13 h 12 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 13 h 12 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens when pleasure loses its taste, but faith asks more than you think you can give?
Durtal is restless in Paris. Books, women and fine sensations no longer satisfy him. In En Route, Joris-Karl Huysmans follows this weary writer as Catholic plainchant and medieval art draw him toward the Church. Beauty moves him where arguments cannot. Yet his growing desire for faith comes with shame, doubt and fear of what a changed life might demand.
An elderly priest, Abbé Gévresin, listens without pushing and advises Durtal to retreat among Trappist monks. Their silence, night prayers and hard work confront him with an unfamiliar way of living. The struggle stays close to his thoughts: sour jokes, self-reproach and sudden feeling. This is a novel of inward movement, where the question is whether a man devoted to pleasure can truly change.
What you’ll discover
- Beauty before belief Follow Durtal as the sound of plainchant stirs desires he cannot easily explain.
- A patient spiritual guide Meet Abbé Gévresin, whose quiet counsel gives Durtal room to voice his doubts.
- Life within the monastery Enter a world of silence and night prayer that challenges Durtal's familiar habits.
- A mind at odds Stay close to a restless writer caught between old appetites and the pull of faith.
- Art, mystics and sharp humor Explore rich descriptions of medieval art and mystical writings, alongside Durtal's sour comic observations.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love church music, medieval art and old cathedrals, and who are curious about prayer, doubt and monastic life seen from the inside.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Beauty opens a door to faith
- Belief arrives without a clear beginning
- A patient priest makes room
- Hidden lives bear others' suffering
- The monastery asks for a decision
- The cloister reaches beyond art
- Confession means speaking without excuses
- Faith is heard before being understood
- Conversion involves more than loving beauty
Who’s who
- DurtalA Parisian writer in his forties, tired of his life and drawn to the Church by its music, who struggles to turn admiration into prayer.
- Abbé GévresinAn elderly mystical priest in Paris who guides Durtal patiently and sends him to a Trappist monastery.
- Father MaximinThe prior of Notre Dame de l'Atre, a commanding and gentle monk who hears Durtal's confession and guides his soul.
- Father EtienneThe young guest master of the monastery, kind and strict, who looks after Durtal's needs and watches his punctuality.
- M. BrunoAn oblate living at the monastery without vows, learned and perceptive, who becomes Durtal's companion and teacher.
- Brother SimeonAn old lay brother who tends the pigs, speaks only to animals, and is said to drive out demons.
- Dom AnselmThe young abbot of Notre Dame de l'Atre, often ill, who gives Durtal Communion and speaks with him of the cloister's meaning.
- Brother AnacletusA tall young lay brother whose silent looks of sympathy comfort Durtal during his hardest days at the monastery.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
En Route in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
En Route
by Joris-Karl Huysmans · 1895
A weary writer in Paris comes to the chant for beauty and ends up praying among Trappist monks in the woods.
Challenging5–10 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with challenging classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
What happens when a tired writer walks into a church only for the music, and the music will not let him go? In En Route, Durtal sits behind the high altar of St. Sulpice in Paris one November evening, shaken by the chant for the dead.
En Route at a glance
- Reading time
- About 7 h 40 min6 h 5 min fast, 9 h 5 min slow
- Length
- 109,400 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- 1895by Joris-Karl Huysmans
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Music in a dark church draws Durtal in
Durtal enters St. Sulpice at eight in the evening, in the week of All Souls. He likes the church at night, when its ugly nave fades and a few lamps leave the aisles almost empty. He sits behind the high altar.
Then the choir sings the De Profundis, the psalm of a soul calling from the abyss. Children's voices pierce the deep basses like a crystal arrow, and the last syllable hangs in the air like a falling tear. Durtal's heart beats faster.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1895
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 8 h 35 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Huysmans, Joris-Karl. En Route. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/en-route.
Huysmans, J.-K. (2026). En route. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/en-route (Original work published 1895)
Huysmans, Joris-Karl. En Route. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/en-route.
@book{huysmans2026en,
author = {Huysmans, Joris-Karl},
title = {En Route},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/en-route},
note = {First published 1895}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about En Route
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is En Route by Huysmans about?
It tells of Durtal, a Paris writer who finds himself drawn to churches by their music and art. Guided by an old priest, he goes to a Trappist monastery for a week of prayer, confession and Communion.
Who is Durtal in En Route?
Durtal is the main character, a writer in his forties who also appears in Down There and The Cathedral. Much of his thought and experience reflects Huysmans himself, who also came to the Church through art.
Is En Route a true story?
It is a novel, published in 1895, but it draws closely on the author's own conversion and on a real stay at a Trappist abbey. The monastery, the plainchant and the religious scenes are described in lifelike detail.
The author
Joris-Karl Huysmans
1848–1907 · French novelist and art critic
Joris-Karl Huysmans was a French novelist of the Decadent movement who began in Zola's naturalist circle before turning toward mysticism and, ultimately, Catholicism. Là-bas, his unsettling exploration of Satanism in nineteenth-century Paris, is interwoven with the story of the medieval knight Gilles de Rais.
More by Joris-Karl Huysmans
See all their booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
