Honoré de Balzac
Paperback | Pages: 370 pages Rating: 3.85 | 43102 Users | 1707 Reviews
Specify Of Books Père Goriot (La Comédie Humaine #23)
| Title | : | Père Goriot (La Comédie Humaine #23) |
| Author | : | Honoré de Balzac |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 370 pages |
| Published | : | December 17th 1997 by W. W. Norton & Company (first published 1835) |
| Categories | : | Classics. Fiction. Cultural. France. European Literature. French Literature. Literature. 19th Century. Novels |
Chronicle As Books Père Goriot (La Comédie Humaine #23)
Père Goriot is the tragic story of a father whose obsessive love for his two daughters leads to his financial and personal ruin. Interwoven with this theme is that of the impoverished young aristocrat, Rastignac, who came to Paris from the provinces to hopefully make his fortune. He befriends Goriot and becomes involved with the daughters. The story is set against the background of a whole society driven by social ambition and lust for wealth.Present Books Supposing Père Goriot (La Comédie Humaine #23)
| Original Title: | Le Père Goriot |
| ISBN: | 039397166X (ISBN13: 9780393971668) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | La Comédie Humaine #23 |
| Characters: | Eugène de Rastignac, Père Goriot, Vautrin, Delphine de Nucingen, Henri de Marsay, Horace Bianchon, Béatrix de Rochefide, Frederic de Nucingen, Anastasie de Restaud, Vicomtesse de Beauseant |
| Setting: | Paris(France) |
Rating Of Books Père Goriot (La Comédie Humaine #23)
Ratings: 3.85 From 43102 Users | 1707 ReviewsColumn Of Books Père Goriot (La Comédie Humaine #23)
' There are no principles, only events; there are no laws, only circumstances (...)'' You're at life's crossroads, young man; now you must make your choice. You have already chosen: you went to call on your cousin Madame de Beauséant and had a taste of luxury there. You called on Madame de Restaud, old man Goriot's daughter, and breathed in the scent of a Parisian woman. On that day you came back here with one word written on your forehead, and I read it, clear as day : Succeed! SucceedOur heart is a treasury; if you spend all its wealth at once you are ruined. We find it as difficult to forgive a person for displaying his feelings in all its nakedness as we do to forgive a man for being penniless. Old Goriot is the first book I have read by Balzac and it took me completely by surprise. I must confess that the irony of the series title - La Comédie humaine (The Human Comedy) - was initially lost on me and I had no idea I was about to open one of the most depressing books I
Excellent - my first Balzac. The Human Comedy is a daunting achievement but this was a great starting point: completely self-contained and impressively plotted. The book particularly sparkles when Vautrin, as swaggering and unpredictable a character as any I've seen in 19th century literature, is on the mental screen. The court scenes are fascinating and the choice of 1819 is interesting - these people are hovering between the Bourbons and Napoleon and the consequences of the social schism
April 16, 2017I am still reading but these excerpts that I wish to record will not fit in the progress status box.Love in Paris is a thing distinct and apart; for in Paris neither men nor women are the dupes of the commonplaces by which people seek to throw a veil over their motives, or to parade a fine affectation of disinterestedness in their sentiments. ... Love ... is above all things, and by its very nature, a vainglorious, brazen-fronted, ostentatious, thriftless charlatan. ... Love is a
920. Le Père Goriot = Father Goriot = Old Goriot = Old Man Goriot, Honoré de BalzacLe Père Goriot, Old Goriot or Father Goriot, is an 1835 novel by French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (17991850), included in the Scènes de la vie privée section of his novel sequence La Comédie humaine. Set in Paris in 1819, it follows the intertwined lives of three characters: the elderly doting Goriot; a mysterious criminal-in-hiding named Vautrin; and a naive law student named Eugène de Rastignac.
A very accessible novel with too much melodrama. Balzac had clearly expounded in his seminal work the vanity and selfishness of the Parisian community of 19th century. But the veritable theme- Fatherhood- is indeed a subject that touches your innermost self. I'm glad I have read Balzac.
Balzac is like that lusty, life-loving guy who sits in a bar and regales his audiences with stories. Sure, they're messy and could use editing, but there's no denying the sheer life force behind them. It took me a few pages to get into this book, but then I loved it. By the way, I read the Burton Raffel translation (in the Norton Critical Edition) and found it to be marvelous.
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