Desert

Eccentric! Decadent! The words pale when applied to Pierre Loti, the pseudonym of Julien Viaud, 1850-1923. Artist, naval officer, consort of countesses, & well-published author, his excesses & experimentation mirror those of such Decadent contemporaries as Rimbaud & Verlaine. First published in 1895 & finally available in English, THE DESERT has gone through dozens of French editions. Loti's book is the diary of a journey on camelback through the Sinai. He describes in detail the various sheikhs he encounters & the set up of the caravan, all crafted in poetic prose of gripping beauty. Loti's preface hints at the reason behind the journey; in an attempt to bolster his flagging faith, he chose to visit the desert Holy Land. Suffering (as he saw it) would prepare his soul for an awakened faith. Yet despite the perils of the open desert, the relative luxury of the trip is evident. This beautiful work, admirably rendered in English by Jay Paul Minn, reveals a rudderless man retracing Biblical trails in the wilderness in classic fin-de-siecle style.Loti-Viaud, Pierre P. is the author of 'Desert' with ISBN 9780874804270 and ISBN 0874804272.