French Author Spotlight: Balzac
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- Опубликовано: 23 июл 2024
- A brief introduction to Honoré de Balzac and his "Comédie Humaine cycle"
--Books Mentioned--
Old Man Goriot: www.amazon.com/Old-Man-Goriot...
The Quest of the Absolute: archive.org/stream/questabsol...
The Wild Ass’s Skin: www.amazon.com/Wild-Asss-Skin...
Colonel Chabert: www.amazon.com/Colonel-Chaber...
--Follow Me Elsewhere--
My Literature Blog: litexplore.com
Twitter: / medievalreader
Goodreads: / fariba
Unfortunately, all English translations of “La Recherche de l’Absolu” are either facsimiles or self-published reprints. A free and legal online version is available through archive.org (link in the description). The books that make up the “Comédie Humaine” do not need to be read in order. The most famous ones are available in English.
You're awesome
Balzac is the Shakespeare of the novel.
Reminds me Jeremy Taylor is said to be the Shakespeare of Prose.
Your swelling intensity while you were describing Colonel Chabert and overall mannerisms are charming. This is the exact type of vibrant overview I was hoping to see before opening my first Balzac. I'm very excited to have found out about your channel tonight. Thank you.
So glad I’ve found this channel! You are awesome.
Fantastic video! I just bought my first Balzac novel (Old Man Goriot) and came to RUclips for an introductory video, and this was exactly what I was looking for!
A wonderful introductory video! Very well done!
You're awesome! Good overview on Balzac, quite a daunting challenge to read his work in french and such a huge cycle of novels that make up La Comédie Humaine.
Very nice thank you! The Quest of the Absolute sounds super interesting. They all sound awesome.
This was so interesting to watch and you speak so thoughtfully. I know so little about Balzac but I often see him quoted places. I like the sounds of his novels from what you've said, especially the social commentary element. Thanks for bringing him more to my attention. Lucy
The social commentary element is one of the best parts of Balzac's works. That and his brilliant descriptions.
Girl, you did a great work giving a taste about the richly human literature of Balzac. I just happen to finish reading La Peau de chagrin. Like you, I read four of his work, except that I went for Eugénie Grandet instead of la Recherche de l’Absolu. I agree that le Colonel Chabert is the most intense and heartbreaking of them all. Shows how cruel society can get when it’s about money and interest. Thank you for the video! I can feel your passion for literature through your voice and your facial expressions. Looking forward to seeing other videos
I have never read anything by Balzac but I want to now! They sound amazing.
He doesn't get the credit in the English-speaking world that he deserves, he should be considered on the level of Dante and Shakespeare
Thanks
Just discovered your channel after finishing Pere Goriot and doing a random RUclips search for more discussion of his work--thanks for your explanation of his historical context and for introducing me to some of his lesser-known (in English) works. “La Recherche de l’Absolu” sounds kinda sci-fi-ish... not the kind of plot I would've expected from a social realist. Thanks for the awesome analysis!
Thank you for a wonderful explanation!
Brilliant video, very informative. Thank you!
You are excellent! Thank you! Subscribed.
well, thank you! :)
Thanks for the talk, it makes me think that part of the enjoyment in Balzac IS reading everything because he seems to accomplished an amazing feat through his œuvre. I have only read excerpts of e. Grandie, and another one I’m blanking on, where he (main character] is a writer and commenting about the people he sees in the streets, and chabert, which I intend to read more closely when time permits. Looking forward to more about French lit from you and what e,se you do in the world!
Terrific presentation!
You are a great discovery. Thanks for your very informative talk. You would definitely be suited to teaching .
Great video! I read Pere Goriot for a class on 19th century France in undergrad, and I really enjoyed it. I should definitely pick up another of his books.
I know that Eugenie Grandet is pretty popular. I haven't read it though.
I loved your talk. I am just starting to read Piketty's Capital et Idéologie. On pp. 29-30 he gives immense praise, as he did in his first great book, Capital in the C21st , to Balzac and Jane Austen, as conoisseurs of wealth and its inner secret life. Vautrin's speech in Père Goriot, which was very important in " Capital " is briefly mentioned again. I read Goriot last year just to find out what Thomas Piketty was talking about in his studies of the growing inequality in our world. Thanks again
i love balzac...it was in the summer of 1978 that i picked up a book ...cousin bette from a book store...guy next to me says it is a good book...so i buy it and i read it all....i was hooked....went back and bought all the novels about 30 in all...read them all....great story weave od so many personnas who appear in almost all stories and its all very well arranged ....the charecters are fantastic....balzac is a genuis no doubt about that...it is amazing that i cant find the english traselation of the complete works of balzac,,,,zola is also good......but blzac is the best...
Reading Père Goriot alongside Graham Robb’s biography of B. Thanks for your video. 🇫🇷
I’ve wanted to read something by Balzac for so long so thank you for this fantastic introduction! The only think I knew about him before was that he used to drink a ton of coffee. We actually have a Starbucks-like coffee shop chain in Germany that’s called Balzac Coffee hahaha
I just can't believe that Balzac drank 50 cups a day! Is that even possible?
