelling experience.
Zelda’s Two Cents…
WARNING: This review contains graphic representations of fictional non-consensual torture and captivity and highly sexual content. Please proceed with caution.
This book had me at “hello” and makes me wonder why on earth I had never read it before now. Note that it is not written for your average audience and is a pretty hardcore representation on non-consensual captivity and sexual fantasy. The story would most appeal to a reader with kinky preferences or at least a fond familiarity with BDSM. That being said, as a member of the kink community, I truly appreciate that it was written as a fantasy for kinksters and not aimed at the mainstream crowd for shock value. I LOVE that it was so unabashedly kinky. Seriously. Some of the kink in this book makes you gasp and then blush when you realize how much it actually turns you on.
Especially interesting is the mental and emotional development of the slaves as they are forced to endure this hardship or right of passage. Throughout the book, the elements of force and humiliation set the scene for pretty much every interaction, from Beauty’s initial capture and forced nudity to all of the trials that the slaves in the kingdom must endure. It is essentially a lesson in humility — a chance for the priveleged to experience what it is like to be down-trodden and inferior.
They enter their terms of service from lives of entitlement and wealth. They are used to getting their way and ordering others to bow to their whims. What they receive is an education on how to be subservient and submissive. They learn to dig deep into their own psyches and overcome preconceived notions of what is right and wrong, fair and not.
Some of the finer points of force and coercion that stick with me are:
- Arousal. The slaves were kept at such a point of arousal throughout the story with repeated edging and stimulation, making them always ready. For women, they are always wet and well-lubricated. For men, they are always standing at attention. I find the thought of being forced into a state of arousal to the point of having no control over it is such an incredible turn-on. And, to some extent, I find this quite realistic. The mind is a powerful thing and repetition and suggestion can indeed force physical responses, whether you want them or not.
- The Hall of Torture. The hall of torture where slaves are hung so that their bodies are folded in half with their genitalia exposed and repeatedly edged and tortured for weeks on end was intense. Add to this, the description of using honey on female genitalia to attract insects made my heart skip a beat, yet also held some sort of sick fascination for me. For anyone with torture, genitorture or orgasm denial fetishes, these scenes alone will keep you up at night.
- Impalement. The method of impaling, specifically anal impalement, is used throughout in a lot of the scenes for mounting a slave to be placed on display or used in some other fashion. The forced vulnerability and humiliation in this terrifies me, yet at the same time turns me on.
- True and complete submission. I must admit that the thought of being fully removed from normal life and forced into a life of submission holds such a great fantastical appeal to me. To no longer have responsibility. To be taken care of. To be “claimed” and “kept.” This is one of the reasons that I love to read fantasies like this. I know that it is not possible for me in my own life, so I can at least live vicariously through the characters in my books.
There is a point later in the book where the plot starts to drag a bit in the retelling of Prince Alexi’s history. That being said, it is from this section that I found what I felt was the most poignant quote.
“I love it. I loathe it,” Alexi said. “I am humiliated by it, and recreated by it. And yielding means to feel all those things at once and yet to be of one mind and one spirit.”
This is almost a mantra of submission to me. Where else can you find such diametrically opposed psychological effects — love and hate, degradation and creation, the concept of destruction creating peace. It is really a compelling journey, and despite the fantastical nature of Rice’s Sleeping Beauty series, laced throughout is a truth and reality that has a profound effect on its reader.
While the Sleeping Beauty series is in no way going to appeal to most readers, I found it utterly fascinating and cannot wait to continue reading.
Zelda Gillian is a wife, a mother and a lover, likes strong espresso, stiff corsets and never strays far from her Kindle.
