First published in France in 2018, the book by Gabrielle Wittkop (1920-2002) is a collection of literary mirrors that reflect the works of famous writers - from Voltaire to Robbe-Grillet. Appropriating the voices of these authors, Wittkop plays out his favorite stories with their help, admires harpies, poisons and the beauty of decay, ridicules fertility and piety. The book ends with excerpts from the diary of Lucien N., the hero of Wittkop’s famous story “The Necrophiliac.” We would not be surprised to meet on these pages the Marquis de Sade, whom Wittkop considered the greatest stylist. Nothing pleases her more than physical and mental suffering. Indeed, why should a person be more virtuous than wild creatures tearing each other apart?