Là-bas: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

Là-bas, credited to Joris-Karl Huysmans, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of Là-bas by Joris-Karl Huysmans. (Translated by Keene Wallace aka Wallis) Read in English by Peter Tucker The plot of Là-Bas concerns the novelist Durtal, who is disgusted by the emptiness and vulgarity of the modern world. He seeks relief by turning to the study of the Middle Ages and begins to research the life of the notorious 15th-century child-murderer Gilles de Rais. Through his contacts in Paris (notably Dr. Johannes, modeled after Joseph-Antoine Boullan), Durtal finds out that Satanism is not simply a thing of the past but alive in turn of the century France. He embarks on an investigation of the occult underworld with the help of his lover Madame Chantelouve. The novel culminates with a description of a black mass. (Wikipedia) Reader's note: This novel certainly reaches to the depths of depravity and blasphemy, and achieved some notoriety for doing so. A redeeming feature, if one is required, is that Durtal begins in this book a pilgrimage; like Dante's hero, he begins this in a horrible and God-forsaken place.

Recording facts

• Recording title: Là-bas
• Author credits: Joris-Karl Huysmans
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 22
• Listed recording duration: 8:58:46

Catalogue topics

• religion
• Catholicism
• satanism
• profanity
• self-examination

Track guide

1. 01 - Chapter I — 26:23
2. 02 - Chapter II — 15:30
3. 03 - Chapter III — 29:01
4. 04 - Chapter IV — 23:15
5. 05 - Chapter V — 32:24
6. 06 - Chapter VI — 31:26
7. 07 - Chapter VII — 31:58
8. 08 - Chapter VIII — 36:45
9. 09 - Chapter IX — 36:45
10. 10 - Chapter X — 18:55
11. 11 - Chapter XI — 21:50
12. 12 - Chapter XII — 17:12
13. 13 - Chapter XIII — 17:02
14. 14 - Chapter XIV — 21:09
15. 15 - Chapter XV — 19:11
16. 16 - Chapter XVI — 22:28
17. 17 - Chapter XVII — 23:59
18. 18 - Chapter XVIII — 20:59
19. 19 - Chapter XIX — 23:42
20. 20 - Chapter XX — 34:51
21. 21 - Chapter XXI — 19:23
22. 22 - Chapter XXII — 14:38

Listen to this recording

Open the complete recording and player on Internet Archive. The player includes the full track list and available download formats.

Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.