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La Comédie Humaine #55
La muchacha de los ojos de oro
It is in the Tuileries, just outside the Cafe des Feuillants, that Henri de Marsay first catches sight of the girl with the golden eyes and can almost believe in love. Haunted by her shimmery image, returning daily to the Tuileries for another glimpse of her dark beauty, he learns her name - Paquita Valdes - and discovers her address. But a fairy-tale princess has never been more inaccessibly locked in a tower as has Paquita in a mansion on the Rue Saint-Lazare. Vowing conquest, Henri de Marsay elaborately plots his seduction of the girl with the golden eyes, but with his sensual triumph comes the bitter revelation that he has a powerful rival for the love of Paquita - the Marquise de San-Real, his own half-sister. A cry of vengeance and the call of blood bring Balzac's taut exploration of the dark side of Parisian society in this novella from his trilogy, History of the Thirteen, to its unexpected if inevitable end.
120 pages
First published January 1, 1833
134 people are currently reading
2766 people want to read
About the author
Honoré de Balzac
9,538 books4,364 followersFrench writer Honoré de Balzac (born Honoré Balzac), a founder of the realist school of fiction, portrayed the panorama of society in a body of works, known collectively as
La comédie humaine
.
Honoré de Balzac authored 19th-century novels and plays. After the fall of Napoléon in 1815, his magnum opus, a sequence of almost a hundred novels and plays, entitled, presents life in the years.
Due to keen observation of fine detail and unfiltered representation, European literature regards Balzac. He features renowned multifaceted, even complex, morally ambiguous, full lesser characters. Character well imbues inanimate objects; the city of Paris, a backdrop, takes on many qualities. He influenced many famous authors, including the novelists Marcel Proust, Émile Zola, Charles John Huffam Dickens, Gustave Flaubert, Henry James, and Jack Kerouac as well as important philosophers, such as Friedrich Engels. Many works of Balzac, made into films, continue to inspire.
An enthusiastic reader and independent thinker as a child, Balzac adapted with trouble to the teaching style of his grammar. His willful nature caused trouble throughout his life and frustrated his ambitions to succeed in the world of business. Balzac finished, and people then apprenticed him as a legal clerk, but after wearying of banal routine, he turned his back on law. He attempted a publisher, printer, businessman, critic, and politician before and during his career. He failed in these efforts From his own experience, he reflects life difficulties and includes scenes.
Possibly due to his intense schedule and from health problems, Balzac suffered throughout his life. Financial and personal drama often strained his relationship with his family, and he lost more than one friend over critical reviews. In 1850, he married Ewelina Hańska, his longtime paramour; five months later, he passed away.
Honoré de Balzac authored 19th-century novels and plays. After the fall of Napoléon in 1815, his magnum opus, a sequence of almost a hundred novels and plays, entitled, presents life in the years.
Due to keen observation of fine detail and unfiltered representation, European literature regards Balzac. He features renowned multifaceted, even complex, morally ambiguous, full lesser characters. Character well imbues inanimate objects; the city of Paris, a backdrop, takes on many qualities. He influenced many famous authors, including the novelists Marcel Proust, Émile Zola, Charles John Huffam Dickens, Gustave Flaubert, Henry James, and Jack Kerouac as well as important philosophers, such as Friedrich Engels. Many works of Balzac, made into films, continue to inspire.
An enthusiastic reader and independent thinker as a child, Balzac adapted with trouble to the teaching style of his grammar. His willful nature caused trouble throughout his life and frustrated his ambitions to succeed in the world of business. Balzac finished, and people then apprenticed him as a legal clerk, but after wearying of banal routine, he turned his back on law. He attempted a publisher, printer, businessman, critic, and politician before and during his career. He failed in these efforts From his own experience, he reflects life difficulties and includes scenes.
Possibly due to his intense schedule and from health problems, Balzac suffered throughout his life. Financial and personal drama often strained his relationship with his family, and he lost more than one friend over critical reviews. In 1850, he married Ewelina Hańska, his longtime paramour; five months later, he passed away.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 237 reviews
August 30, 2021
Placer y oro. En estas dos palabras se apoya Honoré de Balzac para pertrechar esta pequeña novelita sobre el acalorado amor fugaz entre Henri de Marsay y una voluptuosa aunque virginal señorita de pupilas doradas llamada Paquita Valdez.
Pero antes de que Balzac nos cuente todo lo referente a este apasionado affaire, nos introducirá durante todo el primer capítulo (la novela consta de tres) en una ciudad de París cien por ciento realista. Atrás quedaron los dorados años del Romanticismo en donde los jóvenes se suicidaban por culpa de las penas que les producían los amores no correspondidos.
