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| Against Nature (Penguin Classics) | 
 enlarge | Author: J-.k. Huysmans
Creator: R. Baldick
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy Used: £1.33
You Save: £6.66 (83%)
New (3) from £38.45
Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 273276
Media: Paperback
Edition: New edition
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.6
ISBN: 0140440860
EAN: 9780140440867
ASIN: 0140440860
Publication Date: October 1966
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Fantastic Book August 25, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a very interesting novel; not only in terms of its content, but in terms of its function as a touchstone of decadent 1890s English literature. Indeed, it's rumored to be the novel which corrupts Dorian Gray in the Wilde novel of 1891.
A novel with only one main character sounds a bit strange. And it is. But rather than the focus being on linear plot, action or conventional emotions, the reader of this book - whilst carrying out their own solitary activity of reading - seems to form a symbiotic relationship with the book's protagonist, Des Esseintes. Reading about the things that this French loner does purely out of boredom is fascinating; indeed, the very act of reading about his mad experiments and activities gives the reader as great a hedonistic pleasure as it gives Des Esseintes himself by doing these things.
Whilst most people today associate money with being able to have a nice house, eat well, drive nice cars etc, this fictional account of a bored, rich man sees a much more fascinating way to toy with boredom and money. The translation is great, capturing Huysmans' tone and sentiment perfectly.
Reading this book will change your life.
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