Against Nature — Joris Karl Huysmans

As Joris Karl Huysmans announced in 1884 Against Nature was fated to be a novel like no other Resisting the models of classic nineteenth century fiction it focuses on the attempts of its anti hero the hypersensitive neurotic and aesthete Des Esseintes to escape Paris and the vulgarity of modern life Holed up in his private museum of high taste he offers Huysmanss readers a treasure trove of cultural delights which anticipates many of the strains of modernism in its appreciation of Baudelaire Moreau Redon Mallarmé and Poe This new translation is supplemented by indispensable notes which enhance the understanding of a highly allusive work

As Joris Karl Huysmans announced in 1884 Against Nature was fated to be a novel like no other Resisting the models of classic nineteenth century fiction it focuses on the attempts of its anti hero the hypersensitive neurotic and aesthete Des Esseintes to escape Paris and the vulgarity of modern life Holed up in his private museum of high taste he offers Huysmans s readers a treasure trove of cultural delights which anticipates many of the strains of modernism in its appreciation of Baudelaire Moreau Redon Mallarmé and Poe This new translation is supplemented by indispensable notes which enhance the understanding of a highly allusive work