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I Love Books And Reading

Recently took up again the reading of La Bas by Joris-Karl Huysmans, it is a great thing to balance out the arduous task of tackling the Guilty/Not Guilty section of Kierkegaard's Stages on Life's Way, which by saying it is arduous is meant to illuminate one of it's strengths. It requires much, and gives much. A literature i tremble at. Huysmans is more exotic, he was of the decadent school, like what Baudelaire is a symbol for.

La Bas (in english The Damned) was in Fassbinder's top 10 books, and is about a guy who is trying to write a book about Gilles de Rais, the person Bluebeard is based on. It is dark and Catholic. Beautifully written with some disturbing content. Check it out if interested. *_*

Aug 8 - it enhances the reading to look up some things mentioned in the text, for example on page 47 Breughel's The Wise and Foolish Virgins" is described seen here

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Soossie

I wish I had a copy of this book... great names, Fassbinder, Kierkegaard,.. It sounds like a strong book, specially if the subject is related to guilt feeling.

SW-User

You made my heart leap here! Ahhh how Huysmans describes things, the attention to detail .... i first heard of him in Bunuel's Diary of a Chambermaid. The late Jeanne Moreau's character as maid is requested to read him to an elderly man. .... The guilt of Kierkegaard is massive, the extent of what he felt is positively dizzying .... Fassbinder could so well capture feelings like that too. If you get a chance to read La Bas, one thing i think you'd like about it is how things are described, i recall mentioning his famous earlier work to you Against the Grain, which is cited in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray. Those are the only 2 i have of him so far .... would gladly give them to you if i could.

Soossie

Awww!!! thanks... I will see if I can order the book in here....

Thanks again for the good read.

SW-User

@Soossie You are always welcome to surprise me with a message, i'd love to hear your thoughts on things. ty :)

Soossie

With pleasure Jeff.