tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post456546142578639209..comments2024-03-27T16:48:21.039-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: The NYRB collection of Balzac stories - a useful bookAmateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-55052518128503724372016-05-20T08:16:09.062-05:002016-05-20T08:16:09.062-05:00I don't know why Balzac has had this numerical...I don't know why Balzac has had this numerical fetish attached to him - that the number of works in <i>The Human Comedy</i> has to be mentioned - but I figure a reader should take advantage of it.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-81465690011659314742016-05-20T00:58:16.805-05:002016-05-20T00:58:16.805-05:00I'm happy to hear you say that much of Balzac&...I'm happy to hear you say that much of Balzac's best is to be found in his shorter fiction, Tom. The great <em>Le Colonel Chabert</em> aside, I had this preconceived idea that the longer novels were where it was at for him. Good to know. <em>It is important to read the shorter pieces in order to run up the count</em> is very helpful advice, by the way. This slacker must try and remember that one!Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-18607380058308897402016-05-18T16:33:32.197-05:002016-05-18T16:33:32.197-05:00There is the big advantage that it is one person&#...There is the big advantage that it is one person's continuity, rather than a series of writers correcting and stomping on each other's stories.<br /><br />And most Balzac stories have nothing to do with each other, or the only connection is that a recurring character tells a story. Still, there is a significant core where knowing more of the pieces really helps. "Oh, see, that's the Earth-2 Green Lantern, not" etc. etc.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-57486940110431746722016-05-18T14:52:05.224-05:002016-05-18T14:52:05.224-05:00I read a number of Balzac novels many years ago (b...I read a number of Balzac novels many years ago (basically the more famous, shorter ones) and bought this collection hoping to rekindle my love.<br />I love the comparison to DC Comics continuity - though as I struggle with that, The Human Comedy may be a step too far.1streadinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17546473277895842785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-60351893228164893012016-05-16T19:01:21.488-05:002016-05-16T19:01:21.488-05:00The Grandets are also on the Borges and Bioy Casar...The Grandets are also on the Borges and Bioy Casares "<a href="http://caravanaderecuerdos.blogspot.com/2011/10/borges-bioy-casares-draw-up-list-of.html" rel="nofollow">lifelikeness</a>" list.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-48444228928869838702016-05-16T18:37:05.305-05:002016-05-16T18:37:05.305-05:00Having finally read Pere Goriot last year I will t...Having finally read Pere Goriot last year I will try to follow with another this year. I think I have Eugenie Grandet on my shelves and now that it bears your imprimatur ...Séamus Dugganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00574186409184247059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-6730009496334154012016-05-15T21:22:01.967-05:002016-05-15T21:22:01.967-05:00I always enjoy Zola when I read him, sometimes eno...I always enjoy Zola when I read him, sometimes enormously, even if he is a bit of a con artist - but I see through the con, which just adds to my enjoyment. He has the advantage over Balzac of writing in the Flaubert Era. If Zola had written a "novel" that was nothing but descriptions of food, it would be my favorite Zola novel.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-17837745624350141532016-05-15T04:16:17.064-05:002016-05-15T04:16:17.064-05:00Am trying out Google as sign in method of commenti...Am trying out Google as sign in method of commenting; darn WordPress incompatibility issuesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-18835810714705103562016-05-15T04:15:35.345-05:002016-05-15T04:15:35.345-05:00Where do you stand on Zola? Also wrote too much, b...Where do you stand on Zola? Also wrote too much, but some gems in there. La Bête humaine, T Raquin, Le ventre de Paris (the only one I read in French - struggled with the abstruse foodstuffs vocab)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-83537045638642193152016-05-14T19:03:08.590-05:002016-05-14T19:03:08.590-05:00I decided to write a bit more about Langeais, and ...I decided to write a bit more about <i>Langeais</i>, and I just hit the dull parts head on. Why deny them.<br /><br /><i>Cousin Bette</i> has my favorite line in all of Balzac: "'[S]he costs me a hundred and ninety-two thousand francs a year!' cried Hulot." Such precision.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-25041247866059643342016-05-14T11:18:40.733-05:002016-05-14T11:18:40.733-05:00I haven't read much Balzac but I did read this...I haven't read much Balzac but I did read this collection when it came out; I thought <i>The Red Inn</i> and <i>Gobseck</i> were particularly good and I agree with you that <i>The Duchess de Langeais</i> was quite dull—in fact I found it a real chore to get through.