4.17.2005
georges bataille, l'abbe c
over the past week, i did two things to my copy of l'abbe c that would make its author proud:
1. i read it.
2. i barfed all over it.
...what better to read as you make war with your worst stomach flu in years than a novel by mr. bataille?? even if this is ultimately an unessential one. the story concerns twin brothers: charles-- an amoral libertine conducting an affair with an enigmatic prostitute named eponine, and robert-- a priest who we are told is unusually pious and dedicated (however, there's precious little in the narrative itself to back up such claims, which gets confusing).
bataille uses this literal "duo" to raise many of his usual dualities-- taboo/transgression, love/betrayal, orgy/sacrifice, etc. a love triangle emerges between the two men and the prostitute, which unfolds in a series of atmospheric, kinky episodes of considerable dread. true to much of the rhetoric surrounding him (especially that of hal foster), bataille writes compulsively. many of the ideas that run throughout his work appear and reappear within the text, and the emphasis is as much on the pleasure of repetition as it is on new discovery. which is fine-- this is part of what gives bataille his strange, erotic distinction.
all in all, i found the novel better in parts than as a whole. and the parts i found most rewarding were inevitably the philosophical bits. unlike similar-minded frenchmen of his era (genet, celine, etc.), bataille often strikes me as uncomfortable within the confines of a "story," however loosely constructed such a thing may be. he's at his best when he's philosophical, or even poetic. but when he's tied to the nuts and bolts of storytelling, he often opts for archetypes and allegories that leave me feeling a bit hollow.
if anyone is interested in bataille, this site is an excellent resource, containing (among other things) a free download of his most famous novel the story of the eye. also, for a more involved inquiry, i highly recommend his non-fiction text erotism: death and sensuality as a point of entry. i wish i had started out with him by reading it. it'd have cleared up a few things a lot quicker. if anyone knows why it's called "erotism" instead of "eroticism," i'd love to hear it. finally, i leave you all with an andre masson drawing of bataille's acephale, which i think crystallizes a bit of the heavy-metal-surrealist allure of him as a figure...
1. i read it.
2. i barfed all over it.
...what better to read as you make war with your worst stomach flu in years than a novel by mr. bataille?? even if this is ultimately an unessential one. the story concerns twin brothers: charles-- an amoral libertine conducting an affair with an enigmatic prostitute named eponine, and robert-- a priest who we are told is unusually pious and dedicated (however, there's precious little in the narrative itself to back up such claims, which gets confusing).
bataille uses this literal "duo" to raise many of his usual dualities-- taboo/transgression, love/betrayal, orgy/sacrifice, etc. a love triangle emerges between the two men and the prostitute, which unfolds in a series of atmospheric, kinky episodes of considerable dread. true to much of the rhetoric surrounding him (especially that of hal foster), bataille writes compulsively. many of the ideas that run throughout his work appear and reappear within the text, and the emphasis is as much on the pleasure of repetition as it is on new discovery. which is fine-- this is part of what gives bataille his strange, erotic distinction.
all in all, i found the novel better in parts than as a whole. and the parts i found most rewarding were inevitably the philosophical bits. unlike similar-minded frenchmen of his era (genet, celine, etc.), bataille often strikes me as uncomfortable within the confines of a "story," however loosely constructed such a thing may be. he's at his best when he's philosophical, or even poetic. but when he's tied to the nuts and bolts of storytelling, he often opts for archetypes and allegories that leave me feeling a bit hollow.
if anyone is interested in bataille, this site is an excellent resource, containing (among other things) a free download of his most famous novel the story of the eye. also, for a more involved inquiry, i highly recommend his non-fiction text erotism: death and sensuality as a point of entry. i wish i had started out with him by reading it. it'd have cleared up a few things a lot quicker. if anyone knows why it's called "erotism" instead of "eroticism," i'd love to hear it. finally, i leave you all with an andre masson drawing of bataille's acephale, which i think crystallizes a bit of the heavy-metal-surrealist allure of him as a figure...
