Against Nature (A Rebours)

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More About This Book

Overview

A wildly original fin-de-siècle novel, Against Nature follows its sole character, Des Esseintes, a decadent, ailing aristocrat who retreats to an isolated villa where he indulges his taste for luxury and excess. Veering between nervous excitability and debilitating ennui, he gluts his aesthetic appetites with classical literature and art, exotic jewels (with which he fatally encrusts the shell of his tortoise), rich perfumes, and a kaleidoscope of sensual experiences. The original handbook of decadence, Against Nature exploded “like a grenade” (in the words of its author) and has enjoyed a cult readership from its publication to the present day.

  • Features a new Introduction, chronology, and notes and reproduces Huysmans's 1903 preface
  • Includes a section of contemporary reviews and responses from writers including Mallarmé, Zola, and Wilde

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780140447637
  • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
  • Publication date: 2/24/2004
  • Pages: 288
  • Sales rank: 195,744
  • Series: Penguin Classics Series
  • Product dimensions: 5.12 (w) x 7.82 (h) x 0.71 (d)

Meet the Author

Joris-Karl Huysmans (1848–1907) is recognized as one of the most challenging and innovative figures in European literature and acknowledged as principal architect of the fin-de-siècle imagination. He was a career civil servant who wrote ten novels, most notably A Rebours and Là-Bas.

Robert Baldick translated many volumes from the French for Penguin Classics, including volumes by Diderot, Flaubert, and Verne, and wrote a biography of Huysmans. He died in 1972.

Patrick McGuiness is a fellow and tutor in French at St. Anne’s College, Oxford.

Patrick McGuiness is a fellow and tutor in French at St. Anne’s College, Oxford.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 5
( 2 )

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(2)

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Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 4, 2012

    Great Novel, Bad Edition

    This is a great (and important) novel, but be careful—the Nook book (eBook) version of "Against Nature" is a BAD edition.
    I have no idea who the translator is, but the eBook version is NOT the Baldick translation.
    Worst of all, although not described as such, the eBook version is an EXPURGATED edition: one entire chapter has been censored out!
    If you want to read Huysmans's novel in English, get the Baldick translation.
    NOTE: The five star rating is for the novel itself. However, if I could rate just the Nook's eBook translation/edition, it would get zero stars.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted July 21, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    9780375708763 9780192836380 9780385527293 634457215528 9780312428747

    First Modern Novel

    Against Nature by J.K Huymsan is not just the first existential novel, it remains one of the most timeless and relevant works of French literature. The main character decides to live a life of solitude and creates a universe within his self, trying to attain the highest level of aesthetic experience. Fascinating and funny too-using dozens of perfumes, he attempts a symphony based on the sense of smell-the aesthete has to deal with an age old contradiction-society will make him insane, but solitude will destroy his health. The Baldick translation some critics, such as Camille Paglia, regard it as superior to the original French. Reads like a contemporary novel. Please visit: timothyherrick.blogspot.com/

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 14, 2008

    Sumptuous Novel

    Anyone who enjoyed Baudelaire, Rimbaud, or Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray will thoroughly enjoy this novel. While there is practically no action in the novel (it is mostly a catalog of the narrator's likes and dislikes) the descriptions and imagery are so vivid and lush that the reader hangs on every word. This is an extremely well written novel that is still quite avant garde considering it was written 110 years ago.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
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