A Rebours - Against Nature by Joris-Karl Huysmans

A Rebours - Against Nature by Joris-Karl Huysmans

Meet Jean des Esseintes: reclusive, diseased, the last scion of an outmoded aristocratic family. He is also an unapologetic aesthete, prone to overwhelmingly intense sensory experiences in the presence of art. As he finds himself ever more enervated by the illness that consumes him, des Esseintes turns his back on wider society - a society he loathes - and retreats upwards into dream, seeking refuge in illusions of extravagant fantasy. The result is a masterpiece of decadence, insanity, invective, and sheer style.

Joris-Karl Huysmans (1848 – 1907 in Paris) was a French novelist who published his writings under the name Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans. He made a living as a civil servant in France for 30 years. Huysmans' writing is noted for its unique use of the French language, extensive vocabulary, descriptions, sardonic humor, and wide-ranging erudition. His work reflected his severe pessimism, which led him to Arthur Schopenhauer's philosophy. His works later reflected his studies of Catholicism, religious conversion, and ordination as an oblate.