*It was a novel without a plot:
Huysmans‘s <A rebours> which was regarded as one of the most significant writings of literary Decadence in France. Huysmans‘s novel features a wealthy aesthete, Duc Jean des Esseintes, who sequesters himself in his luxurious home in order to savour erotic fantasies and sensuous experiences that generate sensations that he fears he will not find in reality.(106p. ch.10) - P211
*nine large-paper copies of the first edition:
Huysmans‘s <A rebours> was published by the Parisian publisher Charpentier in a standard edition, as well as an exclusive edition of ten copies on Dutch handmade paper and ten copies on Japanese handmade paper.
*the hero were strangely blended:
implicitly, Des Esseintes in Huysmans‘s <A rebours>.
*that somewhat grotesque dread of mirrors... still water:
Des Esseintes in Huysmans‘s <A rebours> has no such dread; in chapter 1, the narrator states that Des Esseintes designed a ‘boudoir‘ or bedroom that featured the following furnishing, textures, and scents: "This bedroom, where mirrors mirrored one another and reflected an infinite series of pink boudoirs on the walls, had been celebrated among the prostitutes, who loved to soak their nakedness in this bath of rosy warmth, perfumed by the minty aroma coming from the wood of the furniture‘ (Huysmans, 10). (108p. ch.11) - P212