Ahora la situación es otra. Francia está dominada por la frivolidad, la carrera por trepar en el poder pisando cabezas, lo único que interesa es el status social y los matrimonios por imposición familiar porque así debe ser. Balzac destila ironía, sordidez y un humor muy ácido acerca de la burguesía y el proletariado y para ello define claramente a la todas las clases sociales sin distinción ni remordimientos.
Es que de eso se trata el realismo.
Las cosas como son. Las utopías, el panteísmo y la divinidad del arte quedan de lado. El hombre es lo que posee. Todo es frío y los sentimientos… bueno, los sentimientos afloran cuando pueden.
Ni siquiera la historia entre Henri y Paquita, más allá de ser muy, pero muy apasionada hacia el final del libro alcanza para posicionar al amor en el sitial que ubicaban los románticos. Todos los personajes se basan en intereses creados, algo que se percibe mucho también en Eugénie Grandet.
Todo es efímero. Con grandes dosis de pasión desenfrenada, pero fugaz al fin. Luego, la vida vuelve a la normalidad como si nada hubiera pasado. Las últimas líneas de este novela lo comprueban.
Hice una relectura de esta novela casi cuatro años después la primera con el aliciente especial de que está traducida por Cristina Piña, quien fuera mi profesora de Introducción a la Literatura y Teoría y Crítica Literarias, en la época que fui estudiante de Licenciatura en Letras con lo cual el sigo atesorando un placer inmenso cada vez que recuerdo esa maravillosa época de oro como estudiante de letras.
Pero antes de que Balzac nos cuente todo lo referente a este apasionado affaire, nos introducirá durante todo el primer capítulo (la novela consta de tres) en una ciudad de París cien por ciento realista. Atrás quedaron los dorados años del Romanticismo en donde los jóvenes se suicidaban por culpa de las penas que les producían los amores no correspondidos.
Ahora la situación es otra. Francia está dominada por la frivolidad, la carrera por trepar en el poder pisando cabezas, lo único que interesa es el status social y los matrimonios por imposición familiar porque así debe ser. Balzac destila ironía, sordidez y un humor muy ácido acerca de la burguesía y el proletariado y para ello define claramente a la todas las clases sociales sin distinción ni remordimientos.
Es que de eso se trata el realismo.
Las cosas como son. Las utopías, el panteísmo y la divinidad del arte quedan de lado. El hombre es lo que posee. Todo es frío y los sentimientos… bueno, los sentimientos afloran cuando pueden.
Ni siquiera la historia entre Henri y Paquita, más allá de ser muy, pero muy apasionada hacia el final del libro alcanza para posicionar al amor en el sitial que ubicaban los románticos. Todos los personajes se basan en intereses creados, algo que se percibe mucho también en Eugénie Grandet.
Todo es efímero. Con grandes dosis de pasión desenfrenada, pero fugaz al fin. Luego, la vida vuelve a la normalidad como si nada hubiera pasado. Las últimas líneas de este novela lo comprueban.
Hice una relectura de esta novela casi cuatro años después la primera con el aliciente especial de que está traducida por Cristina Piña, quien fuera mi profesora de Introducción a la Literatura y Teoría y Crítica Literarias, en la época que fui estudiante de Licenciatura en Letras con lo cual el sigo atesorando un placer inmenso cada vez que recuerdo esa maravillosa época de oro como estudiante de letras.
March 2, 2023
El primer capítulo de esta novela es una proeza literaria. Balzac hace un retrato perfecto de la sociedad parisina, de la búsqueda del placer y la insensibilidad.
Una novela con tintes eróticos, de pasiones humanas, un final abrupto y estremecedor, donde no gobierna el sentimiento y es superado por la vanidad.
Una novela con tintes eróticos, de pasiones humanas, un final abrupto y estremecedor, donde no gobierna el sentimiento y es superado por la vanidad.
September 8, 2020
The One Where Balzac's Girlfriend Has Dumped Him And He's Been Reading The Thousand And One Nights And He Suddenly Realises How He Should Have Got Even With The Fucking Bitch.
April 7, 2024
This tale is of a chaotic romanticism, a fascinating love brooding in the nooks of an oriental boudoir. It's like an orientalist painting by Delacroix.
