The Angels of Perversity (Decadence from Dedalus)

Gourmont's short pieces are very reminiscent of Poe, albeit more blatantly erotic and with indelibly Catholic overtones throughout. These two elements are more strongly linked in Le fantome, where the stories are one continuous tale, than in the first collection; which seems to be the stronger of the two. It's interesting to note that the cover photograph is a still taken from the film "La femme et Le Pantin", based on the novel of the same name by Pierre Louys (another Symbolist writer). An intriguing short story collection for those who like Symbolist/Decadent literature. ( )

There should be a genre called phantasmagoric fiction. Writings that threaten with an opium-tinged lethargy and hallucigenic seduction. Haunted plots inhabited by characters imbued with a particular cobalt, tedium vitae. Angels of Perversity would befit this genre. De Gourmont's collection of short stories- very short,some only a few pages long, carry a languor and slight Satanic gleaming. The story, "The Dress" , where a man falls in love with a dress, seems to cross a shadow in my mind every once and again. ( )