I googled that the other day and apparently it's something no one can really verify haha but what I read also said that he did drink some really strong coffee but in much smaller cups than we consider normal today
I've only read Cousin Bette. I really enjoyed it. He on my list to read more of.
Thanks for introducing Balzac!
I don't understand why he is not more generally appreciated.
I read both La peau de chagrin and Le colonel Chabert at college and thought they were excellent. I always wanted to read more - I recall starting Le lys dans la vallée but couldn't really get into it - and perhaps I shall some day. The most memorable part of Chabert is an early scene where the protagonist has survived the battle, but has been thrown into a giant mass grave and has to claw his way out. A few years later I met a Jewish guy who had had to claw his way out of a corpse pit in Buchenwald in early 1945. Both images have lingered in the shadows of my mind ever since.
Always a pleasure to come across an Balzac fan! I've read most of his works over the past 10 years! He has the best insight into human nature, love and the human soul. Lost Illusions and A Harlot High and Low tells the story of the poet Lucien de Rubempré ! Highly suggest it! Vautrin from Pere Goriot is also a major character in it! The History of Thirteen! Three short but awesome novels! And Louis Lambert is his autobiographical fictional work! It's highly metaphysical though, but gives details about his childhood and schooling! Anything Balzac is worth a read. Sometimes he can be too violent with details though... it comes off as pedantic! But its Balzac! Have to appreciate the genius!
Ball sack
I'm starting La peau de chagrin just today. A little Balzac content is always welcome to me thanks! I read Le père Goriot twice, Eugénie Grandet (loved it), Les Illusions perdues (one of my favorite books), Une fille d'Eve, Le Lys dans la vallée, La duchesse de Langeais and many short stories. I love the short story called Une double famille. Have you read the biography Zweig made of Balzac? It's truely brilliant and very emotional. I hope im gonna love La peau de chagrin as much as his other works ^^
Enjoyed your discussion and looking forward to reading Balzac. ( i was always intimidated by French authors). Also, would be interested to get your opinion on some of the “me too” occurring in today’s French literary society. I wonder what Balzac would say.
The Black Sheep is a wonderful novel as well. Perhaps it does not have the same level of social commentary or the rich characters of some of his other books; rather it has a propulsive plot and quite a bit of action. I have only read a few Balzac books but will certainly read more. Thank you!
I read Pere Goriot at age 7 and continued reading the whole Human Comedy...finishing about age 22 in college...so you could say he's had a large effect on my life here in America
What are some of your favorite s
Le Père Goriot is my favourite Balzac so far, but Le Colonel Chabert is not far behind 😊
Great Madam you are, Thank you Madam.
I have the complete collection, his entire bibliography, that I intend on tackling soon.
This is great! Thank you.
I've only read The Black Sleep & Lost Illusions. But I've been fascinated with him and his writing since reading Stefan Zweig's amazing biography of Balzac. It's fascinating how messy Balzac's life was.
Zweig wrote a bio of Balzac? I read two of his bios and I really enjoyed them.
I am reading Prometheus' biography by Graham Robb these days.
I've read most of the NYRB collection of his stories and they're OK but they didn't inspire me to read more. I love the mentality of authors of the late 18th and early 19th century.
I have heard about a story written by him in which a gypsie women would give birth to a dwarf.can someone please tell me what is the title of that short story ?
Hi fariba this is Sarah
I want to start reading Balzac but dont know where to start with .could u tell me how should I go about balzac?
Hi Sarah. I recommend starting with Le Père Goriot. It’s the one most of us start with because it explores themes that appear in his other work. I particularly recommend it to readers who like The Great Gatsby.
@@thefrancophilereader8943 thanks fariba
@3:09 who is "he" in the context you're elaborating about?
Zola
GODFATHER
Hello dear Mademoiselle... I'm so happy to find your channel 😍
cousin bette!
Your accent in both French and English is stunning
BALLSACK OMFG LOL 😂
No its Balzac
@@joseluiscapote4623
B
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@@johncarlberg4481 NO!!!! "zak" "ZAK" Z .A .K
@@johncarlberg4481 you jack ass,did you comment on my video
@@joseluiscapote4623 Y e e s
Balzack
Hehehehe
Ballsac lol
Ballsack lol
deep
Smelly nutbag
The real crime was being named balzac
Balsac
Lost Ilusions is a very good book but by the and he became soooo... borin. Pere Goriot is the best book od Balzac. ''Shkeqlimi dhe mjerimi i kurtizianeve'' sorry Im from Albania and I don't know how this book's name is translatet in English, it is a really good book, but boring by the end. Eugenie Grandet also is good.
Your video would have been more meaningful if you had said everything within 5 minutes. It's difficult to watch a video which is 11 minutes long.