Disagreeable Tales

by Léon Bloy, Erik Butler (Translator)

Thirty tales of theft, onanism, incest, murder and a host of other forms of perversion and cruelty from the "ungrateful beggar" and "pilgrim of the absolute," Léon Bloy. Disagreeable Tales, first published in French in 1894, collects Bloy's narrative sermons from the depths: a cauldron of frightful anecdotes and inspired misanthropy that represents a high point of the French Decadent movement and the most emblematic entry into the library of the "Cruel Tale" christened by Villiers de l'Isle-Adam. Whether depicting parents and offspring being sacrificed for selfish gains, or imbeciles sacrificing their own individuality on a literary whim, these tales all draw sustenance from an underlying belief: the root of religion is crime against man, nature and God, and that in this hell on earth, even the worst among us has a soul.

A close friend to Joris-Karl Huysmans, and later admired by the likes of Kafka and Borges, Léon Bloy (1846–1917) is among the best known but least translated of the French Decadent writers. Nourishing antireligious sentiments in his youth, his outlook changed radically when he moved to Paris and came under the influence of Barbey d'Aurevilly, the unconventionally religious novelist best known for Les Diaboliques. He earned the dual nicknames of "The Pilgrim of the Absolute" through his unorthodox devotion to the Catholic Church, and "The Ungrateful Beggar" through his endless reliance on the charity of friends to support him and his family.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Horror, French Literature, France, 20th Century, Classics

183 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1894

About the author

Bloy was born in Notre-Dame-de-Sanilhac, in the arondissement of Périgueux, Dordogne. He was the second of six sons of Voltairean freethinker and stern disciplinarian Jean Baptiste Bloy and his wife Anne-Marie Carreau, pious Spanish-Catholic daughter of a Napoleonic soldier. After an agnostic and unhappy youth in which he cultivated an intense hatred for the Roman Catholic Church and its teaching, his father found him a job in Paris, where he went in 1864. In December 1868, he met the aging Catholic author Barbey d'Aurevilly, who lived opposite him in rue Rousselet and became his mentor. Shortly afterwards, he underwent a dramatic religious conversion.

Bloy's works reflect a deepening devotion to the Catholic Church and most generally a tremendous craving for the Absolute. His devotion to religion resulted in a complete dependence on charity; he acquired his nickname ("the ungrateful beggar") as a result of the many letters requesting financial aid from friends, acquaintances, and complete strangers, all the while carrying on with his literary work, in which his eight-volume Diary takes an important place.

Bloy was a friend of the author Joris-Karl Huysmans, the painter Georges Rouault, and the philosopher Jacques Maritain, and was instrumental in reconciling these intellectuals with Roman Catholicism. However, he acquired a reputation for bigotry because of his frequent outbursts of temper; and his first novel, Le Désespéré, a fierce attack on rationalism and those he believed to be in league with it, made him fall out with the literary community of his time and even many of his old friends. Soon, Bloy could count such prestigious authors as Emile Zola, Guy de Maupassant, Ernest Renan, Alphonse Daudet, Joris-Karl Huysmans, Paul Bourget and Anatole France as his enemies.

In addition to his published works, he left a large body of correspondence with public and literary figures. He died in Bourg-la-Reine.

Reviews

[Glenn Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I am the Parlor of Tarantulas!” he cried in a voice destined for the straightjacket, making the little factory women hasten their steps on the street.” Thus begins one of the short intense tales in this collection authored by French Decadent Léon Bloy (1846-1917).

Bloy despised the materialist, mechanized Americanization of European society and culture and yearned to connect with the spiritual dimensions of life, and thus, similar to fellow French Decadent Joris-Karl Huysmans, turned to Catholicism.

Subsequently, although these tales are soaked in the juice of perversion, cruelty or depravity, a good number have decidedly religious overtones. However, the short stories I particularly enjoy in this collection have nothing of religion. Thus, for the purpose of this review and to share a taste of Bloy’s finely tuned, highly polished prose, I will include several direct quotes in capsulizing two of my favorites:

THE PARLOR OF TARANTULAS
The narrator recalls as a young man in his twenties meeting a larger than life poet who wore his mane of shaggy, white hair like a lion. “His small face of smashed bricks staring out from under the snowflakes boiled more and baked redder each time one looked at him, a poetaster, altogether incapable of resigning himself to any attention, however distinguished in kind, that did not grant him first place, or, better yet, exclusive consideration.”

A reader has the impression Bloy is describing a flesh-and-blood embodiment of the late nineteenth century myth of the self-styled literary genius as madman, a cross between Edgar Allan Poe and Gérard de Nerval.

One evening the narrator accepts an invitation to visit this white-haired, flaming-eyed lion. Most unwise since he is forced to listen to every word of the muse-inspired poet’s five act play. We read, “At first the exercise did not displease me. The reader had a bizarre, gastralgic voice, which rose effortlessly from profound basses up to the sharpest, childlike tones. He spoke like this and truly played his drama, performing gestures that included falling to his knees in prayer when events so required. The curious spectacle amused me for an hour – that is, for as long as the first act. The unconscionable monster went so far as to take whole scenes from the top when he feared I might not have felt all their beauty; no word of admiring protest could restrain him. I had to swallow it whole, and it took to midnight.”

And after this five hour ordeal the narrator makes a move for the door. But no, there’s more, much more - the leonine artiste insists his young visitor listen to every word of his sonnets, all one thousand five hundred of them!

So, the visitor takes a seat once again, suppressing a groan of despair. And when the young narrator makes the mistake of falling asleep, he is woken by a cowbell. Then, to make sure there isn’t a repeat violation, the poet opens a drawer, pulls out a revolver, loads it carefully and places it on the table. The narrator tells us the torture lasted until sunrise. The tale ends with two more unexpected twists true to the spirit of French Decadence.

THE OLD MAN IN THE HOUSE
With signature Decadent spleen and humorous cynicism, Bloy begins his tale: “Ah! How Madame Alexandre could pride herself on her virtue! Just think! For three years she had tolerated him, that old swindler – that old string of stewed beef disgracing her house. You can just imagine that if he hadn’t been her father, she’d have long since slapped a return ticket on him: off to rot in the public infirmary!”

