À rebours, translated as Against the Grain or Against Nature, is a novel by Joris-Karl Huysmans that is considered one of the key works of the decadent movement. The protagonist, Jean des Esseintes, is a wealthy and disillusioned aristocrat who retreats from society to create his own artificial world of decadence and aestheticism. Huysmans' novel is a scathing critique of bourgeois society and a celebration of individualism and the pursuit of pleasure. À rebours is a must-read for anyone interested in the decadent literature of the fin-de-siècle.
