Description

Book Synopsis
The lowly, downtrodden Paris civil servant Jean Folantin seeks respite from the boredom and isolation of his life in the small joys of food and the occasional embraces of a prostitute. But whatever he does, wherever he turns in his quest for some pleasure, his dissatisfaction only increases, until he is forced to realize that he has to abandon all hope and just “go with the flow”. This 1882 novella, a key work in Huysmans’ literary development – prefiguring in its protagonist the figure of Jean des Esseintes, the hero of À rebours, written two years later – is accompanied here by another masterly study of human despair, ‘M. Bougran’s Retirement’.

Trade Review
With the Flow is the most complete expression of that pessimism which, even at the start of the twenty-first century, remains central to our self-perception. -- Simon Callow

With the Flow

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    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Sat 20 Jun 2026.

    A Paperback / softback by Joris-Karl Huysmans, Andrew Brown KC, KC, Andrew Brown

    2 in stock

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      Publisher: Alma Books Ltd
      Publication Date: 19/11/2020
      ISBN13: 9781847498342, 978-1847498342
      ISBN10: 1847498345
      Also in:
      Classics

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      The lowly, downtrodden Paris civil servant Jean Folantin seeks respite from the boredom and isolation of his life in the small joys of food and the occasional embraces of a prostitute. But whatever he does, wherever he turns in his quest for some pleasure, his dissatisfaction only increases, until he is forced to realize that he has to abandon all hope and just “go with the flow”. This 1882 novella, a key work in Huysmans’ literary development – prefiguring in its protagonist the figure of Jean des Esseintes, the hero of À rebours, written two years later – is accompanied here by another masterly study of human despair, ‘M. Bougran’s Retirement’.

      Trade Review
      With the Flow is the most complete expression of that pessimism which, even at the start of the twenty-first century, remains central to our self-perception. -- Simon Callow

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