Never confuse lust for anything other than what it is, do you agree?

Use this forum to discuss the August 2021 Book of the month, "Chameleons" by Onyx Gold
Post Reply
User avatar
Hildehraefen
Posts: 33
Joined: 12 Jan 2018, 13:36
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 32
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-hildehraefen.html
Latest Review: And Then I Met Margaret by Rob White

Re: Never confuse lust for anything other than what it is, do you agree?

Post by Hildehraefen »

Definitely agree. It's very easy for one person to develop feelings from intimacy that was originally motivated solely by lust, while the other participant remains only motivated by lust. So then the first person ends up developing an unrealistic picture of the relationship in their head, which leads to disappointment.
User avatar
Sushan Ekanayake
Official Reviewer Representative
Posts: 4838
Joined: 04 May 2018, 19:13
Currently Reading: My Wind Therapy
Bookshelf Size: 407
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sushan-ekanayake.html
Latest Review: My Wind Therapy: Motorcycling Through A History of Child Abuse And Domestic Violence by Queen Five Star
Reading Device: B0794JC2K5

Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

cluetop wrote: 06 Aug 2021, 12:30 Personally, I thought I saw Zia develop a level of true romantic connection through her lust. Her affair afforded her the one thing her relationship could not: physical intimacy, and I believe that, at least to a certain extent, she created a true emotional connection with the person giving her what she needed. So, while I see your point, I think that, in this case, lust became more than just lust.
Zia went to Baxter to get what she did not get from Bryce; the sexual ssatisfaction. So to start it was pure lust. I agree. But I doubt whether later on she developed something emotional towards Bax, as it is revealed how guilty she felt about what she was doing, to fulfill her physical needs. Maybe it was simply lust for her and she might have well understood it from the beginning.
User avatar
Sushan Ekanayake
Official Reviewer Representative
Posts: 4838
Joined: 04 May 2018, 19:13
Currently Reading: My Wind Therapy
Bookshelf Size: 407
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sushan-ekanayake.html
Latest Review: My Wind Therapy: Motorcycling Through A History of Child Abuse And Domestic Violence by Queen Five Star
Reading Device: B0794JC2K5

Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Katie Canedy wrote: 06 Aug 2021, 15:38 I agree with the author regarding this statement. In religion, more specifically the Bible, there are discussions about what lust is and why it is terrible. Now I do think that there can be lust when someone has been in a relationship with someone for a long time, but normally it is mixed with love and affection. Regarding Zia, I think that she definitely has more lust involved than anything else. I know this because of how her and Bryce's relationship has progressed so far; it seems to be based on nothing but sexual desire.
I think you are telling about the relationship between Zia and Baxter. Yes, seemingly there was no romance but passion and lust. It seems like even Zia too confused that for romance at the beginning. But later on she has become aware of this fact and even enlighten the reader regarding that fact. And we see how she feel guilty when she get the chance to just fulfill her lust through a random person.
User avatar
Sushan Ekanayake
Official Reviewer Representative
Posts: 4838
Joined: 04 May 2018, 19:13
Currently Reading: My Wind Therapy
Bookshelf Size: 407
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sushan-ekanayake.html
Latest Review: My Wind Therapy: Motorcycling Through A History of Child Abuse And Domestic Violence by Queen Five Star
Reading Device: B0794JC2K5

Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Chimuka Muungo wrote: 07 Aug 2021, 03:19 Zia was definetely confused by lust because in her love relationship with Bryce she was sexually starved. So it was easy to her sexual desires to take control over her.
It is questionable whether she was fully confused in between the concepts of lust and romance. But, I agree, yes she was sexually starved and it made her to crave sexual desires. And that led her to begin a relationship based on lust with Baxter. It fulfilled her desires, but later on it is Zia who says the above quote and ask the reader not to confuse lust with anything else.
Menace Crypto
Posts: 332
Joined: 21 Jun 2020, 19:32
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 89
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-nonny2208.html
Latest Review: Pandemic (The U.S. Pandemic in India) by Dieter Gartelmann

Post by Menace Crypto »

I definitely agree with the author that lust is simply just lust. It doesn't matter what happens or the angle which you look at it from, there's a clear difference between love and lust. And, there's no twisting it. This was a case of lust, even though it was toxic. There's no disputing that fact.
User avatar
Vine Michael
Book of the Month Participant
Posts: 376
Joined: 31 May 2020, 07:52
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 85
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-vine-michael.html
Latest Review: Always Strive to Be a Better You by Pete Hall