Bloy’s language has the acerbic bite of Friedrich Nietzsche or Maxim Gorky - as a matter of fact, with his beetling brow and pronounced moustache, Bloy even looks a bit like Nietzsche and Gorky.

And, that’s acerbic bite, as in hearing of dad’s fatherly touch when Madame Alexandre was just a mere girl: “Readied for field exercise from a tender age, at thirteen she assumed the distinguished position of a virginal oblate at the house of a Genevan millionaire esteemed for his virtue; this man called her his “angel of light” and perfected her ruination. Two years were all the debutante needed to finish off the Calvinist.”

And then when the old man is forced to live with his daughter to stay alive (she runs a house of prostitution), Bloy observes caustically, “Unaccustomed to commerce and no longer commanding his old tricks, he resembled an old fly without the vigor to make its way to a pile of excrement – a creature in which even the spiders took no interest.”

And then to underscore the scorn and cruelty with which Madame treated her old father, Bloy pens; “He was given a scarlet leotard with decorative braids and a kind of Macedonian cap which made him look like a Hungarian or a Pole facing adversity. Then, he received the title of count – Count Boutonski! – and he passed for a wreck decorated with glory, a ruin of the latest insurrection.”

Madame’s ruthlessness and brutality continues right up to the breaking point. No wonder Franz Kafka wrote of Léon Bloy, “His fire is nurtured by the dung-heap of modern times.”

(Thanks to Goodreads friend MJ Nicholls for bringing this fine collection to my attention.)

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, before I say anything else, I have to offer a huge thanks to Anna for my copy and for keeping me in Snuggly's book-release email loop.

Simply put, this book is beyond excellent. I'm still a relative newbie in the world of French, fin-de-siècle, and decadent literature, and a name that has kept popping up is Léon Bloy. So I was over the moon when Anna asked me if I wanted to read this book, a collection of 32 short stories which, in the words of Brian Stableford in the introduction to this volume, reflect Bloy's

"search for a particular naturalism of his own -- a naturalism which, not in spite of but because of its cruelty and its infusion with religious conviction, was markedly different in stripe from the Naturalism of Émile Zola." (xxiii)

Let me just say that if it's realism he was striving for, it shows in these tales in so many ways, especially in his interest in the more marginalized elements of society.

The Tarantulas' Parlor and Other Unkind Tales is a delightful blend of dark fiction, dark humor, savage storytelling and often outrageous observations; a majority of these little gems turns on the idea of exposing "someone who is not, or might not be, the person one supposes," an idea which is carried throughout the book. I will also say that some of these stories are wicked funny, subtle, laugh-out-loud worthy, and actually bringing forth a belly laugh in one case, "The Tarantula's Parlor." I also appreciate the way Stableford translated these tales -- there are a few instances where he'll leave a phrase or a word that doesn't fully translate well from its French context into English, and in footnotes he explains why. Personally, I find that a very smart way to handle translation issues that arise, and I do wish more translators would take the same sort of care in their work. And as an added bonus, each little tale begins with a dedication from Bloy to someone in his personal orbit, and Stableford gives the reader footnotes containing a brief background on the connection between the author and the person to whom the story is dedicated. It is a superb collection that serious readers do not want to miss.

more here if anyone's at all interested.

[Rygard Battlehammer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Léon Bloy, Lovecraft’ın ilham aldığı kaynaklardan biri oluşuyla merak ettiğim, ancak daha önce tanışmadığım bir yazardı. Fakat bu dolgun bıyıklı, komik suratlı , huysuz tipli adamın, muazzam bir nefret makinesi olduğunu kesinlikle bilmiyordum ve Borges’in aracılığıyla keşfettiğim bu pis herifin öykülerine bayıldım.

Sevimsiz Öyküler, 23 Ağustos 1983 ile başladığım Babil Kitaplığı yolculuğumun ikinci durağıydı. Ve bu duraktan aldığım ilk ders de şuydu; Bloy, anasına sövülsün diye kitap yazmış...

Huzursuz ve sorunlu bir adam kendisi. Dekadantizmin “güzide” örneklerinden olan Fransız yazarımız, kendini Zola, Renan, Maupassant gibi isimlere sövmeye adamış, çağdaşlarına açtığı kendi cürmünde savaşla kişiliğini var etmiş. İngilizlikten tiksiniyor, yahudilerden hiç hazzetmiyor, Almanları götünden bıçaklamak, ABD’lileri tenhada kıstırmak istiyor. Ama sanılmasın ki diğer kültürlere, ırklara toleransı var; sadece bazılarından, diğerlerine kıyasla daha fazla nefret ediyor... Muazzam bir dalyo.

Borges’in “nefret koleksiyoncusu” diye isimlendirmeyi uygun gördüğü yazar, Fransa burjuvazisine çatmayı da -çatılmayacak gibi olduğundan değil- ihmal etmiyor elbette. Adaletsizliğe ve yozlaşmaya vurgu yapıyor, burjuvazinin kendini toplumun üst tabakası olarak görmesine, dini, ahlaki, ruhani bir yönden eleştiriyor, “Burjuvazi, sana laflar hazırladım!” diye girişiyor. Ama sınıfsal perspektiften bakan, makul ve tutarlı bir tavra sahip değil. Düşünceleri son derece karışık ve eleştirileri de burjuvaziyle sınırlı değil. Genelde insanlığı ruhsal yoksunluk ve maddi dünyanın etkisinde kalmakla suçluyor, eleştirilerinin kerterizini sakat bir yere konumlandırıyor ve bekleneceği üzere sıklıkla sağa savruluyor.

