Review: Father Goriot by Honoré de Balzac
Feb. 24th, 2023 03:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lantairvleaI failed to cancel the Audible subscription. I still need to do that, but figured I'd take advantage of the paid-for credits. I chose "Twelve Books to Read Before You Die: Volumes 1 and 2." Among the twenty-four books are some I have already read (I've devoured all of Jack London), a few I have on the shelf to be read (Mark Twain for example), a fair few I have been interested in (Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde").
The first up was "Father Goriot" by Honoré de Balzac translated to English from French.
This book has a decided disillusionment arc for its main character Eugène Rastignac (pronounced Oo-zhyen) as he discovers the rise and ultimately observes the demise of his elderly housemate. It is somewhat of the cut of Austen, except instead of following thevideals of just love, we see the seedy underbelly of the gold-plated lives with their sorid affairs and how gluttony and want for money ruins people, both the gluttons and the saintly people, such as the title character in Goriot, that they bleed dry.
It starts out a bit slow and painfully describes the background of most of the residents of the boarding house in which Rastignac and Goriot reside. It was unclear for a couple chapters who the protagonist actually was, but we do settle in on Rastignac and find out about Goriot and his thankless daughters through him.
There are several interesting little subplots going along as well. I wish the reader were a bit better, much of the time he was a little dull and it wasn't helpful to the story.
The final climax and tidy-up were sad and leaves one despondent. Eugène, we are unsure, if he continues to dedicate himself to Goriot's daughter or if he decides to return to his study of law, but the suggestion is the former. What a study on human character and how we get sucked into things that ultimately spiral out of our control. Eugène was a good sort at heart and paid Goriot all the respect the old man deserved as best he could in his final hours when his daughters were incapable either physically or because of their wretched natures.
Next is "Hound of the Baskervilles." I've been meaning to get into Scherlock Holmes...
The first up was "Father Goriot" by Honoré de Balzac translated to English from French.
This book has a decided disillusionment arc for its main character Eugène Rastignac (pronounced Oo-zhyen) as he discovers the rise and ultimately observes the demise of his elderly housemate. It is somewhat of the cut of Austen, except instead of following thevideals of just love, we see the seedy underbelly of the gold-plated lives with their sorid affairs and how gluttony and want for money ruins people, both the gluttons and the saintly people, such as the title character in Goriot, that they bleed dry.
It starts out a bit slow and painfully describes the background of most of the residents of the boarding house in which Rastignac and Goriot reside. It was unclear for a couple chapters who the protagonist actually was, but we do settle in on Rastignac and find out about Goriot and his thankless daughters through him.
There are several interesting little subplots going along as well. I wish the reader were a bit better, much of the time he was a little dull and it wasn't helpful to the story.
The final climax and tidy-up were sad and leaves one despondent. Eugène, we are unsure, if he continues to dedicate himself to Goriot's daughter or if he decides to return to his study of law, but the suggestion is the former. What a study on human character and how we get sucked into things that ultimately spiral out of our control. Eugène was a good sort at heart and paid Goriot all the respect the old man deserved as best he could in his final hours when his daughters were incapable either physically or because of their wretched natures.
Next is "Hound of the Baskervilles." I've been meaning to get into Scherlock Holmes...
