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With the Flow
Through its brilliant, unrelenting detail, Huysmans’ early masterpiece captures the minutiae of misery and boredom in a day in the life of a man who—for the moment—refuses to go with the flow. It is published here with the short story The Retreat of Monsieur Bougran. M. Folantin is a government employee who is overwhelmed by the quotidian misery of life. The story follows his quixotic quest for enjoyment as he goes to a restaurant, to the cinema, and to a prostitute—but ultimately finds that nothing can relieve him of his disgust and boredom with the business of living. Joris–Karl Huysmans, art critic and author of Against Nature, is a leading figure in France’s Decadent Movement.
112 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2003
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About the author
Joris-Karl Huysmans
385 books698 followersCharles Marie Georges Huysmans was a French novelist who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans. AKA: J.-K. Huysmans.
He is most famous for the novel À rebours (Against Nature). His style is remarkable for its idiosyncratic use of the French language, wide-ranging vocabulary, wealth of detailed and sensuous description, and biting, satirical wit.
The novels are also noteworthy for their encyclopedic documentation, ranging from the catalogue of decadent Latin authors in À rebours to the discussion of the symbiology of Christian architecture in La cathédrale. Huysmans' work expresses a disgust with modern life and a deep pessimism, which led the author first to the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer then to the teachings of the Catholic Church.
He is most famous for the novel À rebours (Against Nature). His style is remarkable for its idiosyncratic use of the French language, wide-ranging vocabulary, wealth of detailed and sensuous description, and biting, satirical wit.
The novels are also noteworthy for their encyclopedic documentation, ranging from the catalogue of decadent Latin authors in À rebours to the discussion of the symbiology of Christian architecture in La cathédrale. Huysmans' work expresses a disgust with modern life and a deep pessimism, which led the author first to the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer then to the teachings of the Catholic Church.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 13, 2021
A novella - With The Flow - and a short story, M. Bougran's Retirement about minor bureaucrats dealing with despair. With The Flow's Jean Folantin, born poor but with an intellectual ability beyond his station in life - has eschewed ambition, love and marriage to pursue a secure government job. The job is deadly dull, but it fills up his days. More difficult is the question of occupying his free time. Poor but refined enough to chafe against the literature and theatre of his time, not especially sociable, settling into an asexual middle age, faced forever with the problem of finding a decent, quiet place to take his evening meals, unattracted to religion, we follow him through the round of the seasons as he hits upon a quietism that seems to be his only way through.
M. Bougran is prematurely retired from his job as a clerk and finds that time weighs much too heavily on him. He eventually conceives of an absurd solution that pacifies him for a while, but eventually precipitates his final exit from it all.
Unimportant men, small tragedies. Lives that still resonate.
M. Bougran is prematurely retired from his job as a clerk and finds that time weighs much too heavily on him. He eventually conceives of an absurd solution that pacifies him for a while, but eventually precipitates his final exit from it all.
Unimportant men, small tragedies. Lives that still resonate.
November 29, 2007
Totally the opposite of Against Nature. A story of a man who enjoys being uber-poor. He records every aspect of living in the rough, one might say. A great 'underrated' short novel - and the perfect friend to "Against Nature.
October 17, 2016
two short stories. first one is the more or less poorer version of des esseintes. much of the same indecision and fun pessimism minus the resources, and written less intensely.
second story isnt that good
"watched as every common place remark, every idiotic joke, every outdated literary opinion, every paradox made hackneyed by a hundred years of over-use, was paraded before his eyes."
second story isnt that good
"watched as every common place remark, every idiotic joke, every outdated literary opinion, every paradox made hackneyed by a hundred years of over-use, was paraded before his eyes."
April 7, 2017
Joris-Karl Huysmans is the patron saint of ennui. The novella "With the Flow" is here perfectly paired with the short story "M. Bourgran's Retirement", both dealing with the crushing tedium of the lives of middle-aged office clerks. I imagine this is autobiographical, as Huysmans worked for the Ministry of the Interior for thirty years.
January 17, 2018
The story takes a place in a very strange way.
Karl Huysmans's literary work is glomy and tedious but still managed to attract the attention to what's the story about.
This short story talk about a man loves being poor and goes through life's ups and downs not worrying about what happens next , and for that I give this short literary work of his a 4/5.
I recommend it to all my friends
Karl Huysmans's literary work is glomy and tedious but still managed to attract the attention to what's the story about.
This short story talk about a man loves being poor and goes through life's ups and downs not worrying about what happens next , and for that I give this short literary work of his a 4/5.
