Olivia Davis

Olivia D.

Main Floor Staff

An illustrator and an avid reader of decadent fiction, Olivia is also a bit of a lepidopterist. Some of her favorite authors include Joris-Karl Huysmans, F. Scott Fitzgerald, J.G. Ballard and Georges Bataille.

Would you like other recommendations? Email me at staff+olivia@strandbooks.com

Latest Review

 

Against the Grain: (A Rebours)

By J.K. Huysmans

Think of the naturalism movement in nineteenth century literature ... this book is the polar opposite. Joris-Karl Huysmans initially drew Emile Zola's attention with his earlier novels, but when Huysmans released "À rebours" that attention turned to disgust. While this novel does have moments that will make you cock your head, it is more prominently known for its decadent nature. Vivid lyricism, diverse vocabulary, and a main character that is said to be based on Baudelaire, this is a novel for those who can appreciate decadence at its most decadent.

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Olivia D.

Brave New World

Brave New World

By Aldous Huxley

Our Price: $13.49
Huxley's tour de force is a darkly satiric vision of a 'utopian' future - where humans are genetically bred and pharmaceutically anesthetized to passively serve a ruling order. A powerful work of speculative fiction that has enthralled and terrified readers for generations, it remains remarkably relevant as both a warning to be heeded for the future and as thought-provoking, satisfying entertainment. 259p.
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Story of the Eye (by Lord Auch)

Story of the Eye (by Lord Auch)

By Georges Bataille

Our Price: $8.95
In 1928, Georges Bataille published under a pseudonym this first novel, a legendary shocker that uncovers the dark side of the erotic by means of forbidden, obsessive fantasies of excess and sexual extremes. A classic of pornographic literature, STORY OF THE EYE finds parallels in Sade and Nietzsche and in the investigations of contemporary psychology; it also forecasts Bataille's own theories of ecstasy, death andtransgression which he developed in later work. 103p.
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Against Nature (A Rebours)

Against Nature (A Rebours)

By Joris-Karl Huysmans

Out of Stock
An original fin de siecle novel, Against Nature contains only one character. Des Esseintes is a decadent, ailing aristocrat who retreats to an isolated villa where he indulges his taste for luxury and excess. Veering between nervous excitability and debilitating ennui, he gluts his aesthetic appetites with classical literature and art, exotic jewels (with which he fatally encrusts the shell of his tortoise), rich perfumes and a kaleidoscope of sensual experiences.This revised edition of R…
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Against the Grain (A Rebours)

Against the Grain (A Rebours)

By J.K. Huysmans

Out of Stock
4 out of 5 stars
Filled with weird images, evidences of a bizarre imagination and occasional biting wit, AGAINST THE GRAIN is the greatest novel of the 'decadent experience.' Understandably shocking to the Victorians, it nonetheless exerted great influence on later writers, both French and English. The novel centers on the diversions of one Duc Jean des Esseintes, wealthy last survivor of a once-powerful family that has succumbed to inbreeding and degeneracy, and hero of this classic novel of French fin d…
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