Against Nature - J.K. Huysmans

An exceptionally odd book in which I think the reader is supposed to relate to the "hero", a decadent, utterly selfish misanthrope. Fed up with life, he locks himself away from humanity whereupon absolutely naff all happens for 200 pages, the novel consisting entirely of digressions about Christian apologetics or latin poetry.

What keeps you reading is the baroque prose and the odd gem, like this explanation of exotic (from a 19th century Gallic point of view) English cuisine:

...rumpsteak pie, a warm meat dish cooked in mushroom sauce and covered with a crust, like a flan.