A strange little book, really a novella. A man is obsessed. Justine is the object of his obsession. What will he do to satisfy his obsession? I bought this book a number of years ago, I think in 1998, and lost it in my various moves. I thought I had read it but realized the book had never been opened.

I liked it. An easy read. Pretty weird. I'm not sure what genre this belongs in. ( )

This small book may be 227 pages, but it has short chapters and very spare writing. Yet despite the spare writing it is very...moody and descriptive. Gothic horror? Mystery? Opium-induced hallucination?

The unnamed narrator has fallen in love with Justine, whose portrait hangs in his home. Then he sees her at his mother's funeral. Finally finding her, the story gets creepier and odder, with hints of Oscar Wilde and (apparently) Marquis de Sade, who's book Justine is mentioned.

Who is Justine? And--is she even real? ( )