Jacques Soulillou's 'Le livre de l'ornement et de la guerre'

Jacques Soulillou's 'Le livre de l'ornement et de la guerre', published by éd. Parenthèses in the Eupalinos collection, is a dictionary-like book that deliberately subverts alphabetical order. Each entry forms a 'knot' from which multiple branches lead to other entries, creating a labyrinthine structure. The author, a specialist on the decorative (having published 'Le décoratif' in 1990), avoids a pedagogical overview, instead making the subject sensible like a painting or film. The index is under 'I' and the preface under 'P', with cross-references. The link between ornament and war is established through war's taste for parade and its historical aim of plundering enemy riches, tracing back to the origin of beauty as resulting from sacrifice. The book also explores the paradox that functionalism magnifies ornament. Notable entries include 'arabesque' and 'sexual difference', which refers to 'façade'. Catherine Millet's review notes the absence of a reference to Lacan's Baroque discourse.