The Cathedral
Joris-Karl Huysmans
Publisher: Project Gutenberg
Summary
It is the third of Huysmans' books to feature the character Durtal, a thinly disguised portrait of the author himself. Durtal had already appeared in Là-Bas and En route, which had recounted his conversion to Catholicism, an experience which reflects the author's own. La Cathédrale continues the story as, after his retreat at a Trappist monastery, Durtal moves to the city of Chartres, famous for its cathedral. The cathedral provides the focus of the novel - which has very little plot - and Huysmans describes the building in encyclopaedic detail, so much so that the novel was often used as a guidebook by tourists.