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Against Nature

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About this listen

Published in 1884, Against Nature (À rebours) concerns the attempts of its cultured and neurotic anti-hero, Des Esseintes, to escape contemporary Parisian life. At his rural retreat he is able to indulge his particular artistic tastes as he muses on a range of topics including literature, religion and painting.

Although regarded as shocking on its publication, Against Nature was received with enthusiasm by the aesthetic movement and, most particularly, Oscar Wilde, who featured the book in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Against Nature marks a departure from the classic form of 19th-century literature, and this audiobook features the full text, with previously expurgated parts restored.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

Public Domain (P)2022 Naxos AudioBooks UK Ltd. Classics
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The title of this review is a sample of the sweeping, and in reality, quite funny, opinions of Des Esseintes in this very strange and influential book. The truth is that it is not much read, as it is such an extreme experience, and on the page can be quite hard going; a seemingly never ending series of obscure lists and opinions. However, when brilliantly read, as here, the effect is mesmerising and engaging. Like other "difficult" books (like Ulysses) having them read to you makes them accessible in a quite new way. I particularly enjoyed going about my everyday tasks while being plugged in to this exotic fin de siecle satire (and i think it is a satire, or at least a warning). The meal consisting of entirely black food, the room within a room whose only light enters by means of a aquarium, the flavour "organ" Des Esseintes constructs to create a symphony of taste sensation, the real flowers that must look more artificial than genuine fakes...over and over your head is filled with the most fabulous, extraordinary and (sometimes) scandalous of images. Highly recommended.

The inexpressible vulgarity of the 13th Century...

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