Balzac basics
Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) was a remarkable French author. He wrote a series of works that he called The Human Comedy, attempting to portray all of French society, at every level, in every place. The series includes 91 finished works and nearly 50 unfinished. Where to begin? This readlist is here to help.
Père Goriot is one of Balzac’s most famous and important novels. It’s a tale of an elderly father and his daughters, it’s also a tale of social climbing and social transformations, and it’s set during the Bourbon Restoration. This novel has capitalism, crime, corruption, and some very well-written, interesting characters. If you only read one thing by Balzac, you should probably make it this one.
Les Chouans is a historical novel, set in Brittany during a 1799 counter-revolutionary uprising. Of course, there’s a love story, but it’s also Balzac’s chance to glamorize the royalists and take us outside of Paris. It presents a perspective you’ll otherwise probably never catch.
The Girl with the Golden Eyes was recently re-issued by NYRB classics. This one is a real wild ride, with all kinds of indulgence and raciness and inappropriate behavior. According to the NYRB: “The Girl with the Golden Eyes is one of the most memorable and fantastic episodes in Balzac's Human Comedy—its dark vision of Paris and human sexuality an inspiration to Oscar Wilde in Salomé and to Marcel Proust, whose Baron de Charlus praises its author for his knowledge ‘even of those passions which the rest of the world ignores, or studies only to castigate them.’”
The Country Doctoris probably not on many lists of recommended Balzac, but it’s very interesting nonetheless. It’s a terribly didactic tale about a doctor who transforms a country hamlet for the better. But it expresses a perspective on how to bring about change that Balzac also explores in The Wrong Side of Paris and it includes a few references to pseudo-scientific thinking that help explain the appeal of eugenics at that time and later.
The Magic Skin is a little bit what it sounds like. A young man finds a magic ass’s skin that grants his wishes. So far, so good. Unfortunately, every desire granted shortens the skin and the young man’s life. This one stands out for the use of the fantastical in portraying something very real about the kind of economic and social situation described in his other books.
Cousin Bette is another one that many people recommend. Bette is an unmarried, middle-aged woman and she is out to destroy her extended family. This one has all of the rich detail and description we associate with Balzac, provokes meditation on morality, and has been adapted for film and television.
The Unknown Masterpiece is technically not a novel. It’s quite short, but very interesting. It is all about an obsessive artist working on a beautiful masterpiece, but his obsession with perfection is destroying both himself and the work.
Some other interesting information: Balzac was no friend of the Revolution, he was all about King and Crown. This comes through in the novels. He’s also a legend for his coffee consumption, which apparently could amount to 50 cups a day.
Compiled by Elizabeth Stice