<br /><br />I intend reading more Balzac but he's not an author I like enough to want to read everything. <i>Cousin Bette</i> will probably be my next one as I have a copy here and it generally gets praised. Jonathanhttps://bulbynorman.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-79981834478748144512016-05-13T20:01:19.680-05:002016-05-13T20:01:19.680-05:00There was a Yahoo group a few years ago that embar...There was a Yahoo group a few years ago that embarked on a read through of The Human Comedy. They had a well reasoned set of suggestions for reading order.Mel uhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08714473754458914681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-10165579587260177372016-05-13T09:12:20.349-05:002016-05-13T09:12:20.349-05:00Yes, "The Atheist's Mass" (in the Pe...Yes, "The Atheist's Mass" (in the Penguin collection) - hey, that one is all about inner lives and hidden depths. Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-19435356909519189022016-05-13T08:58:07.180-05:002016-05-13T08:58:07.180-05:00I'm very fond of the short story "The Ath...I'm very fond of the short story "The Atheist's Mass"-- it's sweet in a way you don't expect from Balzac. Agreed that Pere Goriot is great. mayareadsbookshttp://mayareadsbooks.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-82141468120517032142016-05-13T08:43:33.379-05:002016-05-13T08:43:33.379-05:00The Flaubertian critique is that Balzac was not wo...The Flaubertian critique is that Balzac was not worried <i>enough</i> about surfaces. Too many big generalities, too many clichés. Not <i>enough</i> furniture.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-32577057646096498582016-05-13T00:16:39.676-05:002016-05-13T00:16:39.676-05:00You have far greater patience and perseverance tha...You have far greater patience and perseverance than I! Whenever I think of Balzac, I think of that Woody Allen line – “As Balzac said, there goes another novel!”<br /><br />I read about a half dozen or so Balzac novels many years ago, and agree that “Le Père Goriot” is the best of them. There is certainly a great vigour in his writing, and I’ve often wondered why it is I haven’t been tempted back for more. It is possibly because (and you will probably disagree with me here) Balzac was fascinated by surfaces, and rarely looked into what may lie under them. With his characters, what you see is what you get: there are no hidden depths. <br /><br />Balzac was very good at depicting social structures, the privilege of social status and of wealth, and so on: he knew exactly how much his characters earned, how much they spent, how their houses were furnished, how they dressed, how much all of it cost, etc. But he doesn’t always seem interested in inner lives. When we are taken inside a character’s head, nothing they think surprises us: their internal thoughts are usually no different from what you’d expect from their external appearance. We are carried along by the vigour of the forward movement, and the narrative momentum; we admire Balzac’s understanding of how society is structured, how it all works; but, apart from certain scenes – such as old Goriot’s deathbed scene, which is wonderful – this is not really what satisfies me these days. Then again, I’m not entirely sure myself what *does* satisfy me…<br />The Argumentative Old Githttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09583407462940146876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-30410852860047652142016-05-12T23:10:34.104-05:002016-05-12T23:10:34.104-05:00The opening, the description of the boarding house...The opening, the description of the boarding house - Balzac at his best. The ending - Balzac at a different kind of best.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-78213060062683238132016-05-12T22:58:54.615-05:002016-05-12T22:58:54.615-05:00tx for the comeback. i don't read French and ...tx for the comeback. i don't read French and i have a copy of "Pere Goriot", so i guess i'll start with that...Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-3999497200457649562016-05-12T21:52:52.228-05:002016-05-12T21:52:52.228-05:00In French there are lists. I have copied them int...In French there are lists. I have copied them into spreadsheets and have my own with the 39 titles I have read, chronological by publication, not by period, which would be interesting.<br /><br />I think the issue is that Balzac's fiction is more like a web or a woods. I would not say "start anywhere," not at all, but there are two dozen good ways into the maze.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-72193359124275297862016-05-12T17:42:57.854-05:002016-05-12T17:42:57.854-05:00Is Gobseck in the NYRB collection? it's such ...Is Gobseck in the NYRB collection? it's such a vast subject, the canon, i mean, that i'm a bit surprised someone hasn't published a list of all titles with the order in which they should be read. might be a life-time project, though...Mudpuddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17194891656971454279noreply@blogger.com