Mot strömmen

ALASTOR PRESS 

Against the Current by Huysmans has been called the “bible of the decadents.” It depicts how the hyperaesthetic nobleman Jean Floressas des Esseintes withdraws in disgust and horror from his brutalized and utilitarian time and creates for himself a soul-turned and pleasure-centered existence as a hermit in the French countryside. In a series of tableaux, almost prose-poetic reflections, the reader takes part in des Esseintes’ interests. Literature, art, perfumes, interior design, exotic flowers, everything is permeated by the nobleman’s ambition to go “against the current,” to stand outside society.

The French author Joris-Karl (actually Charles Marie George) Huysmans (1848-1907) is best known for Against the Current – perhaps the most decadent of all decadent works and also Dorian Gray’s pocket bible in Oscar Wilde’s novel. From having been strongly influenced by Arthur Schopenhauer's abysmal pessimism, Huysmans finally reached Catholicism, by detours via Satanism and the occultism of Paris. Regardless of the subject, Huysmans's works are characterized by his encyclopedic learning and extensive vocabulary, as well as his eye for detail and pitch-black humor.

This edition of Huysmans's Mot strømmen is generously illustrated.

Title: Against the Current
Original title: À rebours
Author: Jorisk-Karl Huysmans
Language: Swedish
Translator: Elias Wraak

Format: Hardcover and illustrated
Number of pages: 252
Published: Revised edition September 2013 (first edition September 2002)

ISBN: 9789189633346 (first edition 9789189633025)

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Alastor Press is a Swedish independent publisher with a focus on literature that moves in the dark, esoteric and artistically distinctive. The publisher is known for its careful editions of both classic and contemporary works in areas such as decadence, symbolism, horror and philosophical fiction. With an eye for the obscure and cult, Alastor Press highlights writing that challenges, seduces and lingers.