Pierre Drieu la Rochelle's harrowing novel of modern decadence and despair, now available again in a new translation. A vitalist writer's portrait of modern existential malaise, exemplified in the life of a young drug addict, a man who can see through the emptiness of domesticated half-life, but who finds no outlet for his drives, no line of escape."Very few novels of this period have portrayed in such realistic terms the complete isolation of the individual in a world where even the most elementary communication is impossible." - Thomas Hines