I was drawn to this work after reading the introduction to the Penguin Classics edition of Dorian Grey. Although I found the `tale' less engrossing than Wilde's masterpiece it still offered a degree of entertainment which I found intriguing although challenging and at times disturbing. The tale centres on Des Esseintes, who becomes bored with the excesses of his Parisian lifestyle, fuelled by a growing hypochondria and distaste for urban mediocrity. Accompanied by a few servants he relocates to the rural outskirts of Paris and establishes, purely for his solitary delectation, a luxurious temple to the God of Taste. The narrative, at times convoluted and dense, is less of a story and more of an aesthetic journey, following Des Esseintes obsession for literature and fine art. The reader is immersed in a myriad of predominately French works that is fascinating in its esoteric eclecticism (introducing me to a rich vein of previously unknown French writers). Furthermore the episodes concerning Des Esseintes temporal obsessions with exotic flowers, perfume and precious gems is delightful and humorous. Not an easy read but an interesting one.