Afterword by Claire Latxague

At night, in an apartment, objects pine with desire for their sleeping mistress. A book, an iron, a teaspoon, or a window handle recall her caresses, her rubbing, her grip, as they wait for the next embrace. From the living room to the bedroom, through the kitchen and the bathroom, their thoughts unfold in an erotic litany echoing the movements of the body that possesses them. Submitted to her whims, they wait, passive and obsessed, for her to wake. And yet, what is this strange sensation slowly taking hold… ?

Tinged with absurdity, this erotic fable flirts with science fiction and crime noir. With its animist undertones and playful device, it gradually reveals a narrative mechanism as delightfully mischievous as it is surprising.

A first edition of Dessous troublants was published in 1987 in Futuropolis’s X collection. Featuring a previously unpublished afterword, this new edition restores Jeanne Puchol’s refined wash drawings through a larger format and new photoengraving.