Fransızlık dışında herhangi bir aidiyet, Bloy’un filtresinden geçemiyor bu arada. Fransızlığı da beyimizin önce bir tadıp onaylaması gerekiyor, öyle her Fransızlığı beğenmiyor. Milliyetçiliğin “kötüye kullanılması ve aşırılıktan bahsediyor”, milliyetçiliğin “düşmanlık yaratmak ve aşırı özgüvenli” kullanımına laf ediyor sözde. “Coğrafi sınırları değil kültür, değer ve tarihsel ortaklığı” vurguluyor ama aslında tam bir bok kaşıklayan kibri saçıyor etrafa. Yani aslında “Fransızı, Fransızlıktan dolayı” övüyor ama , genel olarak insanlıktan da tiksindiği için bu dandik fikirleri ilk bakışta biraz dengelenmiş gibi görünüyor. Elbette her “Bütün Dünya Fransızın Daşşağını Yesin!” insanı gibi, “e”si çentikli Leon da Napolyon’a bayılıyor...

Kitabın Türkçe baskısı sadece on iki öyküden oluşuyor. Ne yazık ki Fransız versiyonundaki hikayelerden yirmisi, bizdeki baskılarda yer bulamamış (Fransızca otuz iki, İngilizce baskı otuz hikaye içeriyor). Bunun nedeniyle ilgili yayıncı tarafından yapılmış bir açıklama eğer varsa ben bulamadım ancak yine telif sorunu gibi duruyor (ve belli ki Dost baskısından sonra benim okuduğum Kırmızı Kedi de mesafe alamamış konuya dar). Kitabın (ve içindeki tüm öykülerin) telif haklarına Borges’in sahip olduğunu ve 86’da yazar öldükten sonra, bu kitabın da haklarının tüm Borges eserleriyle birlikte karısı Maria Kodama’ya geçtiğini biliyoruz. Maria Kodama da hakikaten üç kuruş fazla koparabilmek ruhunu bile satabilecek dandiklikte bir insan olduğundan, Borges telifleri her zaman yayınevleri için sorun olmuş bir konu. Maria’nın -nihayet- bu yılın başlarında ölmesiyle de çözüleceğine daha da çetrefilli bir hale geldi bu arada telifler; yasal bir mirasçısı olmadığı için ne olacağı belirsiz durumda. Konu, başlı başına telif hakları yasalarının ne kadar saçma sapan şeyler olduğunun, yazarların ölümü ile eserlerin derhal Public Domain’e girmesi gerektiğinin bir kanıtı adeta.

Gelelim hikayelere. Bu yazı dahilinde hikayeleri tek tek ele almayacağım (ha yine de reading progress kısmında ufak notlarım var meraklısına) ama okuyabildiğimiz bu on iki hikayenin tamamında, giderek kararan atmosfere, ahlaki çöküntü, ihanet, sefalet, acımasızlık, zalimlik, pişmanlık gibi temalar eşlik ediyor. Olaylar genelde ironik, bazen sarkastik bir noktaya varıyor, her seferinde tatlar kaçıyor.

Manyak manyak karakterleri var Bloy’un tahmin edilebileceği üzere; yaşlılar, sakatlar, körler, fahişeler, hırsızlar, katiller gırla. Elini sallasan şerefsize değiyor. Paris Komünü ardından şehre doluşan Versay çetecilerine babasını ihbar eden mi istersin, anasının birilerini zehirlediğini öğrenen oğlanlar mı. Bloy aslında masaya çıkıp, “bu insanlık var ya, hah işte onlara taa bacağım girsin!” diye bağırmak istiyor, bu yüzden de kimsenin başı bitten kurtulmuyor.

Keskin sözcükler, provokatif ifadeler, yoğun betimlemeler ise adeta Bloy’un imzası. “Ya tamam abi, sakin ol sen, uyma onlara” diyesi geliyor insanın. Örneğin “yaşlı adam çirkindi” demek için hikayelerinden biri şu cümlelerle açıyor yazar:
“Bu ihtiyarın görünümü tam köpeklere ziyafetti. Ruhunun iğrençliği ellerine ve yüzüne öylesine yansıyordu ki insan daha ürkünç bir dokunuşu hayal bile edemezdi. O sokaklarda yürürken, en iğrenç lağım suları bile onun görüntüsünü yansıtmaktan çekinerek kaynaklarına geri dönmek ister gibiydiler.” Karşısına kim çıkarsa döven, yere düşenlerin üstüne tüküren, kavganın ardından olay yerinden uzaklaşırken, sadece on saniye sonra koşa koşa geri dönüp yerde yatanları tekrar tekmeleyen bir hırsla yazıyor, buharlı motor kararlılığında hareket eden bir nefret pistonu gibi yazıyor. Bloy’un insanlığa karşı hisleriyle karşılaştırıldığında, benim küçük prens nefretim dahi sabun köpüğü seviyesinde kalıyor.

Genelde berbat insanlar olan karakterler, nefret kaynağı olmakla da yetinmiyor; şerefsizlikleriyle o mevzu bahis nefreti sonuna kadar da hak edebilecek meşru hedefler olarak karşımıza çıkıyorlar. Örneğin, bir diğer öyküsünün baş karakteri, hatırı sayılır bir servet yapmış Mösyö Fiacre-Prétextat Labalbarie, dehasını ve becerisini nasıl da “milyonerleri teselli etmek için” kullanmaya karar verdiğini anlatırken, "Zenginlerin acılarına kulak veren kim?" diye soruyor:
“Ticaretin gelişmesi için eğlenmekten ibaret olan görevlerini yerine getirdiklerinden, onların da bir kalbi olduğu unutularak mutlu oldukları sanılır kolaylıkla. Acı çekmek için yaratılmış muhtaç kimselerin ıstıraplarını onlarınkilerle kıyaslamak küstahlığında bulunulur; sanki paçavralar ve kötü beslenme ölüm korkusuyla aynı kefeye konabilirmiş gibi. Yasa böyledir aslında, insan ancak varlıklı ise gerçekten ölür. Ruhu teslim etmek için sermayeye sahip olmak kaçınılmazdır, işte bunu anlamak istemiyorlar. Ölüm, paradan ayrı kalmaktır, başka bir şey değil. Paraya sahip olmayanlar yaşamıyor demektir, dolayısıyla ölmeleri de mümkün değildir."


