CONTROCORRENTE | 2003 | JORIS-KARL HUYSMANS

Controcorrente is the Italian translation of À rebours (1884) by Joris-Karl Huysmans, a landmark novel of the Decadent movement. The protagonist, Des Esseintes, is an aristocratic aesthete disillusioned with the banality and vulgarity of modern life. He retreats into a secluded, artificial world of exotic perfumes, rare books, cultivated objects, and refined sensations, seeking a refuge from social mediocrity through artifice and imagination. The novel is notable for its richly detailed descriptive passages, symbolic imagery, and its literary critique of naturalism, reflecting the tensions of late-19th-century European culture. The 2003 edition by Garzanti includes Camillo Sbarbaro’s translation.