For the most part I much prefer Nin's diaries to her novels. But I rated this five stars because she is never less than great. Nin disdains all writing technique, scenes, plot, but she's great on characterization and wonderful sensual descriptions of her settings. She has a rep as a writer of erotica, and that rep is well deserved, but there is little of that here. What's really fun is to read her diaries from the same period and setting, so you can see what this was based on. If you love her, and I do, you love her better than anybody. She's just great.