Sona ulaştığı sırada hikayelerin ritminin aniden zıplaması, öykülerin alelacele, kıyamet kopartarak bitmesi de beni pek eğlendiren diğer bir alamet-i farikası yazarın. Bloy “herkes gavattı, herkes anasını babasını, dayısını teyzesini satıyordu, kime güveneceğini şaşırmışlardı, öyle oldu böyle oldu...” diye anlatıyor, anlatıyor ve bir anda “Ve birden pederi götünden bıçakladı! LAAK LAAK diye bıçağı sokuyordu, foşur foşur kan fışkırıyorduuuğğ” diye girince “lan ne oluyor?” diye kalıyorsunuz okurken. Bu ani bitişler gerçekten çok eğlenceli. Öykülerin kimisinde küçük kahkaha araları vermek zorunda kaldım. Okura da saygısı yok ki pezevengin...

Girişte de söylediğim gibi Bloy’u asıl merak etme nedenim, eserlerinin (kendisinin değil) hayranı olduğum bir başka dengesiz kımıl zararlısı olan Lovecraft üzerindeki etkisiydi. Lovecraft, Bloy’un eserlerine hayranlık duyuyordu. Kurgu unsurlarında Bloy’dan etkilenmemiş olmasına karşın, sıra hikayelerinin ritmini oluşturmaya geldiğinde Bloy formülünü erken dönem öykülerinde sıklıkla kullandı. Sonraları yazdığı daha özgün hikayelerde, yetişkinlik eserlerinde oturttuğu kendine has üslupta da Léon Bloy’un etkileri açıkça görülüyordu. Ancak üslubunun ötesinde, gerek Lovecraft’ın beş para etmez politik fikirlerinde ve hastalıklı dünya algısında, gerek nihilizmle narsisizmin karışımı o berbat karakterinin şekillenmesinde Bloy’un etkileri yadsınamaz seviyedeydi. Lovecraft’ın yazdığı onbinlerce mektubundaki -asosyal bir yavşak olduğu için başka türlü iletişim kuramıyordu bizim Howy- birbirinden değersiz fikir beyanlarına da fena halde sızıyordu. Bu arada Lovecraft’ın zihninin ne kadar hastalıklı çalıştığını merak edenler, yazarın kurgu dışı saçmalamaları hakkında şu yazıya göz atabilirler bir örnek olarak.

Özellikle Fransız yazarlar üzerinde kesinlikle iz bırakmayı başardı Bloy. Dil kullanımıyla André Gide’ye, inanç ve dini temaları işleme biçimiyle Georges Bernanos’a, ahlaki sorgulamalarıyla François Mauriac’e ilham kaynağı oldu. Sevimsiz Öyküler’den anladığımız üzere de bu işlevine bir süre daha devam edecek gibi duruyor. berbat bir herif ama yetenekli olan cinsinden Léon Bloy. Herkesle ve her şeyle dalga geçiyor, laf sokuyor, yıpratıyor, bozuyor. Saldırgan, öfkeli ve çoğunlukla komik. Gerçekten yaşasaydı de arkadaşım olsaydı; bunu doldurur doldurur anlattırırdım dedim okudukça ama biliyorum ki tanısam büyük ihtimal bir noktada dalardım ben buna.

Sevimsiz Öyküler, edebiyat dünyasından özgün kesitler sunmayı, sonsuz bir kütüphanenin temsili olmayı hedefleyen Babil Kitaplığı’ndaki yerini kesinlikle hak ediyor, çoğu okurun sevmeyeceği ama kimsenin etkisini göz ardı edemeyeceği hikayeler ile bu dünyaya katılıyor. Borges’in neden bu seçkiye dahil ettiğini gayet iyi anlıyor, bu kararı da ayakta alkışlıyorum. Velhasıl, tadını kaçırmak istemeyen uzak dursun ama İleri geri konuşan pis heriften hazzedenler sakın kaçırmasın.

[Murat Dural · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kırmızı Kedi tarafından yeniden çevrilip basılan Jorge Louise Borges'in harikası "Babil Kitaplığı" serisine Leon Bloy'a ait "Sevimsiz Öyküler" ile devam ettim. Açıkçası bu seriyi eleştirmek haddime değil. Müthiş bir iş. "Sevimsiz Öyküler" serinin diğer kitaplarından aşağı kalmıyor. Kendi tarzında ilerleyen birbirinden tuhaf ve şaşırtıcı öyküler sizi ele geçirip oldukça sarsıyor. Açıkcası kitaba gereken önemi veremediğimi düşünüyorum. Belki bir kez daha okumam gerekecek. Ama şu kadarını net söyleyebilirim okuduklarınızın sizi sarsacağına emin olabilirsiniz. :)

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book of Bloy that I've read (as it seems not all that many of his books have been translated into English, a fate that sadly seems to have befallen many of the writers of the 19th-century French Decadence: see also the criminally ignored Jean Lorrain), and while reading through it I quickly saw why he and J.K. Huysmans had once upon a time been friends: their attraction to the aesthetics of Catholicism notwithstanding, both men had a well-articulated hatred for the modern world (and modernity in general), a tendency to pepper their poisonous prose with words of an archaic character (to cherry-pick a few from this present text: opuscule, lactescent, disoppilated, excogitate, nugatory, and phenicopter, that latter example being an archaic word for "flamingo"), and a manner of describing people they found unattractive in the most unflattering light possible: a woman in the story "The Stroker of Compassion" is described as being "irritable enough to make dogs abort," a wine seller in "Monsieur's Past" has a "broad face" that "looked like a baboon's hindquarters," and in "The Awakening of Alan Chartier," we get this colorful description of a Symbolist poet named Florimond Duputois: "I have neglected to mention that Florimond Duputois had a stub nose, eyes like soup ladles, the mouth of a lepidopteron, scaly skin, and low-slung hindquarters; he was also mortally afraid of cows." What with the unsentimental morbidity and ghastly gallows humor on display here (many of these stories have somewhat grotesque endings), it comes to no surprise to me that Flannery O'Connor was a fan of Bloy's work, and in hindsight I can see the DNA of his style and concerns in her own stories. After awhile these stories start to blur however (and really, it's hard to care all that much about the cruel fates endured by the stereotypical human piñatas who populate these stories), hence why I docked it one star: still, worth reading just for Bloy's bleak sense of humor. And seeing as how none of these stories go on for all that long (the longest is 8 pages, but most of them barely hit the 5-6 page mark), this slim volume doesn't overstay its welcome. Recommended for fanatics of the fin de siècle.

