A Harlot High and Low

I just had to find out what happened to Lucien, when he was so mysteriously (and admittedly, a bit too miraculously) saved from suicide at the end of Illusions Perdues. This is the place to find it. The interesting thing is that Lucien is not the principal player here: it is an equally mysterious mentor, whose identity and methods are revealed as the plot thickens. Another character is the "harlot" from the title in English, which misconstrues the character of the novel. She is Esther, who is Lucien's true love, whom he uplifts from prostitution to install as his secret mistress. There is also Nucingen, the Jewish banker whom Balzac despises (from the novel of the same name), and several wily spies. I must say that, though I love Balzac, this novel wore a bit thin on me: it has too many unlikely coincidences and is crowned with a cynicism in the surprise ending that stretched way beyond what I could believe, even when taking into account the French judicial system. That being said, Balzac offers a wonderful tour of the underbelly of the life of the scheming courtesan: without revealing too much of the plot, having given up on art, Lucien is trying to enter the aristocracy as a diplomat with the rank of Marquise. But to do so, he had to marry the right woman, buy his ancestral grounds, and somehow pose as a dandy when he is in fact flat broke. One pole of the plot revolves around the maneuvering of his mentor, who proves himself exceptionally cunning, the other around Lucien's true love. Needless to say, there are betrayals, hidden enemies, and ruthless manipulations that destroy oh-so-many lives. In the end, it is mostly sad, except for...well, you have to read it to believe it! The view of the aristocracy in this one is rather oblique as they play behind the scenes, while I expected them to play center stage.If there is one thing to sum up Balzac, it could be this: there is one chapter entitled, "boring chapter to explain four years of happiness" in which Lucien in love is portrayed. When I told my wife that it was winding down, she replied: "don't you mean it is grinding down?" As usual, you need a strong stomach for this one. I got bored by the middle, at the height of all the unbearably sleazy maneuvering, but the last 200 pages really picked up the pace. To wit: I enjoyed the characters hurtling toward destruction in this one, which is usually the opposite: I prefer their hopes and hate their falls, except in the case of Lucien.

I was hungry for this book for months after the end of Lost Illusions, which concluded saying that Luciens life in Paris would be continued in Scenes from Paris Life, obviously an abstract title to the Paris series of the Human Comedy. Finially I found it. This read much faster than Lost Illusions. There was more action packed into fewer pages, which really quenched my thirst for all the characters that I knew from Balzacs other novels and their going ons about Paris. This novel epitomizes Balzacs gossipy toned, money ridden, scandelous style . If you are daunted by the heavy and lengthy discriptions that fill so many substantially sized French novels, this is definitly an unintimidating enjoyable read! As juicy as the most scandelous TV show, although it may cheapen such fine writing to make a comparison like that!

One of Balzac's greatest, a safari through the pitiless society of his time. Exquisite description, characters drawn both to scale and larger than life, and a rollercoaster plot . If you are diappointed in the ending, don't read any of his others as it is always the same : life goes on.

This book chronicling the lives of an up and coming minor noble, a harlot, and a "faux" priest/arch-criminal has some of the best character development I have seen. The plot is so convoluted and strange that it seems implausible. However, stranger things have happened! I was disappointed in the ending but still enjoyed the book