Female sexuality, sexual abuse, and the battle of the sexes in general are prominent topics in her work. Texts such as "Wir sind Lockvögel, Baby!" ("We are Decoys, Baby!"), "Die Liebhaberinnen" ("Women as Lovers") and "Die Klavierspielerin" ("The Piano Teacher") showcase the brutality and power play inherent in human relations in a style that is, at times, ironically formal and tightly controlled. According to Jelinek, power and aggression are often the principal driving forces of relationships. Likewise "Ein Sportstück" ("Sports Play") explores the darker side of competitive sports. Her provocative novel "Lust" contains graphic description of sexuality, aggression and abuse. It received poor reviews by many critics, some of whom likened it to pornography. But others, who noted the power of the cold descriptions of moral failures, considered it to have been misunderstood and undervalued by them.