YNHumiliator seems to want to open this thread up to a wider-ranging discussion of post-war French erotic literature. Since that suits my purposes, I'll oblige him.
I liked, but did not love, The Story of O. I read it first in my teens and liked it well enough to re-read twice in the (ahem) 25-30 years since. I don't like the characters of the original lover who gives her up (now THAT is a weak character! He definitely did not deserve her.), OR Sir Stephen (who seems to me to be too uncaring of O's feelings -- and well-being, for that matter). I like O, though sometimes she drives me crazy, and I don't find her to be a notably weak character, taken all-in-all. I saw the movie fifteen years after I read the book, but still liked the movie better (it was the equivalent of a Readers' Digest version, cutting out the slow parts, but retaining the overall feel and thrust of the book).
I've only read Return to the Chateau once and have much less recollection of it, but I do recall liking it better than the original. I seem to remember that Sir Stephen was better handled in the sequel and that the sex was better. Does anyone else have an opinion?
The Image I read because I had seen (and loved) the movie. It's probably the best BDSM movie I have ever seen. The book was good, but kind of pale and colorless when compared to the (ironically, black-and-white) film. The rose garden, cafe dining and concluding whipping scenes were especially better in the film, though the book delves more deeply into the narrator's thoughts and feelings and ends on a more satisfying note.
Emmanuel and its sequels were, to me, a total loss, both as movies and as books. The characters were uninteresting, the situations were uninteresting and the sex was badly written (and too little of it!).
I found it interesting that YNHumiliator jumped from The Story of O to The Image. Most of the people I know lump "O" in with "Emmanuel" and have never heard of "L' Image". We must be a better class of pervert.
(This is my first post. I hope it rejuvenates the thread.)