La Bas by J.K Husymans

This Gothic-Decadent thriller is by the same author of Against Nature, and is no less shocking. It tells the story of Durtal, a writer loosely based on Husymans himself, who is writing a biography of the medieval knight, Gilles de Rais. Durtal is obsessed with the occult and Satanism. The novel itself was published around about the same time as The Picture of Dorian Gray, but this novel is a thousand times more graphic than Wilde's depiction of decadence. Durtal befriends a bell-ringer in a local bell tower and there he learns more of the occult. The novel is essentially an essay on Satanism and religious piety, culminating in a black mass in which Durtal encounters Canon Docre, a perverse Satanist involved with Madame Charteouve, Durtal's lover. This novel is not for the squeamish as it graphically describes the murders of boys and girls by the hand of Gilles de Rais, a knight who once protected Joan of Arc but later turned to  Satanism. Husymans shocking display of graphic narrative will deter the faint-hearted reader, but his unflinching attention to detail and esoteric references will enthrall those who are willing to take a pinch of salt and read this work for it's literary value.
La Bas is a novel that is not for everyone, if you are not thrown off by the debate of naturalism at the beginning you will probably become bored by Carhaix's lengthy harangue on bell-ringing. But once Durtal begins describing the terrible crimes of Gilles de Rais the reader cannot help but be drawn in even if only out of curiosity. If you are looking for a new author to shock and educate you, I suggest you read Husymans and then judge contemporary thriller novels.

Against Nature by J.K Husymans

This novel is a key Decadent text, aiming to dispel the effects of idealistic Naturalism of the 1800s and instead reveal the perverse pleasures and practices of the 19th century dandy. It is worth mentioning that this text inspired Oscar Wilde to write The Picture of Dorian Gray, a novel exploring the depths of sin and social reactions. Against Nature tells the story of Des Essientes, an aristocratic French gentleman who has become wearied by recent social changes and as a result decides to live in solitude in a secluded area. The reader is instantly reminded of Henry Thoreau's Walden, an autobiographical account of life in the woods away from the harshness of urban environs. But no, Husymans is wholly cynical in his diagnosis of society, his irreverence towards monarch and government is characteristic of the Decadent movement.
It should be noted here that the novel itself has only one major character, Des Essientes. The only other character are his staff and others referenced throughout. This unique format allows Husymans to deliver a well thought out character study as well as avoiding distracting the reader from these ideas by any kind of narrative plot. The neurotic nature of Des Esseintes may seem frustrating to the modern reader as he plunges into a lengthy discourse on the 'gamy flavours' of classical literature, but I assert that it is not necessary to understand every literary allusion to understand this text. Moreover, Des Essientes represents a part of 19th century society that was overlooked by common man, for being too perverse and obscure. There is a hint of pederasty where Des Essientes is attracted to a young boy, but the overall sexual theme of this novel is that of ennui and disillusionment. Des Essientes is a man with infinite needs but finite pleasures, his sickness towards the end of the novel is the result of his neurosis and isolation, this is resolved by his reluctant move back to the city. Whereas other Naturalist writers such as Zola would assert that peace is to be found amongst nature, Husymans shows how isolation in nature only results in the fulfilling of perverse wants and obsessive states. This short novel is painfully relevant to our modern age of impulse and luxury, that we want it all now, even if that means compromising our ethics.