With the Flow

Through its brilliant, unrelenting detail, Huysmans’ early masterpiece captures the minutiae of misery and boredom in a day in the life of a man who—for the moment—refuses to go with the flow. It is published here with the short story The Retreat of Monsieur Bougran. M. Folantin is a government employee who is overwhelmed by the quotidian misery of life. The story follows his quixotic quest for enjoyment as he goes to a restaurant, to the cinema, and to a prostitute—but ultimately finds that nothing can relieve him of his disgust and boredom with the business of living. Joris–Karl Huysmans, art critic and author of Against Nature, is a leading figure in France’s Decadent Movement.