Post by Vine Michael »

I agree with the author a 100 percent, lust is lust and nothing else. Lust should never be confused as love because the minute that is done it leads to severe heartbreak. Concerning the book, I think Zia's character felt both love and lust. The love she had for her lover made her blind to how dark side.
Alyssa Wakefield
In It Together VIP
Posts: 34
Joined: 28 Jun 2021, 08:46
Favorite Book: End of the Last Great Kingdom
Currently Reading: Little Women
Bookshelf Size: 22
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-alyssa-wakefield.html
Latest Review: The Magician's Secret by Charles Townsend

Post by Alyssa Wakefield »

I think lust on its own does not pose a significant issue in the real world (although this differs in the story). As this quote claims, lust is only a problem when disguised as something else. Not being able to differentiate feelings can be a struggle for many people and poses a problems for those who make decisions based on emotions rather than logic.
User avatar
Sushan Ekanayake
Official Reviewer Representative
Posts: 4838
Joined: 04 May 2018, 19:13
Currently Reading: My Wind Therapy
Bookshelf Size: 407
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sushan-ekanayake.html
Latest Review: My Wind Therapy: Motorcycling Through A History of Child Abuse And Domestic Violence by Queen Five Star
Reading Device: B0794JC2K5

Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Unsullied wrote: 07 Aug 2021, 03:19 Zia's experience was bad and to this extent, I agree with your opinion on how bad lust can be. However, in the real world nowadays, most love relationships begin from the point of lust. The physical sexual attraction can grow into something beautiful with time.
I think that physical attraction leading to a romantic relationship is true for Zia and Bryce's relationship as well. We see how both of them are turned towards the other at the first occasion when they were alone. It says even Zia's vaginal muscles reacted to that. And later on we see that there is no sexual relationship in between them, but pure love and romance.

But when Zia turned towards Baxter her lust confused her and made her mind into a turmoil, not letting her see what is correct and what is wrong. But that bad experience led her to see that lust is just lust at the end.
User avatar
Sushan Ekanayake
Official Reviewer Representative
Posts: 4838
Joined: 04 May 2018, 19:13
Currently Reading: My Wind Therapy
Bookshelf Size: 407
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sushan-ekanayake.html
Latest Review: My Wind Therapy: Motorcycling Through A History of Child Abuse And Domestic Violence by Queen Five Star
Reading Device: B0794JC2K5

Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Jessica045 wrote: 07 Aug 2021, 15:30 It is sad that, "call a spade, a spade". Lust is Lust and should not be painted as anything else. Zia's inability to detect the dark side of her lover clearly showed that she did not think things through but was only after the flesh.
Well said. Yes, Zia was blinded by lust. Her character qualities show that she was not well aware or does not show much attention to her surroundings. But when it came to Baxter she could not see who he really was as her lust blinded everything else. Maybe she saw that lust as lust, but she could not see anything other than lust. And that was the cause for her downfall. And ironically the author uses Zia's mouth to say the above words, telling not to confuse lust for anything else to the reader.
User avatar
B Sheila Holt
In It Together VIP
Posts: 966
Joined: 03 Oct 2020, 01:32
Currently Reading: One Christmas Eve
Bookshelf Size: 85
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-b-sheila-holt.html
Latest Review: Open Heart by Akil Taher

Post by B Sheila Holt »

Just as others above have also stated, lust and love are two different topics. Lust has a more selfish tone to it, more just feed the flesh desires. Let’s just be in the “now”, with zero commitment. Where “love” is a slow building process and can lead to commitments later on. Also just as others above have said about this story, the hunger for the intimacy desire drove her to be lustful, which led to this great story.
User avatar
Sushan Ekanayake
Official Reviewer Representative
Posts: 4838
Joined: 04 May 2018, 19:13
Currently Reading: My Wind Therapy
Bookshelf Size: 407
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sushan-ekanayake.html
Latest Review: My Wind Therapy: Motorcycling Through A History of Child Abuse And Domestic Violence by Queen Five Star
Reading Device: B0794JC2K5

Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

malik khaizran wrote: 08 Aug 2021, 13:39 Lust and love are two different aspects of life .one can not confuse lust for love. Lust was a very important feature of the story.
"Never confuse lust for anything other than what it is. There isn’t a man alive that wouldn’t gladly take what you are so willing to offer."
(Epigraph 2, Location 53 of Kindle version)
I am agreed with the writer on that statement. And I think this statement has a great meaning in it . You will never spend your money on an item you are confused about then how can trust someone and experimentally had sex.
As I get it you are trying to tell that Zia cannot be trusted. Yes, you have a point, and through the sequel Bryce might happen to witness this and then he will regret on forgiving her. Yes, you cannot be confused when it come to either love or lust. Seemingly Zia confused that at the beginning with Bryce. She had lustful feelings at first but ended up loving him. For Baxter also she started the relationship in a professional level and then it went towards lust. Seemingly Zia has mixed up a lot.
User avatar
Sushan Ekanayake
Official Reviewer Representative
Posts: 4838
Joined: 04 May 2018, 19:13
Currently Reading: My Wind Therapy
Bookshelf Size: 407
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sushan-ekanayake.html
Latest Review: My Wind Therapy: Motorcycling Through A History of Child Abuse And Domestic Violence by Queen Five Star
Reading Device: B0794JC2K5

Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

jeanmtdb wrote: 08 Aug 2021, 15:14 Lust is lust and love is love. They are definitely different emotions. I agree with the author on this point. Both emotions are necessary for the plot to move forward. Zia's character feels both emotions intensely driving the plot to a spectacular ending.
Yes, Zia felt both emotions and she loved both feelings. But as she cheated on Bryce to fulfill her sexual needs I think lust was more important to her. She wanted to explore her sexual desires and in that occasion she put love below lust. Who knows, maybe she never confused the two emotions, but always had in mind what she was doing and did only what she wanted whether it was ethically correct or wrong. But towards the end when Zia starts to see sleeping with a random guy is wrong, it is the reader who ultimately gets confused.
Akshobhya B
Posts: 57
Joined: 27 May 2021, 09:38
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 25
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-akshobhya-b.html
Latest Review: Zona: The Forbidden Land by Fred G. Baker

Post by Akshobhya B »

True. You may not be attracted to another person but might want to be with them simply because both of you are sexually compatible. Like in Zia's story, she was blinded by her lust for Baxter and believed it to be genuine attraction.
User avatar
Sushan Ekanayake
Official Reviewer Representative
Posts: 4838
Joined: 04 May 2018, 19:13
Currently Reading: My Wind Therapy
Bookshelf Size: 407
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sushan-ekanayake.html
Latest Review: My Wind Therapy: Motorcycling Through A History of Child Abuse And Domestic Violence by Queen Five Star
Reading Device: B0794JC2K5

Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Uzoma Kalu wrote: 09 Aug 2021, 19:47 I don't subscribe to the idea that lust is lust and nothing more. However, I would agree that in this book Zia was motivated by lust most of the times. So, for Zia my answer is yes, lust was bad for her character.
Zia was motivated by lust even in the first encounter with Bryce. We clearly see (or the author has clearly shown) how even her sexual organs reacted. But later on it converted in to romance, and we see how there was no lust at all in that relationship. But Zia still harboured that lust and she needed to fulfill it, and her choice was to go to Baxter, where there was only lust but no love at all. Doesn't that simply prove lust is just lust?
User avatar
Sushan Ekanayake
Official Reviewer Representative
Posts: 4838
Joined: 04 May 2018, 19:13
Currently Reading: My Wind Therapy
Bookshelf Size: 407
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sushan-ekanayake.html
Latest Review: My Wind Therapy: Motorcycling Through A History of Child Abuse And Domestic Violence by Queen Five Star
Reading Device: B0794JC2K5

Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Chetna_123 wrote: 11 Aug 2021, 02:50 I agree with the author. Lust is just lust if not accompanied by love, emotions, and feelings. However, in the present story lust is the main driving force for the progression of the story as the main character Zia fell prey to lust. In real life also lust is often confused with other feelings and not accepted as what it is.
Well said. Lust can be accompanied by anything, but that does not convert lust into anything else. It remains as lust. The mistakes are made when lust is confused with love, as Zia did. Bryce loved Zia, but she needed her relationship to be passionate. As Bryce was not ready to give her that she went to Baxter, who had his own plans but was passionate and skilled when it came to sex. Finally Zia found a place to satisfy her lust, but she confused it as love and ended up getting entangled in a love triangle making her life a mess.
Post Reply

Return to “Discuss "Chameleons" by Onyx Gold”