[P.E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

L'apothéose de la petitesse

En court, c'est un petit recueil d'anecdotes et de faits divers de la fin du XIXe siècle dont tout l'intérêt se trouve dans le conteur, qui a décidément le don de rendre énormes la mesquinerie, le grotesque, la méchanceté, la fausseté, la cruauté, la bêtise humaine qui frisent alors le mythologique.


'Une éducation brillante avait dû certainement affiner en lui cette inestimable faculté de ne rien voir, qui est le privilège de tous les hommes, à peu près sans exception, et le critérium décisif de leur supériorité sur les simples brutes.'

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Also read:

Les Diaboliques
Contes cruels
Contes du chat noir

Dictionnaire des idées reçues
The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary

[MJ Nicholls · Rating 3 out of 5]

A smattering of shocking tales from Chuck Palahnuik’s more penitent precursor, featuring a sublime selection of obscure terms, as viewable on the longer review on this page (which contains more words than this and so renders further content here pointless).

[downinthevalley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Babil Kitaplığı serisinin basılan 24 adet kitabını da satın aldığım için yeni yıl hedeflerim arasına seriyi tamamlamak da katıldı.

İlk kitabı başka bir şehirde bıraktığım için seriye ikinci kitap olan Sevimsiz Öyküler ile başladım. Bloy, Katolik edebiyatını yaratan yazarlardan sayılıyormuş ki öykülerinde de bu izleri açıkça görebiliyorsunuz. Lovecraft'ın da kendisinden etkilendiğini öğrenmek şaşırtmadı beni.

Serinin 'ısınma turu' için güzel bir seçim olduğunu düşünüyorum. Kaldı ki Borges beyefendinin de bir bildiği vardır :)

[Mehmet]

"[...] çünkü her asalet bilgeliğe boyun eğmelidir." (s. 49)

Oldukça ilginç bir kitap bu. Özellikle bazı bölümleri hakkında söylenecek çok şey var. Başlayalım hemen,

42. sayfada yer alan bir münzevi karakter var. Bu karakterle yaşanan diyalog hiç akıldan çıkmayacak türden. Alıntılayalım;
"Ziyaretçi isteğini tekrarlamış. Münzevi adam içeri girmiş ve söz konusu nesneyi bulamadan ne olduğunu yine unutmuş. Defalarca denedikten sonra nezaketsiz ziyaretçiye şöyle demek zorunda kalmış "İçeri girin ve size gereken şeyi kendiniz arayın, çünkü sizin imgenizi istediğiniz yerine getirecek kadar uzun süre içimde tutamıyorum." (s. 42)

Zen budizminde benzer öyküler vardır. Bilirsiniz, rahipler o kadar hafiflemiştirler ki ruhlarında hiçbir düşünce, hiçbir ihtiras barındırmazlar. İşte bu hikaye size de bunu hatırlatmadı mı? Bence burada imge ifadesini çıkarıp da nesne koysak anlam azalmaz. Münzevi karakter, kendisinden istenen şeyi her defasında unutur çünkü bunu içinde tutamamaktadır. Onun arınmışlığı da bundan gelir. Harika değil mi!

Kitapta çok farklı, fantastik öyküler var. Beni en çok etkileyen "sürekli saatini kaçıranların" öyküsü ve Son Yanık başlıklı öykü oldu. Bu ikinci öykü çok tanıdık geldi ama nerede okuduğumu bir türlü anımsayamıyorum. Belki bir seçmede okumuşumdur...

M. Baran
20.03.2021
Ankara

Şurada da yayınlandı:
https://agacingovdesi.com/2021/03/20/...

[Graham P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leon Bloy surely stuck to his high-hearted moral and cruel ways, even though as evident in these tales, he liked to wallow in the gutters of society like a mad priest taking bong-hits off the brimstone. This slim collection of short tales are full of parable and platitude, and while enjoying the trash of those mocking and marring moralistic ways of society, Bloy paints it on thickly, the grand guignol come-uppance tale at full steam, but as disappointingly abbreviated as it is predictable.

Not a collection to rush through, as the framework of each entry is nearly identical, but from the lenses of time and place, they read as neo-biblical smut, which I enjoyed. Plenty of murder, suicide, cannibalism, incest, rape, revenge, and a whole army of the forbidden brutality and backstabbery. Perhaps read this one historically, as opposed to reading for pure, guilty enjoyment.

[Evandro · Rating 5 out of 5]

O livro é um festival de figuras perdidas, abomináveis, vis e quantos outros adjetivos se possam usar para qualificar as almas que correm sério risco de ir para o inferno. Mas a coisa não é tão simples assim, pois, por trás da vileza, escondem-se outras características que enriquecem de complexidade suas personalidades e vidas. Acaba-se descobrindo, então, que alguns indivíduos abomináveis não o eram tanto assim, se é que eram, ou ao menos que tinham lá os seus motivos para o serem.

[Karl]

Hardcover limited edition of 60 copies, of which 55 will be made available to the public.

[Burak Kuscu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borges'in Babil kitaplığında 2. kitabı okudum. Leon Bloy gerçekten de son derece "sevimsiz öykülere" imza atmış. Özellikle sonlarıyla öykülerin neredeyse hepsi insanı gerçekten üzüyor. 2-3 sayfalık kısacık bir öyküyü bile hızla dramatik bir finale bağlayabiliyor Leon Bloy.

Yazarı ilk defa okuyorum ve öykülerini okurken sanki yeraltı edebiyatının ilk örneklerinden birini okuyor gibi hissettim. İnsanların konuşmaktan, bahsetmekten hoşlanmayacağı olayları ve insanları konu edinmiş. Pek iyimser biri olduğunu söyleyemeyiz. Negatif bir enerjisi var. Bu durum edebiyatına ise pozitif yansımış. Kara mizah ile yeraltı edebiyatı arasında bir yerlerde kendine güzel bir yer buldu benim hafızamda.

