Stranded (en Rade)

Published in 1887, Stranded (En Rade) sees J.K. Huysmans again breaking new ground and pushing back the boundaries of the novel form. Stamped throughout with his characteristic black humour, Stranded is one of Huysmans’ most innovative, most imaginative works. Jacques’ waking reveries and daydreams are balanced by a succession of dreams and nightmares that explore the seemingly irrational, often grotesque, world of unconscious desire, producing a series of images that are as unforgettable and unsettling as anything to be found in the decadent fantasies of Against Nature, or the satanic obsessions of La-Bas. AUTHOR: J.K. Huysmans (1847-1907) began writing as a naturalist in the style of Zola. He changed from being an obscure author and art critic to one of the most famous authors of his day with the publication of Against Nature in 1884, which captures the decadent spirit of the day and marks his final break with Zola and naturalism. His novel about Satanism, La-Bas (1891) is the cult novel of the eighteenth century.