Author: | Joris-Karl Huysmans, Patrick McGuinness | ISBN: | 9780141906607 |
Publisher: | Penguin Books Ltd | Publication: | May 1, 2003 |
Imprint: | Penguin | Language: | English |
Author: | Joris-Karl Huysmans, Patrick McGuinness |
ISBN: | 9780141906607 |
Publisher: | Penguin Books Ltd |
Publication: | May 1, 2003 |
Imprint: | Penguin |
Language: | English |
The hero of this curious novel is des Esseintes, a neurasthenic aristocrat who has turned his back on the vulgarity of modern life and retreated to an isolated country villa. Here, accompanied only by a couple of silent servants, he pursues his obsessions with exotic flowers, rare gems, and complex perfumes and embarks on a series of increasingly strange aesthetic experiments, starting with the decision to give his giant pet tortoise a jewel-encrusted shell...
The hero of this curious novel is des Esseintes, a neurasthenic aristocrat who has turned his back on the vulgarity of modern life and retreated to an isolated country villa. Here, accompanied only by a couple of silent servants, he pursues his obsessions with exotic flowers, rare gems, and complex perfumes and embarks on a series of increasingly strange aesthetic experiments, starting with the decision to give his giant pet tortoise a jewel-encrusted shell...