‘Do unto others as you would not have them do unto you.’

A gloriously decadent piece of literature that spreads its rancour across all five senses. However, it certainly isn’t as evil as Wilde made it out to be - Des Esseintes is just a feeble misanthrope clinging onto antiquity. This work kind of struck me as a 19th century version of Ellis’ American Psycho to the extent that there are pages upon pages of vacuous minutiae concerning exotic plants, meticulous lighting, various perfumes etc. - I will be the first to admit that that is a crude analogy, but it works.

The exaggerated advocacy for the artificial over Nature found in here was also appreciated, serving as a spit in the face against the exsanguinated prose of Naturalism that was all the rage at the time of the book’s inception. It’s difficult to know whether to take it as Huysman’s own bitter condemnation of the Naturalist school of thought he had just left or as a fully fledged, detached satire. Either way it’s worth the price of admission just for the literary criticism of Baudelaire, Mallarmé and Poe that is strewn throughout. On top of these three figures there are also a whole litany of forgotten Christian and secular authors, giving ample material to the prospective reader to create a reading list that’s well off of the beaten path. ( )

"Infatti, quando il tempo in cui l'uomo di talento si trova forzato a vivere è stupido e piatto, l'artista, anche a propria insaputa, è assillato dalla nostalgia di un altro secolo".

Ci sono libri che giungono come meteore nel percorso di un lettore e così è per me ora con À rebours, di fatto ignorato fino a ora e arrivato quasi per caso. Non solo decadentismo: un viaggio che potrebbe essere senza fine (in fondo il libro è breve, purtroppo) dalla superficie alla profondità delle cose, in cerca dell'essenza, guidati dalla mania, dal dettaglio. Quanto diavolo in questo libro! Un caleidoscopio di parole, una continua sorpresa. Un libro assolutamente fuori moda, che ricorda quanto manca un po' di Des Esseintes alla nostra vita quotidiana. ( )

"...las llagas mas incurables, mas vivaces, más profundas, abiertas por la saciedad, la desilusión y el desprecio en las almas ruinosas a las que el presente tortura, a las que el pasado repugna, a las que el porvenir asusta y desespera".

"Y vosotros utopistas sistemáticos, que haceís abstracción de la naturaleza humana; factores del ateísmo, alimentados de quimeras y de odios; emancipadores de la mujer, destructores de la familia, genealogistas de la raza simia; vosotros, cuyo nombre antaño era una injuria, bien podeís estar contentos: ¡habreís sido los profetas y vuestros discípulos serán los pontífices de un abominable porvenir!"

"¡Que época tan singular la que, invocando los intereses de la humanidad, trata de perfeccionar los anestésicos para suprimir el sufrimiento físico y prepara al mismo tiempo tales estimulantes para agravar el dolor moral!" ( )

Damals sicherlich revolutionär, heute eher schwierig zu lesen, da das ganze Buch aus mehr oder minder getrennten Episoden der Dekadenz der Hauptperson - des Baron des Esseintes - bestehen. Mal bastelt er Duft- mal Schnapsorgeln und verliert sich ansonsten in seinen Ressentiments gegen die Welt. Ich bin froh, dass ich das jetzt abhaken kann.

Zitat: "Aber diese Extravaganzen und Tollheiten, in denen er früher seinen Ruhm suchte, hatten sich erschöpft."

ps.: Die Duftepisoden und der Stil haben mich mehrfach an "Das Parfüm" erinnert - könnte mir vorstellen, dass das Buch Süskind als Inspirationsquelle diente.

( )

Should be essential reading for all arty nineteen-year-olds, for whom it can serve as either a script or a hoot. ( )