Description
Book SynopsisOctave Mirbeau, author of The Torture Garden and Diary of a Chambermaid, wrote this scathing novel on the cusp of the twentieth century. Driven mad by modern life, Georges Vasseur leaves for a rest cure, where he encounters corrupt politicians, amnesiac coquettes, cheerfully sadistic killers, imperialist generals, and quack psychiatrists. Hypocrites are eternal, and not much has changed since Mirbeau wrote this acid portrait of his era.
Trade ReviewAn entire social order is rendered clear through these twenty-odd outrages, admirable in the strength of their offensiveness. -- Alfred Jarry Octave Mirbeau is the greatest contemporary French writer, and the one who best represents the eternal brilliance of France. -- Lev Tolstoy A man of justice who has given his heart to the wretched and miserable of this earth. -- Emile Zola Acidly funny... Mirbeau's mischievous humor and keen observations about uncertainty as the cause of existential anxiety have much to offer contemporary readers who are willing to take the plunge. A scandalous artifact from an earlier age that has more mileage than one might expect from an experimental novel more than a century old. Kirkus Reviews