Tavsiye edebileceğim bir eser.

[R. Ar. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yazarın eserleri bir anda ve rahatsız edici şekilde bitirmek gibi bir özelliği var. Borges tarafından da bunu en iyi beceren kişi olarak adlandırılmış. Yalnız beni en çok etkileyeni aşağıdaki kesit oldu. Sahip olduğumuz, döngüye girmiş ve sanki hiç kırılmayacakmış gibi gelen şeylerin değerini çok çabuk unutuyoruz. Misal sevdiğimiz insanların gerçek manada değerini onları kaybedince anlıyoruz. Peki biz niye bu kadar çabuk unutuyoruz ? Halbuki aklıyla övünen ve evrende kendinden daha akıllısını kabul etmeye hazır olamayan biz, çok güvendiğimiz aklımızın ihanetine uğramış olmuyor muyuz? Kitabın başlarında geldiğim bu kısa bölüm yüzünden diğer kısımlara pek odaklandığım söylenemez.

Bir keresinde Macedonio Fernández bana kısa bir hikâye anlatmıştı. Şöyle diyordu: “Ne garip! Hiçbir zaman nasıl soluk alıp verdiğimle ilgilenmemiştim, ama Montevideo’daki Capurro plajında bir dalga beni dibe batırınca, beni ne kadar da yakından ilgilendirdiğini fark ettim. Daha da garip bir şey, kurtulunca gene ortadan kayboldu.

[Licinius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bloy sait manier l’art des nouvelles, ce livre n’en est que l’illustration de son talent pour les chutes redoutables, le style incisif, véhément et enfin son talent pour détruire les fondations même de la société bourgeoise de la fin du XIXe siècle, celle dont l’influence est toujours aussi forte de nos jours… Contrairement à certains de ses romans (le Désespéré), on rit beaucoup dans ce petit livre. Bloy montre les malheurs de notre société à travers le rire et le sarcasme. Certes, l’optimisme n’est pas réellement de mise ici, certaines des nouvelles du recueil sont très noires (« Tout ce que tu voudras ! » « Jocaste sur le Trottoir ») et le style littéraire de Bloy est très recherché et demande une certaine culture générale, voir religieuse et un dictionnaire à côté. Mais il faut au moins lire une de ses nouvelles, ne serais-ce que pour goûter à sa prose si particulière !

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funniest guy ever

[Aynur Aslanova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Garip, tekinsiz, bazen anlamsız, bütününde sevimsiz hikayeler toplusu.

[Irem Ertuğrul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kötülerin hikayeleri. Ama kötücül değiller. Eğlenceli kötüler.

[Cameron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange and dark tales from a nineteenth-century French Catholic. The stories are short, weirdly thought-provoking and the writing style is possibly the most decadent I've ever seen.

[Seregil of Rhiminee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally published at Risingshadow.

Léon Bloy's The Tarantulas' Parlor and Other Unkind Tales is a feast of dark imagination, decadent imagery, savage happenings and literary storytelling. It's one of the best short story collection of the year and can be recommended to speculative fiction readers and literary fiction readers. It is something out of the ordinary for readers who love literary stories.

Brian Stableford has done a magnificent job at translating this collection into English. Because he has invaluable insight into the source material and its nuances, his translation is outstanding. Just like in Jean Lorrain's Nightmares of an Ether Drinker, The Soul-Drinker and Other Decadent Fantasies, and Monsieur de Phocas, the translation highlights and emphasises the brilliant savagery and decadent nature of the original stories in an effective way.

It's great that Brian Stableford and Snuggly Books have made this collection available for English-speaking readership, because it's something different - and extremely addictive - to readers who are fascinated by cruel, unkind, savage and strange stories that explore how people live their lives, what kind of choices they make and what happens to them. It's a thought-provoking and unique reading experience that will haunt readers for a long time after they've read the final story.

The introduction by Brian Stableford is excellent and provides readers with general information about the author and his way of life. I strongly urge readers to read the whole introduction, because in order to fully enjoy the stories it's good to know at least something about the author and the age in which he lived, because the stories reflect the late 19th century. When you're familiar with the author's life, you'll get the most out of the stories and you'll be able to examine them in a rewarding way. (I also want to mention that the informative footnotes are excellent and provide readers with information about many things.)

This collection contains the following short stories:

- The Tisane
- The Old Man of the House
- Monsieur Pleur's Religion
- The Tarantulas' Parlor
- Plan for a Funeral Oration
- The Captives of Longjumeau
- A Bad Idea
- Two Phantoms
- The Terrible Punishment of a Dentist
- Alain Chartier's Reawakening
- The Obliging Stroker
- The Monsieur's Past
- "Whatever You Want!"
- The Last Firing
- The End of Don Juan
- A Martyr
- Suspicion
- Calypso's Telephone
- Worn Out
- A Failed Sacriledge
- "There's Trouble Brewing!"
- The Silver Mote
- A Well-Nourished Man
- The Bean
- Digestive Proposals
- A Cry from the Depths
- The Reading Room
- No One's Perfect
- "Let's Be Reasonable!"
- Jocasta on the Sidewalk
- Cain's Lucky Find
- The Animal-Lover

These stories beautifully linger on the borders of Decadence, Naturalism and Symbolism, because they're experimental, brilliantly sharp and fascinatingly savage. Their brutal and cruel nature impressed me, because it is not often that one has an opportunity to read about issues related to life, marriage and relationships in such a stunning and sharp way. In these stories, readers are put into the middle of ludicrous situations and they get to read about people who do not always behave in a normal or morally acceptable way.

The contents of these amazing stories range from perversions and criminality to suffering and temptations, and also from seeking gratification to seeking redemption. In some of the stories, the author writes about such matters as religion, faith and sexuality in a surprisingly insightful way.

The author's writing style feels fresh and vivid. His writing style can perhaps best be described as a combination of Jean Lorrain, Joris-Karl Huysmans and Edgar Allan Poe. His savage way of writing about various themes and issues is strikingly effective and impressive. I can guarantee that when you begin to read his stories, you'll be totally hooked by them.

