En route (novel)
Encyclopedia
En route is a novel by the French
writer Joris-Karl Huysmans
, first published in 1895. It is the second of Huysmans' books to feature the character Durtal, a thinly disguised portrait of the author himself. Durtal had already appeared in Là-Bas
, investigating Satanism
. En route and the two subsequent two novels, La cathédrale and L'oblat
, trace his conversion to Catholicism, an experience which reflects the author's own. As Huysmans explained:
was especially enthusiastic) but many expressed doubts as to the sincerity of Huysmans' religious conversion until the author was defended at a public lecture by Abbé Mugnier. En route was a commercial success and rapidly went through several editions.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
writer Joris-Karl Huysmans
Joris-Karl Huysmans
Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans was a French novelist who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans . He is most famous for the novel À rebours...
, first published in 1895. It is the second of Huysmans' books to feature the character Durtal, a thinly disguised portrait of the author himself. Durtal had already appeared in Là-Bas
Là-Bas
Là-Bas is a novel by the French writer Joris-Karl Huysmans, first published in 1891. It is Huysmans' most famous work after À rebours. Là-Bas deals with the subject of Satanism in contemporary France, and the novel stirred a certain amount of controversy on its first appearance...
, investigating Satanism
Satanism
Satanism is a group of religions that is composed of a diverse number of ideological and philosophical beliefs and social phenomena. Their shared feature include symbolic association with, admiration for the character of, and even veneration of Satan or similar rebellious, promethean, and...
. En route and the two subsequent two novels, La cathédrale and L'oblat
L'Oblat
L'Oblat is the last novel by the French writer Joris-Karl Huysmans, first published in 1903. It is the final book in Huysmans' cycle of four novels featuring the character Durtal, a thinly disguised portrait of the author himself...
, trace his conversion to Catholicism, an experience which reflects the author's own. As Huysmans explained:
"The plot of the novel is as simple as it could be. I've taken the principal character of Là-Bas, Durtal, had him converted and sent him to a TrappistThe novel was published by Tresse et Stock on February 23, 1895. Its literary qualities were generally appreciated at once (Paul ValéryTRAPPISTTRAPPIST is Belgian robotic telescope in Chile which came online in 2010, and is an acronym for TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope, so named in homage to Trappist beer produced in the Belgian region. Situated high in the Chilean mountains at La Silla Observatory, it is actually...
monastery. In studying his conversion, I've tried to trace the progress of a soul surprised by the gift of grace, and developing in an ecclesiastical atmosphere, to the accompaniment of mystical literature, liturgy, and plainchant, against a background of all that admirable art which the Church has created". (quoted in Baldick p.288)
Paul Valéry
Ambroise-Paul-Toussaint-Jules Valéry was a French poet, essayist, and philosopher. His interests were sufficiently broad that he can be classified as a polymath...
was especially enthusiastic) but many expressed doubts as to the sincerity of Huysmans' religious conversion until the author was defended at a public lecture by Abbé Mugnier. En route was a commercial success and rapidly went through several editions.
Sources
- Robert Baldick The Life of J.-K. Huysmans (OUP, 1955; revised by Brendan King, Dedalus, 2006)