All the ingredients of a sulfurous novel are there: brothel, heady perfumes, fiercely obedient mulatto servant, judge-mother-mackerel with incomprehensible language, said mistress with a sharp dagger. And, in the center of this poisonous and aphrodisiac setting, the golden-eyed courtesan, of course, the beautiful Paquita Valdès, whose dandy of Marsay falls in love and wants to sleep on the list of his conquests.
Balzac's audacity is astonishing: sapphic loves, surprising and almost incestuous love rivalries, erotic slavery, and deleterious libertinism. Don't throw any more; the alcove is full!
The story must be frightened of its audacity: a little hasty and sloppy construction can make miss a few pearls; there is enough to lose the north in this strange caravanserai.
But the charm of Balzac-style, shimmering, opulent, and nevertheless tinged with rich irony, saves from the implausibility and excess of this tale a little peppery and not consistently well-crafted.
All the ingredients of a sulfurous novel are there: brothel, heady perfumes, fiercely obedient mulatto servant, judge-mother-mackerel with incomprehensible language, said mistress with a sharp dagger. And, in the center of this poisonous and aphrodisiac setting, the golden-eyed courtesan, of course, the beautiful Paquita Valdès, whose dandy of Marsay falls in love and wants to sleep on the list of his conquests.
Balzac's audacity is astonishing: sapphic loves, surprising and almost incestuous love rivalries, erotic slavery, and deleterious libertinism. Don't throw any more; the alcove is full!
The story must be frightened of its audacity: a little hasty and sloppy construction can make miss a few pearls; there is enough to lose the north in this strange caravanserai.
But the charm of Balzac-style, shimmering, opulent, and nevertheless tinged with rich irony, saves from the implausibility and excess of this tale a little peppery and not consistently well-crafted.
September 10, 2023
Questo racconto lungo di Honoré de Balzac [1799-1850] scritto nel 1833 non è a mio parere tra i migliori di questo autore: l’atmosfera misteriosa da “mille e una notte” che avvolge inizialmente la “ragazza dagli occhi d’oro” Paquita Valdes e spinge il ricchissimo e seducente libertino Henri de Marsay alla sua “conquista”, rivelerà nel finale situazioni tragiche e il sipario calerà brutalmente nell’indifferenza del protagonista.
Racconto inizialmente affascinante e romantico, impregnato di atmosfere orientali, si veste successivamente di mistero e tragedia per concludersi nell’insensibilità.
Racconto inizialmente affascinante e romantico, impregnato di atmosfere orientali, si veste successivamente di mistero e tragedia per concludersi nell’insensibilità.
January 18, 2025
Eros e Thanatos
Ho comprato questo libro ad un mercatino senza sapere che La Fille Aux Yeux D'Or non è un racconto a sé stante ma l’ultimo dei tre raccolti ne La storia dei tredici (“Scene di vita parigina”).
Un progetto interessante in cui, HdB introduce tredici personaggi ricorrenti nelle tre novelle.
Sono persone molto differenti come classe sociale, ideali ecc, ma che hanno stretto una sorta di alleanza per cui si aiutano a vicenda nel momento del bisogno.
La fanciulla dagli occhi d'oro può essere letto come racconto autonomo ma – alla luce di questo progetto narrativo- perde sicuramente molta della sua forza.
Il libro è diviso in tre capitoli.
Il primo (Fisionomie parigine) presenta Parigi che come una bolgia infernale è popolata da terribili esseri:
” Basteranno poche parole per giustificare fisiologicamente il colore quasi infernale delle facce dei parigini, perché non è soltanto scherzosamente che Parigi è stata chiamata un inferno1.
È una definizione che va presa sul serio. A Parigi tutto è fumo, fuoco, tutto brilla, bolle, s’arroventa, svapora. In nessun altro luogo la vita è così ardente e così bruciante. Questa sostanza sociale sempre a temperatura di fusione sembra esclamare, appena terminato un lavoro: «Al prossimo!», così come lo dice la natura.”
Seguono pagine in cui ogni categoria sociale - proletari ai nobili- viene presentata senza pietà. Ambizione, sete di denaro sono le forze che spingono e sospingono le classi sociali in una città così grandiosa da essere contenitore di forze opposte.
Gli altri due capitoli (”Una fortuna straordinaria” e la ”La forza del sangue”) entrano nel vivo della storia.
Protagonista principale è un bellissimo dandy:
Henri de Marsay (personaggio che ritorna ne “Le illusioni perdute”).
Abituato ad ottenere tutto ci che desidera, si incaponisce nella conquista di una bellissima ragazza dagli occhi d’oro.
Non facile parlarle né tanto meno avvicinarla.
