The Story of O may be a classic in France. However, I do not read or speak French, making it extremely difficult to truly critique the original novel. I did find the English version to be one of the most irritating reads I have come across. The story jumps around between characters, O does not truly desire to be a slave, the ending has been removed, and the story is very hard to follow. I would recommend going with a better sado-masochistic read, such as Carrie's Story.