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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
would rather eat bricks than be in the mind of a white rich man who only cares about aesthetics and isolates himself for any amount other than a maximum of 10 pages
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Het sexisme buiten overweging gelaten vond ik dit boek GEWELDIG!
In chapter 11 of The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian rambles for quite a while about French painters, jewellery, and various perfumes. Now imagine that one chapter spread over an entire book, and you have À Rebours.
I do not regret picking this up; mostly because I share Huysmans’ deep pessimism about modern society, and I find his writing style to be very immersive and unique. Saying this, the glaring lack of plot did make parts a rather laborious read.
Much like Des Esseintes, anyone who gives this book five stars is either extremely intelligent or extremely pretentious. I suspect the latter more.
I do not regret picking this up; mostly because I share Huysmans’ deep pessimism about modern society, and I find his writing style to be very immersive and unique. Saying this, the glaring lack of plot did make parts a rather laborious read.
Much like Des Esseintes, anyone who gives this book five stars is either extremely intelligent or extremely pretentious. I suspect the latter more.
Somewhere in the middle I lost all hope that the wonderful themes and sentences could gain substance. It is devastatingly sad how such an original project could turn into... well, nothing.
Contemplation and inner dialogues have always intrigued and fascinated me, yet in "Against nature" all is a bore. Pure and ultra-pleasurable aesthetics but without any content whatsoever - and this is a horrible disaster.
Contemplation and inner dialogues have always intrigued and fascinated me, yet in "Against nature" all is a bore. Pure and ultra-pleasurable aesthetics but without any content whatsoever - and this is a horrible disaster.
I read Against Nature by Joris-Karl Huysmans, a copy of which I swiped years ago from a professor’s free-book shelf. Oscar Wilde was evidently fascinated by the book, and in The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dorian reads this “poisonous French novel” and is obsessed by it. What sort of book would Dorian Gray enjoy, you ask? Mainly a very long catalogue of the likes and dislikes of an effete, high-strung , overly intellectual wuss possessing far too much time and money and lacking all common sense. The novel didn’t strike me as particularly dangerous–merely silly, instead. The main character is obsessed with artifice, and this tendency is best illustrated in the chapter in which he decides his fabulously decorated hermitage needs some light and movement. He has the shell of a live, giant tortoise covered in gold. When this doesn’t tickle his fancy sufficiently, he has the gold shell encrusted in jewels. At the end of this lengthy turtle shell description, the main character realizes the tortoise isn’t moving. The poor thing has died from the stress (or possibly the boredom). By the end of the book, I felt pretty much like the tortoise.
dark
emotional
reflective
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
challenging
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
Rarely is a book where so little happens so captivating. Reflections on French literature, philosophy, and art is hats in here, not really a story. Just some guy who hates modern day society and secluded himself in a cabin to look at art and read books and immerse himself in artifice. The writing is decadent and beautiful, which is probably what was so compelling because this book has no plot, just vibes
funny
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