Blue of NoonOne of the twentieth century's great nihilist novels, Blue of Noon is a blackly compelling account of depravity and terror that retains all its shocking power today. Set in pre-war Europe, its narrator lurches despairingly from city to city in a surreal sexual and mental nightmare of squalor, sadism and drunken encounters - his journey into madness mirroring the fighting and marching on the streets outside. Confronting Fascism, the novel is torn between identifying with history's victims and being seduced by the violent glamour of its terrible victors. One of the most brilliant intellects and influential French writers of his time, Bataille's unflinching exploration of the dark forces beneath the surface of civilization defies all our expectations. |
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Page 57
... pain ; the pain then in me was what remained of a turbulent life . I foresaw something empty and dark , something unfriendly , huge - something that was no longer me . The doctors appeared . I did not emerge from my pros- tration . They ...
... pain ; the pain then in me was what remained of a turbulent life . I foresaw something empty and dark , something unfriendly , huge - something that was no longer me . The doctors appeared . I did not emerge from my pros- tration . They ...
Page 87
... painful . I recalled one depressing moment in particular . I was a boarder at a lycée . I used to while away my ... pain . I inflicted a number of dirty cuts , more blackish than red because of the ink . The small cuts were crescent ...
... painful . I recalled one depressing moment in particular . I was a boarder at a lycée . I used to while away my ... pain . I inflicted a number of dirty cuts , more blackish than red because of the ink . The small cuts were crescent ...
Page 108
... pain , in great pain , all through the night . But - ' She took my head in both hands and looked away as she told me , " The pain made me happy . ' No sooner had she spoken than the hands that had reached out for me pushed me to one ...
... pain , in great pain , all through the night . But - ' She took my head in both hands and looked away as she told me , " The pain made me happy . ' No sooner had she spoken than the hands that had reached out for me pushed me to one ...
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Common terms and phrases
ancien régime André Breton Antonio anxiety arms asked Badalona Barcelona Bataille Bataille's began blood Blue of Noon burst café Café de Flore Calella cante jondo Catalan corpse Criolla crying dance dead death Dirty Dirty's door Dorothea dream dress drinking drunk empty everything eyes face feeling fell felt floor forehead frightened front Georges Bataille girl glass hair hand happen head Hitler Youth imagined insane inside kill kissed laughing Lazare Lazare's leave longer looked Lotte Lenya ludicrous maid Michel Monsieur Melou mother-in-law mouth naked never night once pain pale Prüm Ramblas saying seemed shouted sick singing sleep smile someone Spanish Civil War speaking spoke staring started stay stood stopped story street talking tears tell There's things thought told took train Troppmann turned ugly Vienna voice vomit waiting walked wanted window woman Xenie Xenie's