I would've given this five stars if it weren't for the absolutely atrocious translation. It feels machine translated. maybe it's my copy or something but it's really just that unreadable at points. And what a shame too because this is simply phenomenal.

Parts of Baise-Moi were so shocking I was audibly gasping and groaning. Spoiler but not really but the gang rape is not even the most graphic or upsetting part of the book. There is one scene in particular that was so intense I had to take a walk. It's not the violence itself that shocks me so much but the lack of true motivation behind any of it. Are they seeking revenge on a misogynist society where everyone, including children, carries the guilt of violence? Or do they just have nothing left to lose and are acting on their basest desires for violence?

The novel focuses on two characters, Manu and Nadine, and of the two Manu is my favorite. She is pure id, pure impulse, and she has zero consciousness or consideration for human life. Manu is legitimately a sociopath....and I admire that about her. She is a corrupting force, drawing Nadine into her week long debauchery, and they terrorize France with their indiscriminate violence.

The most interesting part of this is that Baise-Moi is localized as "rape me" rather than "fuck/kiss me". Consensual women's sexuality? Too perverse. Rape, however.....? perfectly acceptable.

I hesitate to ascribe some girl boss feminism to this because Baise-Moi was written in response to the author's own trauma. This feels like catharsis rather than a morality tale. It's perhaps a little too unhinged for the feral girlies and that's a real shame. If you can get past the absolutely horrific translation I'd pick this one up immediately. Female rage is in. Long live female rage.