I recommend it to all my friends
November 6, 2012
This edition contains the novella With the Flow coupled with the short story 'M. Bougran's Retirement'; it was a good editorial decision. In my experience people enjoy misery more than one would expect so long as the misery is not their own. Why, one has to wonder, why a show like Steptoe and Son was so popular when its primary focus is how badly life, with some small assistance from his father, treats Harold Steptoe. I've seen the American version and it's nowhere near as bleak. Maybe it's a British thing. We'll root for the underdog in a tennis match but still relate to them when they lose.
From what I've read the French also seem to have a soft spot for underdogs, those Dickensian and Kafkaesque clerks who waste their lives away in service to some large corporation or government department. Joris-Karl Huysmans presents us with two fine examples in this slim volume, Monsieurs Folantin and Bougran. The former is a copy clerk who has been passed over for promotion a number of times and is resigned to the fact that a copy clerk is all he's going to be until he dies; the latter is a fifty-year-old who, on a technicality (and probably to make room for someone who is owed a favour), is forced into early retirement. Neither has found the time to get married; their lives revolve around work. Folantin's main preoccupation other that that is with food. He can't find a decent book to read, can't find a decent play or opera to watch or even a decent other to befriend. But worst of all he can find an establishment that cook up a decent meal to suit his pocket. This is what drives the novella and Huysmans delights in vivid descriptions of some awful meals.
Bougran is, for me, the sadder of the two because he's completely lost without work so much in fact that he recreates his office within his home and starts living in a fantasy world. He writes letters to himself and then answers them. It's really rather pathetic actually and although it has its funny moments there will be many retired people who will relate to his plight and won't find it funny at all.
I've read that neither of these are among Huysmans’ best works. If that's true I must find of which of his books evidence his best writing and read them because I thoroughly enjoyed these two tales.
From what I've read the French also seem to have a soft spot for underdogs, those Dickensian and Kafkaesque clerks who waste their lives away in service to some large corporation or government department. Joris-Karl Huysmans presents us with two fine examples in this slim volume, Monsieurs Folantin and Bougran. The former is a copy clerk who has been passed over for promotion a number of times and is resigned to the fact that a copy clerk is all he's going to be until he dies; the latter is a fifty-year-old who, on a technicality (and probably to make room for someone who is owed a favour), is forced into early retirement. Neither has found the time to get married; their lives revolve around work. Folantin's main preoccupation other that that is with food. He can't find a decent book to read, can't find a decent play or opera to watch or even a decent other to befriend. But worst of all he can find an establishment that cook up a decent meal to suit his pocket. This is what drives the novella and Huysmans delights in vivid descriptions of some awful meals.
Bougran is, for me, the sadder of the two because he's completely lost without work so much in fact that he recreates his office within his home and starts living in a fantasy world. He writes letters to himself and then answers them. It's really rather pathetic actually and although it has its funny moments there will be many retired people who will relate to his plight and won't find it funny at all.
I've read that neither of these are among Huysmans’ best works. If that's true I must find of which of his books evidence his best writing and read them because I thoroughly enjoyed these two tales.
March 23, 2021
It seems Huysmans circled the same basic plot for his whole published literary career, although I will double check this on his other novel.
‘With the Flow,’ and ‘M. Bougran’s Retirement’ are two ‘A Rebours’-esque short pieces of fiction. They both follow dwindling impotent Frenchmen with office working experiences. The most pleasant of the two stories is ‘With the Flow’ just because of the extra length over ‘Bougran,’ and that extra length is used to great effect in strengthening the character.
All these characters are incredibly similar in background, I definitely hope that my writing career isn’t a bunch of the same thing. Callow’s translation feels very much like Baldick’s for ‘A Rebours’ which is great, in all honesty, if I were Huysmans, I would have tried to revise and extend his first novel with the content of these stories.
This book is very quaint. Both stories were very amusing. ‘With the Flow’ had these wonderful little what-if? gags, that were just so charming to read and imagine, I just laughed like gnaww.
A couple well-written classic feeling pieces that I hope to read again some time.
‘With the Flow,’ and ‘M. Bougran’s Retirement’ are two ‘A Rebours’-esque short pieces of fiction. They both follow dwindling impotent Frenchmen with office working experiences. The most pleasant of the two stories is ‘With the Flow’ just because of the extra length over ‘Bougran,’ and that extra length is used to great effect in strengthening the character.
All these characters are incredibly similar in background, I definitely hope that my writing career isn’t a bunch of the same thing. Callow’s translation feels very much like Baldick’s for ‘A Rebours’ which is great, in all honesty, if I were Huysmans, I would have tried to revise and extend his first novel with the content of these stories.