Gli stratagemmi per un appuntamento sono audaci e de Marsay si troverà coinvolto ben presto in una torbida storia..
Come sempre una meravigliosa penna di Balzac ma credo che “La storia dei tredici” debba essere letta nella sua completezza per cogliere un significa complessivo più soddisfacente.
” Paquita gli sembrò preoccupata da qualcosa che non era lui stesso, come una donna sotto gli impulsi della passione o del rimorso. Forse nel suo cuore era presente un altro amore che ogni tanto le tornava alla memoria. Henri fu assalito da mille pensieri contraddittorii. La fanciulla diventò per lui un mistero; ma, contemplandola con l’attenzione sagace dell’uomo esperto, desideroso di nuovi piaceri, come quel re d’Oriente, il quale voleva che s’inventasse per lui una voluttà nuova, orribile sete da cui son presi gli animi forti.”
Ho comprato questo libro ad un mercatino senza sapere che La Fille Aux Yeux D'Or non è un racconto a sé stante ma l’ultimo dei tre raccolti ne La storia dei tredici (“Scene di vita parigina”).
Un progetto interessante in cui, HdB introduce tredici personaggi ricorrenti nelle tre novelle.
Sono persone molto differenti come classe sociale, ideali ecc, ma che hanno stretto una sorta di alleanza per cui si aiutano a vicenda nel momento del bisogno.
La fanciulla dagli occhi d'oro può essere letto come racconto autonomo ma – alla luce di questo progetto narrativo- perde sicuramente molta della sua forza.
Il libro è diviso in tre capitoli.
Il primo (Fisionomie parigine) presenta Parigi che come una bolgia infernale è popolata da terribili esseri:
” Basteranno poche parole per giustificare fisiologicamente il colore quasi infernale delle facce dei parigini, perché non è soltanto scherzosamente che Parigi è stata chiamata un inferno1.
È una definizione che va presa sul serio. A Parigi tutto è fumo, fuoco, tutto brilla, bolle, s’arroventa, svapora. In nessun altro luogo la vita è così ardente e così bruciante. Questa sostanza sociale sempre a temperatura di fusione sembra esclamare, appena terminato un lavoro: «Al prossimo!», così come lo dice la natura.”
Seguono pagine in cui ogni categoria sociale - proletari ai nobili- viene presentata senza pietà. Ambizione, sete di denaro sono le forze che spingono e sospingono le classi sociali in una città così grandiosa da essere contenitore di forze opposte.
Gli altri due capitoli (”Una fortuna straordinaria” e la ”La forza del sangue”) entrano nel vivo della storia.
Protagonista principale è un bellissimo dandy:
Henri de Marsay (personaggio che ritorna ne “Le illusioni perdute”).
Abituato ad ottenere tutto ci che desidera, si incaponisce nella conquista di una bellissima ragazza dagli occhi d’oro.
Non facile parlarle né tanto meno avvicinarla.
Gli stratagemmi per un appuntamento sono audaci e de Marsay si troverà coinvolto ben presto in una torbida storia..
Come sempre una meravigliosa penna di Balzac ma credo che “La storia dei tredici” debba essere letta nella sua completezza per cogliere un significa complessivo più soddisfacente.
” Paquita gli sembrò preoccupata da qualcosa che non era lui stesso, come una donna sotto gli impulsi della passione o del rimorso. Forse nel suo cuore era presente un altro amore che ogni tanto le tornava alla memoria. Henri fu assalito da mille pensieri contraddittorii. La fanciulla diventò per lui un mistero; ma, contemplandola con l’attenzione sagace dell’uomo esperto, desideroso di nuovi piaceri, come quel re d’Oriente, il quale voleva che s’inventasse per lui una voluttà nuova, orribile sete da cui son presi gli animi forti.”
October 9, 2012
Blah. First off, this begins with 30 pages which describe all of the ways Paris is terrible. As far as that goes, it has very little to do with the story. Henri is such a ridiculously one-dimensional and aggravating character. Actually, maybe not one dimensional, as he changes his character's way of being without rhyme or reason several times during the novel. His way of thinking is completely irrational, and the "love" and "passion" that he feel is more grotesque than anything else. If this is what Balzac was going for, than he got it.
The whole story is a little lacking in depth. Oh, these two random people see each other twice and decide to risk both of their lives in order to have a brief tryst that is completely meaningless to at least one of them. Then, the golden-eyed girl gets killed by her master. How that master knew what had happened withHenri, there is no telling.
