• daannii@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    10
    ·
    5 days ago

    Read a few of her works.

    Dark stuff. I really like it though.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beasts_(novella)

    This one stands out.

    A novella. I still have a physical copy of it.

    Plot: (spoiler)

    As she walks along the Seine in 21st century Paris, Gillian Brauer reflects on her experiences as a student an all-women’s college in the 1970s. As a young adult, Gillian was obsessed with her charismatic anti-establishment English professor Andre Harrow. Knowing that other girls preceded her does not deter Gillian from being drawn towards the decadent Professor Harrow and his French wife, Dorcas, the bisexual sculptor of primal totems.

    Gillian begins living with the couple, who regularly drug her without her consent, often spiking her drinks with quaaludes. Professor Harrow and his wife promise Gillian that they will take her to Paris with them, but instead instruct her to remain at their home and act as a housekeeper in their absence. While they are gone, Gillian discovers that Andre and Dorcas have sexually explicit photographs of other young people that they have drugged and used in order to fulfill their own sexual desires. Towards the end of the novella, an intoxicated Gillian burns Andre and Dorcas alive, but she is never tried for the incident. It is revealed that Gillian currently has a teaching job.

    • Ann Archy@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 day ago

      Man I wish someone would drug me and exploit me sexually and let me have free reign of their French mansion. I wouldn’t even go outside.

    • gogonan@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      4 days ago

      She wrote a book I read in high school called Black Water, about the true story of Senator Ted Kennedy who drove into a river while ludicrously intoxicated and with a young girl of no consequence as his passenger in the car. He gets himself out of car and lives, but she drowns within it. He received no punishment and this was, for the most part, covered up. Succession on HBO also had an episode that paid homage to this dark bit of American history (for a fun bit of trivia).

      Anyway, she’s a great writer and captures these little vignettes on human nature in really intriguing ways. I recommend you read her work. In fact, this makes me feel like perhaps I should give that book a reread as well.

      • daannii@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        4 days ago

        Sorry I didn’t know there was a script for spoilers. Someone else gave me the info. I’ll be sure to do that.

    • A_norny_mousse@piefed.zip
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      5 days ago

      Oh, this is straight from the wikipedia page. They’re very generous with spoilers.

      Anyhow, for future reference:

      This contains spoilers

      As she walks along the Seine in 21st century Paris, Gillian Brauer reflects on her experiences as a student an all-women’s college in the 1970s. As a young adult, Gillian was obsessed with her charismatic anti-establishment English professor Andre Harrow. Knowing that other girls preceded her does not deter Gillian from being drawn towards the decadent Professor Harrow and his French wife, Dorcas, the bisexual sculptor of primal totems.

      Gillian begins living with the couple, who regularly drug her without her consent, often spiking her drinks with quaaludes. Professor Harrow and his wife promise Gillian that they will take her to Paris with them, but instead instruct her to remain at their home and act as a housekeeper in their absence. While they are gone, Gillian discovers that Andre and Dorcas have sexually explicit photographs of other young people that they have drugged and used in order to fulfill their own sexual desires. Towards the end of the novella, an intoxicated Gillian burns Andre and Dorcas alive, but she is never tried for the incident. It is revealed that Gillian currently has a teaching job.

      markdown:

      ::: spoiler This contains spoilers  
      
      TEXT  
      
      :::