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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
[a:Oscar Wilde|3565|Oscar Wilde|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1316521008p2/3565.jpg]'s [b:The Picture of Dorian Gray|5297|The Picture of Dorian Gray|Oscar Wilde|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320467562s/5297.jpg|1858012], taking it's cue from [a:Mary Shelley|11139|Mary Shelley|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1205347203p2/11139.jpg]'s [b:Frankenstein|18490|Frankenstein (Penguin Classics)|Mary Shelley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1311647465s/18490.jpg|4836639], gives its hero three books to read in order to shape and to define his personality. The most fascinatingly bleak of Dorian's reads is this strange little book about a jaded perfumer with too much money, trying to fill up his boring, pleasure-sated days. It's a sensualist romp through, well, very little, actually, and it adequately depicts the life of a man who has everything in life and nothing to live for. Bleak, pointless, at times very charming, [b:Against Nature|210255|Against Nature (A Rebours)|Joris-Karl Huysmans|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312506330s/210255.jpg|306152] isn't for everyone, but it's a useful tool to get further into Dorian Gray's character. If you are an enthusiast of Wilde's novella, it's a must read, along with [b:Marius the Epicurean|626363|Marius the Epicurean|Walter Pater|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1334835995s/626363.jpg|1443058] and [b:Confessions of An Opium-Eater|87602|Confessions of an English Opium-eater & Other Writings (World's Classics)|Thomas de Quincey|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171104391s/87602.jpg|18609464].
hermite-gay-core, le grand frère anémique de Dorian Gray
je dois dire que je m'attendais quand même à plus flamboyant vu la renommée géante du livre, il manque un aspect psychologique vraiment développé, un détail de caractère, quelque chose qui dirait précisément la violence de ce faux "retour", du mouvement "à rebours" qui en réalité ne nie une forme de dépravation obsessionnelle que pour en chercher une autre... après Zola, après [b: Bouvard et Pécuchet|958738|Gustave Flaubert, Bouvard et Pécuchet|Schvalberg|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1179808272l/958738._SY75_.jpg|943648], après les grands romans russes et surtout Dostoïevski, c'est un peu... anémié... comme livre... mais c'est génial quand même
je dois dire que je m'attendais quand même à plus flamboyant vu la renommée géante du livre, il manque un aspect psychologique vraiment développé, un détail de caractère, quelque chose qui dirait précisément la violence de ce faux "retour", du mouvement "à rebours" qui en réalité ne nie une forme de dépravation obsessionnelle que pour en chercher une autre... après Zola, après [b: Bouvard et Pécuchet|958738|Gustave Flaubert, Bouvard et Pécuchet|Schvalberg|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1179808272l/958738._SY75_.jpg|943648], après les grands romans russes et surtout Dostoïevski, c'est un peu... anémié... comme livre... mais c'est génial quand même
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
slow-paced
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Lugesin seda bakatöö jaoks. Nii hea, et ei pea sellega enam tegelema. On võimalik, et minu suur vastumeelsus Huysmansi suhtes tekkis just selle paganama bakatöö tõttu. Igal juhul ei nautinud ma seda teost üldse.
Samas annab see teos hea ülevaate sellest, mida dekadents endast kujutab. See on läbi ja lõhki dekadentlik. Väga palju on materjalismi, suures osas on teos kirjeldav. Mingit erilist süžeed ei ole, mis on ka paraku teose mõte. Peategelane des Esseintes on haiglane, jälestab maailma ning on ühtlasi esteetikaarmastaja.
Samas annab see teos hea ülevaate sellest, mida dekadents endast kujutab. See on läbi ja lõhki dekadentlik. Väga palju on materjalismi, suures osas on teos kirjeldav. Mingit erilist süžeed ei ole, mis on ka paraku teose mõte. Peategelane des Esseintes on haiglane, jälestab maailma ning on ühtlasi esteetikaarmastaja.
"He was dreaming of a refined solitude, a comfortable desert, a motionless ark in which to seek refuge from the unending deluge of human stupidity."
This didn't do it for me, I'm afraid. I came in with high expectations - the book that corrupted Dorian Gray? It must be deeply dissident and debauched! Sadly, no. I think a lot must have been lost in translation, but it can read a bit like a taxonomy of random stuff the author is interested in, hung under the guise of the protagonist seeking the most refined of the refined as a means to seal himself off from the world. So we're treated to treatises on Latin works, choral traditions, jewels, perfumes, interior decoration etc. It just wasn't enjoyable to read.
This didn't do it for me, I'm afraid. I came in with high expectations - the book that corrupted Dorian Gray? It must be deeply dissident and debauched! Sadly, no. I think a lot must have been lost in translation, but it can read a bit like a taxonomy of random stuff the author is interested in, hung under the guise of the protagonist seeking the most refined of the refined as a means to seal himself off from the world. So we're treated to treatises on Latin works, choral traditions, jewels, perfumes, interior decoration etc. It just wasn't enjoyable to read.
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Overall, worth the read. Dragged at times when Des Esseintes would describe in great detail the books on his shelves, smells of various perfume combinations and the foliage of exotic plants. However, it was worth it when the plot shone through the details. Plus, it had a very satisfactory ending.
The classics are not for me it seems unless they are short. Am I still going to read Wuthering Heights? Absolutely
I loved it. I hated it.
It glowed in my little bookbag.
It smelled of Shalimar, ether and manure.
This cover is a lovely shade of jaundice, but any yellow would do.
I suggest anyone who picks up A Rebours perseveres.
If you start reading it and don't finish, it brings bad luck.
It glowed in my little bookbag.
It smelled of Shalimar, ether and manure.
This cover is a lovely shade of jaundice, but any yellow would do.
I suggest anyone who picks up A Rebours perseveres.
If you start reading it and don't finish, it brings bad luck.