En Route

by J.-K. (Joris-Karl) Huysmans

"En Route" by J.-K. Huysmans is a novel first published in 1895. It follows Durtal, a thinly disguised portrait of Huysmans himself, through a profound spiritual transformation. After investigating Satanism in an earlier work, Durtal experiences an unexpected conversion to Catholicism and enters a Trappist monastery. The novel traces his soul's journey through mystical literature, liturgy, and plainchant, set against the backdrop of ecclesiastical art and atmosphere—mirroring Huysmans's own religious conversion.