Description
One of the first novels to openly explore gay love and eroticism, Pathologies is a lost classic that is now translated into English for the first time. ? At the start of the twentieth century, Jewish anti-Zionist Jacob Isra?l de Haan led an eventful life as a poet, journalist, teacher, and lawyer in the Netherlands. His autobiographical novella Pipelines caused a storm of controversy in 1904 with its portrayal of a subject that was considered scandalous at the time-a romantic relationship between two young men. He lost his teaching job, and the entire print run was pulped. ? In his iconic 1908 novel Pathologies, he once again openly and radically explored the topic of homosexuality. The story centers around adolescent Johan, who lives a secluded life with his father and their elderly housekeeper in a large house. For a while, Johan has been plagued by erotic fantasies about his classmates. When, to make matters worse, he finds himself feeling attracted to his father-first in a dream, and then in real life-he grows desperate. Johan moves out, finding room and board with an older married couple in Haarlem, where he meets Ren?, a young confident artist. Johan falls head-over-heels in love, and the two men enter a sadomasochistic relationship that soon begins to spiral out of control. ? Johan is one of world literature's most tragic, troubled young heroes, at par with Goethe's Werther and Dostoevsky's Raskolnikov. His struggle to come to terms with his fantasies and desires-rife with taboos that continue to resonate today-forms the beating heart of this daring novel. Written in De Haan's precise, lyrical prose, Pathologies has lost none of its force more than a century after it was first published. ?
Binding: Hardback
Binding: Hardback