The Blue of the Sky Author: [France] Georges Bataille Translator: Shi Xueying Publisher: Nanjing University Press

Bataille's novel "The Blue of the Sky" was written in 1935, but it was not published until 1957 by Jean-Jacques Pauvert. The story takes place on the eve of World War II. It is told in the first person by the protagonist Henri Troppmann, who is confused, desperate, indulges in alcohol and sex, and lives a dark life of wandering. Troppmann is entangled with three women: Dirty, a beautiful girl who is rich, frivolous, neurotic and alcoholic; Lazare, an ugly Jewish woman, a communist, a radical, and willing to sacrifice herself for her firm beliefs; and the young and docile Xénie. The story begins in a brothel in London, where Topman and Doty have a night of carnival. Later, the scene turns to Paris, where Topman confesses Doty's story to Lazare, as well as his own despicable pain and desires. Day after day, he lived a life of drunkenness and dreams. After a night of hangover, he met Gazeni by chance. The seriously ill Topman received meticulous care from Gazeni. After recovering, Topman went to Barcelona. Spain was on the verge of civil war, a strike was brewing, and the shadow of war shrouded the city. Topman received a letter from Doti and learned that she was about to go to Barcelona to join him; Lazar planned to attack the prison; Gazeni met Topman's friend Michel... After a series of turmoil, Doti and Topman set off for Germany. At the end of the story, Doti also left Topman, and the protagonist was alone in Frankfurt, watching the young Nazi parade, foreshadowing the coming of a dramatic change in the times.

The whole story is immersed in a depressing, gloomy and desperate atmosphere. Topman drank, reveled, wandered, cried and pursued death in European cities. Bataille said: "... all the horrific abnormalities in "The Blue of the Sky" are due to the pain and torture that tore me at the time. But I never felt that this reason alone was enough, so after the book was finished in 1935, I gave up the plan to publish it. Now, in 1957, friends who have read the manuscript and been moved by it hope that I can publish this work. I finally decided to trust their judgment."

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