Publisher's Synopsis
The novel tells the story of two sisters who work in a Parisian book-binding factory. Huysmans had inherited such a factory from his mother on her death in 1876, allowing him to observe the lives of his employees at close quarters. The plot concentrates on the unhappy love affairs of the sisters of the title, Céline and Désirée. Céline lives with an artist called Cyprien Tibaille - whose caustic remarks reflect Huysmans' own opinions - before leaving him for a man who beats her. Her more timid sister's relationship with the ineffectual Auguste also comes to nothing. However, the author's main focus is not the plot but vivid descriptions of the milieu in which the characters live.
