A Night of Serious Drinking
A Night of Serious Drinkingis among Ren Daumal's most important literary works. It is a work of symbolic fiction that can be enjoyed purely as an entertaining and imaginative story, but also for the much deeper meaning enwoven into its deceptively simple plot: An unnamed narrator spends an evening getting drunk with a group of friends. As the party becomes totally intoxicated and exuberant, the narrator embarks on a journey that ranges from seeming paradises to the depths of pure hell. Daumal's keen perceptions of the human condition infuse A Night of Serious Drinkingwith a critique of culture and consciousness that is both disquieting and enlivening.