This book is very quaint. Both stories were very amusing. ‘With the Flow’ had these wonderful little what-if? gags, that were just so charming to read and imagine, I just laughed like gnaww.
A couple well-written classic feeling pieces that I hope to read again some time.
May 19, 2013
Las descripciones de Huysmans son excelsas. Las cosas casi se pueden sentir, oler, degustar. Uno le agarra una cierta compasión al Sr. Folantin por las cosas que pasa. Todo es detalle, gesto, momento. Literariamente me parece sorprendente. Algo que tiene una trama casi nula, que es una constante queja y que parece no ir a ningún lado puesto que no busca el "crecimiento" de un personaje, resulta maravilloso y adictivo de leer. Pasas y pasas las páginas y no puedes detenerte. Cada frase cumple un objetivo íntimo que nos empata con la historia de Folantin y le da un sentido genuino a cada detalle. El final es simplemente una genialidad. La última frase logra que todo se acumule y te atragantes con las palabras hasta el extremo de no comprender nada y querer llorar. Eso hace la literatura, la verdadera literatura.
May 27, 2024
With the flow: 4,5/5
M. Bougran's retirment: 4/5
After reading 'Against nature', which was one of the best books I've read for some time, I was eager for more Huysmans. Even with my high expectations, these two stories didn't disappoint.
'With the flow' lays the perfect foundation for 'Against nature', which would be published two years later. The same suffering in boredom, the disgust and inability to comprehend other's lives and choices, the inability to escape one's situation. Although socially not high-ranking, M. Folantin cannot be regarded as really poor, but he's suffering from his position nevertheless. I find it magnificent that in 'Against Nature', Huysmans takes the thought experiment further and shows that, even with unlimited resources, [quoting Schopenhauer] life's pendulum keeps on swinging between pain and boredom.
M. Bougrans retirement explores the same themes and is a strong short story, but doesn't quite reach 'with the flow's' level.
I enjoyed reading this book tremendously, I couldn't help but smile all along, it just speaks to me. Just lovely, lovely, lovely. I need to read more Huysmans.
M. Bougran's retirment: 4/5
After reading 'Against nature', which was one of the best books I've read for some time, I was eager for more Huysmans. Even with my high expectations, these two stories didn't disappoint.
'With the flow' lays the perfect foundation for 'Against nature', which would be published two years later. The same suffering in boredom, the disgust and inability to comprehend other's lives and choices, the inability to escape one's situation. Although socially not high-ranking, M. Folantin cannot be regarded as really poor, but he's suffering from his position nevertheless. I find it magnificent that in 'Against Nature', Huysmans takes the thought experiment further and shows that, even with unlimited resources, [quoting Schopenhauer] life's pendulum keeps on swinging between pain and boredom.
M. Bougrans retirement explores the same themes and is a strong short story, but doesn't quite reach 'with the flow's' level.
I enjoyed reading this book tremendously, I couldn't help but smile all along, it just speaks to me. Just lovely, lovely, lovely. I need to read more Huysmans.
August 18, 2020
What a depressing couple of stories.
November 9, 2022
He can do no wrong
December 15, 2018
'It is contemptible to have kids when you dont have any money. It means condemning them to the contempt of others when they grow up; it means throwing them into the disgusting struggle of existence, unarmed and defenceless; it means persecuting and punishing these innocents by forcing them to relive the miserable life of their father'
I really liked this short novella. It follows Folantin on his quest for a small modicum of satisfaction and contentment with life. He seeks out his satisfaction in work, relationships, restaurants, consumerism, religion and prostitutes, but ultimately he concludes that 'Schopenhauer was right: Mans life swings like a pendulum between suffering and boredom'.
Its pretty bleak, but very relatable. And there are some great passages to discover within its pages:
'Yes, but why are the consolations of religion only fit for simpletons? Why did the church want to elevate the most absurd beliefs into dogmatic truths? There's no way I can accept either the virginity of an expectant mother, or the divinity of a comestible prepared by a breadmaker'
I really liked this short novella. It follows Folantin on his quest for a small modicum of satisfaction and contentment with life. He seeks out his satisfaction in work, relationships, restaurants, consumerism, religion and prostitutes, but ultimately he concludes that 'Schopenhauer was right: Mans life swings like a pendulum between suffering and boredom'.
Its pretty bleak, but very relatable. And there are some great passages to discover within its pages:
'Yes, but why are the consolations of religion only fit for simpletons? Why did the church want to elevate the most absurd beliefs into dogmatic truths? There's no way I can accept either the virginity of an expectant mother, or the divinity of a comestible prepared by a breadmaker'
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews