Exploring the Prose of Joris-Karl Huysmans: The Aesthetics of Excess

Welcome to Prose Mechanics, a new kind of writing workshop for maturing writers who want to develop their style and voice.

We take it as self-evident that if we are to grow as writers—if we are to craft prose that is beautiful, powerful, and stylistically compelling—we must “read the best writing available with keen attention and make use of it in our own writing.”

This week, we’ll explore the richly decadent and indulgent prose style of Joris-Karl Huysmans, the French novelist and literary critic whose fin-de-siècle novel Against Nature (À rebours) made him famous. In this strange and stylistically daring work, Huysmans traverses the moral and aesthetic landscape of his sickly, degenerate anti-hero, whose inner life is a catalog of sensual indulgences—some questionable, some less so.

Through a series of intuitive and experimental exercises, we’ll explore the texture and feel of Huysmans’ ornate sentences—their flow, their rhythm, their structure, and their cadence—and learn how to borrow their effects for our own stylistic toolkits.

To prepare for the session, you can read the novel online via Project Gutenberg: Against Nature, Chapter 8 – Read Online
Location: Common Grounds Coffee Shop, Mall of the Emirates, 2nd Floor – Near Go Sports
Buy the book: Available on Amazon

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What Past Students Say

Sunna G. – Graduate, American University in Dubai
"One of the best workshops I’ve ever done. The sessions were always well-structured, engaging, and top-notch. I learned a lot and had a great time. Highly recommend it!"

Naheed Malik – Founder, The Loop (P.R. Company)
"As always—useful, interesting, and invigorating. Like a gym session for your brain: you write, discuss, learn, and improve your craft."

Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed – PhD, University of Guelph
"I used to think writing was all about content—until I took David’s course. Now I see writing as an art form, a structure with rhythm and flow. I read differently now. I see the writer’s choices. I see style."

Khalid Asser – AUD Graduate
"The course gave me a systematic approach to reading and writing. It was creative, adaptive, and brilliantly structured. And the mentoring? Incredibly generous and deeply personal. You’ll feel challenged and supported in equal measure."