Identical twin brothers follow differing paths, one taking to vice, the other to piety. Maybe they are supposed to represent opposing characteristics in one person? The impious brother tries, with the aid of his mistress, to lead "l'abbe", his brother, astray. I found it very difficult to understand the motivations of these characters. I'm not sure if I simply failed to engage with the writing, or whether it is actually badly written. Maybe the translation is at fault - but I suspect that the difficulty lies mainly with the original composition. It often reads as a work in progress, with a lot of work and polishing still to be done - at times it simply doesn't add up (and I don't believe that these aspects of it are attempts at surrealism). Not sure what else to say about this one... I have previously read Bataille's "Story of the Eye", and found that far more enjoyable (more surreal and greatly more erotic).