Huysmans' most famous work, A Rebours (Against the Grain) depicts Jean des Esseintes, the scion of a noble Parisian family, rejecting society and retreating into a period of artistic and aesthetic rumination. Featuring the protagonist as the only character, the book is driven not by traditional plot progression but rather the experience of Esseintes as he recounts his thoughts on art, literature, and the world around him. Through its focus on hedonistic pursuits, and themes of artifice being preferable to the natural, the book became essential tenet of the French Decadent movement, as well as an inspiration for the aesthetic movement down the line.