Here's more information about the stories and my thoughts about them:

The Tisane:

- A story about Jacques who hears his mother's terrifying confession at the church and is shocked by it.
- An excellent short story with a memorable ending.

The Old Man of the House:

- A striking story about Madame Alexandre, her business and her old father.
- This story has a fascinatingly brutal ending.

Monsieur Pleur's Religion:

- A story about an old miser called Monsieur Pleur, his habits and his life.
- I like the way the author writes about Monsieur Pleur, because there's something intriguingly striking about his writing style.

The Tarantulas' Parlor:

- In this story, a man spends a night with a poet and hears him read one of his dramas and sonnets.
- This is an atmospheric story with an approriately strange ending.

Plan for a Funeral Oration:

- A story about a dead man who is called Lazarus.
- The author writes intriguingly about the dead man, because his descriptions border on the line of being vividly flamboyant and partly philosophical.

The Captives of Longjumeau:

- In this story, a couple feels that their captives of Longjumeau and are unable to leave and travel elsewhere.
- I liked this story a lot, because it was fascinatingly weird.

A Bad Idea:

- An interesting story about four men who live together and never spend a minute apart.
- This is definitely one of the best stories I've read this year, because it's a unique depiction of a bit different kind of life and friendship.

Two Phantoms:

- A story about the friendship of Mademoiselle Cléopâtre du Tesson and Miss Penelope Mirabelles Magpie.
- I love the atmosphere in this story.

The Terrible Punishment of a Dentist:

- A story about a dentist who has committed a murder.
- Ah, what an ending this story has! I found the ending to be fascinatingly cruel and brutal.

Alain Chartier's Reawakening:

- In this story, a man is shaken by a letter that has been written by a woman who seems to love her.
- The author writes well about how the man feels about the situation he is in.
- This story has an excellent ending.

The Obliging Stroker:

- A story about a man and his friend, Thierry.
- This is a fine example of a story that will stick to your mind because of its atmosphere.

The Monsieur's Past:

- In this story, a man goes to ask for money from the uncle of a woman he knew.
- I liked the ending of this story very much.

"Whatever You Want!":

- A well written story about Maxence and an aged prostitute.
- This story is a prime exampe of a fascinating story with decadent elements.

The Last Firing:

- A story about a man who has retired from his profession as a whitener of sepulchers.
- I found the funeral scene excellent, because it had a bit of Poe-esque quality to it.

The End of Don Juan:

- A fantastic story about Marquis Hector de la Tour de Pise and his life.
- It was fascinating to read about what was revealed about the man and how he lived his life. What was written about his children was very intriguing and also a bit disturbing.

A Martyr:

- A stunning story about Madame Virginie Durable who is the very type-specimen of martyr and also an atrocious shrew.
- Ah, what a pleasure it was to read this story, because the author's vision of Madame Durable's life is fascinatingly striking and depraved.

Suspicion:

- In this story, a man called Aristobule is suspicious of everything.
- I liked the ending, because the author delivers an abrupt and brutal ending to the story.

Calypso's Telephone:

- A story about Madame Presque, her marriage and her financial problems.
- I love the way the author writes about Madame Presque and what she does.

Worn Out:

- In this story, a hungry and starving man meets an unknown man who makes him an unexpected offer.
- An excellent and atmospheric story.

A Failed Sacriledge:

- In this story, a vicomtesse confesses things to the priest.
- An excellent story with a perfect ending.

"There's Trouble Brewing!":

- A story about a group who calls themselves the elect of the eternity.
- This story has silent power that I found intriguing.

The Silver Mote:

- This is an exceptionally intriguing story featuring a man who seems to be afflicted by clairvoyance.
- This is one of my favourite stories in this collection.

A Well-Nourished Man:

- A story about a man who learns of the death of a well-nourished man.
- In this story, the author refers to and writes about gluttony in an interesting way.

The Bean:

- A story about Monsieur Tertullien who has lost his wife.
- This story has a good ending.

Digestive Proposals:

- An interesting story, in which it is discussed how to put an end to the poor.
- This story has quite a good ending.

A Cry from the Depths:

- A fascinating story about Madame Demandon's daughter, Cymodocée, and her life.
- The author's descriptions of the decor of the Madame Demandon's sinister abode are stunningly vivid.
- The author writes excellent about Cymodocée and her suffering.

The Reading Room:

- A story featuring a reading room that only one person can enjoy at a time.
- An excellent story.

No One's Perfect:

- A story about Esculape Nuptial who kills people.
- This is one of the best and most memorable stories in this collection.

"Let's Be Reasonable!":

- In this story, Suzanne wonders why her father, Ambroise, isn't eating anything. Suzanne doesn't understand what is wrong with her father.
- A well written and interrsting story.

Jocasta on the Sidewalk:

- A story about a young man who has lost his mother.
- The author writes well about the uneasy relationship between him and his father.
- The ending is excellent.

Cain's Lucky Find:

- In this story, participants of a dinner party recount what kind of things they've found on public highway.
- This story has an excellent ending.

The Animal-Lover:

- In this story, a man tells a story to others about how he defended a stranger.
- A perfect and atmospheric story.

'The Tisane' is a brilliant story about a man who hears his own mother's confession and is terrified by it. I like the way the author builds up tension and finishes his story in a brilliantly cruel and unexpected way. I think that readers who have read Edgar Allan Poe will find this story especially intriguing.

'The Tarantulas' Parlor' is fascinating account of a night spent with a poet who recites one of his dramas and sonnets. This story has echoes and elements of Gothic prose. I liked the way the author wrote about the happenings and created a strange atmosphere.

'A Bad Idea' is one of the most interesting stories I've had the pleasure of reading this year. The author writes intriguingly about four men who spend time together and what happens to them when one of them falls in love with a woman. The descriptions about the men and the woman are fascinating, because the men have vowed themselves to an existence in which they're entirely committed to each other.

'A Failed Sacriledge' is a story in which the author writes excellently about faith, religion, atheism and secrecy of confession. It's a powerful tale of a vicomtesse who is not as pious and gentle as one might expect. This is one of the most memorable stories I've ever read.

