470. The Abbot C

The Abbot C
Georges Bataille
1950
Around 160 pages

This the second novel on the list alphabetically, so this will be an early read for any psycho going through the List in that order. For non psychos like me, it is entry number 470. Trivia question time: what novel comes first on the List? If you are answer correctly in the comments, you get 50 Mandy Bucks. 

Our friend Georges Bataille is at it again, thankfully this time without the golden showers. Two brothers, Charles and Robert, fancy the same woman, Eponine. Robert is a serious priest involved in the French Resistance, while his brother is a libertine, which I guess in this setting means you are a character from Cabaret. The story mostly focuses on the tension between the three of them.

I like a love triangle as much as the next creep, but my enjoyment is largely dependent on how much I connect with the characters. Robert got on my nerves, obviously, because he was a priest, and nobody is behaving in believable ways. I suppose this is intentional, as this is a novella more about feeling than a grounded story. 

But I'm not that into Bataille, he is never as sexy or as interesting as I would like him to be.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Bataille was fascinated by human sacrifice and founded a secret society, Acéphale, the symbol of which was a headless man. Legend goes that Bataille and the other members of Acéphale each agreed to be the first sacrificial victim but none of them would agree to be the executioner. An indemnity was offered for an executioner, but none was found before the society dissolved due to the outbreak of the war. This is what happens when you let white men form clubs.

UP NEXT: The End of the Affair by Graham Greene