'No One's Perfect' impressed me a lot, because it tells of a killer and his life. It was intriguing to read about the man and what happened to him when he met Loulou, because the story developed nicely toward the ending.

'Worn Out', 'There's Trouble Brewing!', 'The Silver Mote', 'The Bean' and 'The Animal-Lover' are prime examples of well written stories that are something a bit different. I enjoyed them and found them to be satisfyingly strange. (It is perhaps a bit unfair to single out these stories, because many of the other stories are also something different, but I wanted to choose these stories due to their sophisticated complexity and atmosphere.)

Although these stories are relatively short, they're filled with sharp and observant prose that has been coupled with evocative atmosphere. The author evokes such strong images in the reader's mind with his descriptions of the characters' fates and choices that you can't help but be impressed by his skillful storytelling and his ingenious ability to write about decadence and depravity.

These stories are best enjoyed one or two at a time, because they are thought-provoking and benefit from careful reading. When you read them this way, you'll notice how gorgeous they are and how much style and substance they have. If you rush through them, you'll miss out on a lot of minuscule details.

The author's literary prose is excellent. If you're not used to reading decadent and savage prose, it may take a while for you to get used to the author's writing style, but once you get used to it, you'll find it intriguing. In my opinion, the author has his own unique and original writing style that separates him from other authors.

I like the author's way of creating a subtly strange atmosphere in his stories. His stories often end in a brilliantly effective and memorable way, because the characters' fates are often somewhat brutal and cruel. There's something fascinatingly twisted about his dark imagination that I find captivating. I especially like the way he writes about the happenings and delivers surprise endings.

The cover image, 'Val van de magiër Hermogenes' (1565), which is an engraving by Pieter van der Heyden made after a drawing by Pieter Brueghel the Elder, fits this short story collection perfectly. These old works of art are stunningly beautiful and effective as cover images for collections and novels that feature decadent and depraved stories.

Léon Bloy's The Tarantulas' Parlor and Other Unkind Tales is essential - or perhaps I should say mandatory - reading material to everyone who loves decadent and savage stories. I strongly urge readers of literary fiction and speculative fiction to read this short story collection, because it's one of the best collections of the year. It's a rich and rewarding reading experience.

Highly recommended!

[Reyhan Sahinoglu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Donemine gore cok sert ve gercekci oykuler.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very disagreeable collection of tales (the disagreeability of the human mind), written in a very rich language. Most of the stories have a very unexpected final, a twist that lets you speechless. usually the last 2 sentences. Worth reading

[Patrick.G.P · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Connoisseurs of pleasant emotion are invited not to continue reading.”

The Unkind tales of Léon Bloy features a veritable menagerie of oddball characters, strange descriptions, bizarre ideas and some of the most beautiful and dastardly prose I’ve ever feasted my eyes on. Bloy seems to get an almost perverse delight in describing his characters in strange and twisted ways and then send them tumbling along to be fate’s playthings.

“If one could claim innocence of the prostitution of words, it would have been necessary to compare Monsieur Pleur to the annunciator of God’s vomit.”

Sometimes baffling, funny and even disturbing, Bloy carefully outlines the events and impulses, or lack thereof, of these characters as they fall prey to their own faults, vices, machinations and sheer bad fortune. An excellent collection of the conte cruel, Bloy’s tales is sure to delight anyone interested in Decadence and Symbolism.

[Andrew Weitzel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfect collection of short stories for the person whose hobbies include feeling terrible and looking up stuff in the dictionary.

[Dean Jamieson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read out of personal curiosity in Bloy. Some great insults: he calls one person “irritable enough to make dogs abort,” another has a face “like a baboon’s hindquarters.”

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Boisterous, hearty, conniving. The short collected stories of Monsieur Bloy bring to mind a maniacal author screaming unimpeded threats to the void. I've so heard upon hearing the news of the sinking of the Titanic; he celebrated. Spewing vitriol across every page highlighted in mystery, exclamations, and anarchic references, words and phrases demanding a google search. I very much appreciate that these short stories are actually short and do not over stay their welcome. The ending of each story is also very....concise, matter of fact: and tends to wrap up nicely, if not somewhat menacingly.

"...-one of the most atrocious scoundrels of antiquity."
"Amateurs of dulcet emotions are welcome to read no further."
"The number of imbeciles may well be infinite,..."

[Grim Elak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Om jag bevistar ett antikvariat och hittar en bok som heter t.ex otrevligheter, skriven sent 1800-tal, författaren är fransk, det står ”novellsamling om död, vansinne och religiös ångest, skrivna på lika grym som oförliknelig taggtrådsprosa” på baksidan och den är släppt av Alastor press så kommer jag utan tvekan att kasta mig över den.
Jag är inte ens särskilt förtjust i novellsamlingar...

Det här är bra söndagsläsning eller nåt man kan bläddra i när man är på språng. Bra och roligt skriven. Korta historier om diverse hemskheter, typ Lovecraft möter Huysmans. Kul läsning men lämnade inget djupare avtryck.

[Arzu Onuklu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kitabın arka kısmında ifade ettiği gibi saygın görünümlü insanların ne kadar ileri gidip kötüleşebileceğini kısa ve öz 12 adet hikayeden oluşmakta. Hikayelerin hepsinde insanlıktan nasibini almamışların yapmış olduklarını okumak aslında kolay görünse de üzücüydü çilekeşteki zavallı kızın tek gün görme ihtimalinin birinci dereceden yakını tarafından alınması gibi... bizim ülkemizdeki 3. Sayfa haberlerine benzettim bazılarını...

[Radioread · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neyi nasıl anlatacağını bilen, yazardır; neyi nasıl saklayacağını iyi bilen, büyük yazar.

Bloy'un bıçak gibi keskin, kaya gibi sert, ketum ve tutumlu üslubunu, öykülerinin gerilimini okuyucuya çırılçıplak yansıtmak isteyen bir zekanın hamlesi olarak görebilir, sevebiliriz.

[Lance Grabmiller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is there any language more florid than that of a Catholic decadent? In fact, the language is so labyrinthine here, that he sometimes forgets to tell a story. Somehow he still manages to be more concise than Huysmans and I like his humor better.