And then this ridiculous ending.
Not very entertaining or interesting, though it does have a couple of well written sentences, for which I gave it one star more.
The whole story is a little lacking in depth. Oh, these two random people see each other twice and decide to risk both of their lives in order to have a brief tryst that is completely meaningless to at least one of them. Then, the golden-eyed girl gets killed by her master. How that master knew what had happened withHenri, there is no telling.
And then this ridiculous ending.
Not very entertaining or interesting, though it does have a couple of well written sentences, for which I gave it one star more.
December 24, 2018
Üniversite yıllarımda okuduğum Goriot Baba haricinde Balzac’la ilgili hiçbir fikrim yoktu. İki ay önce bir dostumun davetiyle Ankara’da Balzac okumaları yapmak üzere toplanacak bir gruba dahil oldum. Langeais Düşesi ve Altın Gözlü Kız grupla okuduğumuz ilk iki kitap.
Döneminde çok sükse yapmış, realist romanının öncüsü ilginç bir yazar Balzac. Hayatı iniş çıkışlarla dolu, kadınlarla ilişkisi sancılı, lükse ve yemeğe düşkün, toplumsal meselelere kafa yormuş, ölümüne kahve içerek yaşama veda etmiş biri. Büyük ihtimal planladığı büyük eserini bitiremeyeceğini biliyordu, sürekli borç içinde yaşadı, lüks yaşantısını karşılayabilmek ve borçlarını ödeyebilmek için gündüzlerini harcarken, günde 40 fincan kahve içerek yazarlığını devam ettirdi.
Cemil Meriç’e göre dünyada romanın kaderini çizen Balzac, 51 yaşına kadar 97 roman yazmasına rağmen İnsanlık Komedyası adını verdiği külliyatını tamamlayamadan öldü. Hemen hepsi Paris’te geçen ve Fransız toplumundan yola çıkarak insanlığın tüm katmanlarını sığdırdığı romanlarının her biri İnsanlık Komedyasının bölümleri.
Langeais Düşesi, Altın Gözlü Kız ve Ferragus da külliyatın içinden Onüçlerin Romanı adını verdiği üçleme. Bu kitaplarda sadece üstünkörü olarak değinilen Onüçler, Paris’teki soylu sınıftan genç erkeklerden oluşan ve birbirlerine bağlılık yemini etmiş bir çete. Romanların en kritik noktasında olaylara müdahale edip düğümlerin çözülmesine katkıda bulunuyorlar.
Altın Gözlü Kız, Cemil Meriç çevirisiyle İletişim Yayınları tarafından basılmış. Kitabın başında Mahmut Ali Meriç’in babası Cemil Meriç’in Balzac’la ilişkisine dair bir sunuş ve Cemil Meriç’in önsözü var. Roman kitabın yarısında başlıyor ve hepi topu 87 sayfa.
Bu kısa romanın ilk bölümünde Balzac kendi ağzından Paris toplum yaşantısının panaromasını yazmış. Bu bölümde Dante’nin cehennem katmanlarına referanslar var. En altta hayatta kalabilmek için en kötü koşullarda çalışan işçiler, sonra burjuvazi, soylu sınıfın yardakçısı, vicdanlarını ikinci plana atmaya meyilli entellektüeller ve sanatçılar, en üstte de aristokratlar. Bu halk Balzac’a göre “ölü siması taşıyan” maskelerden ibaret. “Zaaf, kuvvet, neşe ve riya maskeleri; hepsi de bitkin, hepsi de nefes nefese bir hırsın silinmez izleriyle damgalıdır. Ne istiyorlar? Altın ve zevk”.
Bu bölüm Altın Gözlü Kız romanının daha büyük bir eserin bir parçası olduğunu hissettiriyor. Zira, öykü kendi başına ele alındığında çok fazla bir şey ifade etmiyor. Onüçlere dahil zevk peşinde koşmaktan başka gayesi olmayan bir aristokrat olan Henry de Marsay ile doğulu köle kız Paquita’nın kısa gönül macerası anlatılıyor. Bu maceranın diyelim, çünkü buna aşk denemez, iki kahramanı da karakter dönüşümlerini tamamlayamamış tiplemelerden ibaret kalıyorlar romanda. Vicdansız aristokrat Henry’nin aşkı değersiz, köle Paquita’nın hayatı koca bir hiç. Romandaki tek yenilik altı fazla çizilmeyen lezbiyen ilişki. Balzac'ın bu konuda yakın dostu George Sand'den esinlendiği teorisi var.
Karakterlerin derinliği açısından Langeais Düşesi bir tık öne geçiyor diyebilirim ama Altın Gözlü Kız’da Cemil Meriç, Balzac’ın dil zenginliğinin izini sürerek Türkçe edebiyata büyük Balzac külliyatın bir parçasını kazandırmış.
Döneminde çok sükse yapmış, realist romanının öncüsü ilginç bir yazar Balzac. Hayatı iniş çıkışlarla dolu, kadınlarla ilişkisi sancılı, lükse ve yemeğe düşkün, toplumsal meselelere kafa yormuş, ölümüne kahve içerek yaşama veda etmiş biri. Büyük ihtimal planladığı büyük eserini bitiremeyeceğini biliyordu, sürekli borç içinde yaşadı, lüks yaşantısını karşılayabilmek ve borçlarını ödeyebilmek için gündüzlerini harcarken, günde 40 fincan kahve içerek yazarlığını devam ettirdi.
Cemil Meriç’e göre dünyada romanın kaderini çizen Balzac, 51 yaşına kadar 97 roman yazmasına rağmen İnsanlık Komedyası adını verdiği külliyatını tamamlayamadan öldü. Hemen hepsi Paris’te geçen ve Fransız toplumundan yola çıkarak insanlığın tüm katmanlarını sığdırdığı romanlarının her biri İnsanlık Komedyasının bölümleri.
Langeais Düşesi, Altın Gözlü Kız ve Ferragus da külliyatın içinden Onüçlerin Romanı adını verdiği üçleme. Bu kitaplarda sadece üstünkörü olarak değinilen Onüçler, Paris’teki soylu sınıftan genç erkeklerden oluşan ve birbirlerine bağlılık yemini etmiş bir çete. Romanların en kritik noktasında olaylara müdahale edip düğümlerin çözülmesine katkıda bulunuyorlar.
Altın Gözlü Kız, Cemil Meriç çevirisiyle İletişim Yayınları tarafından basılmış. Kitabın başında Mahmut Ali Meriç’in babası Cemil Meriç’in Balzac’la ilişkisine dair bir sunuş ve Cemil Meriç’in önsözü var. Roman kitabın yarısında başlıyor ve hepi topu 87 sayfa.
Bu kısa romanın ilk bölümünde Balzac kendi ağzından Paris toplum yaşantısının panaromasını yazmış. Bu bölümde Dante’nin cehennem katmanlarına referanslar var. En altta hayatta kalabilmek için en kötü koşullarda çalışan işçiler, sonra burjuvazi, soylu sınıfın yardakçısı, vicdanlarını ikinci plana atmaya meyilli entellektüeller ve sanatçılar, en üstte de aristokratlar. Bu halk Balzac’a göre “ölü siması taşıyan” maskelerden ibaret. “Zaaf, kuvvet, neşe ve riya maskeleri; hepsi de bitkin, hepsi de nefes nefese bir hırsın silinmez izleriyle damgalıdır. Ne istiyorlar? Altın ve zevk”.
Bu bölüm Altın Gözlü Kız romanının daha büyük bir eserin bir parçası olduğunu hissettiriyor. Zira, öykü kendi başına ele alındığında çok fazla bir şey ifade etmiyor. Onüçlere dahil zevk peşinde koşmaktan başka gayesi olmayan bir aristokrat olan Henry de Marsay ile doğulu köle kız Paquita’nın kısa gönül macerası anlatılıyor. Bu maceranın diyelim, çünkü buna aşk denemez, iki kahramanı da karakter dönüşümlerini tamamlayamamış tiplemelerden ibaret kalıyorlar romanda. Vicdansız aristokrat Henry’nin aşkı değersiz, köle Paquita’nın hayatı koca bir hiç. Romandaki tek yenilik altı fazla çizilmeyen lezbiyen ilişki. Balzac'ın bu konuda yakın dostu George Sand'den esinlendiği teorisi var.
Karakterlerin derinliği açısından Langeais Düşesi bir tık öne geçiyor diyebilirim ama Altın Gözlü Kız’da Cemil Meriç, Balzac’ın dil zenginliğinin izini sürerek Türkçe edebiyata büyük Balzac külliyatın bir parçasını kazandırmış.
December 22, 2011
When I find a person, a book, or an author that I find really interesting, I like to investigate to see what THEY found interesting. That is how I eventually came to Balzac. I had just finished reading Sin in the Second City (a fantastic history of a high class brothel in the early days of Chicago), and it mentioned that the Mistresses of the Everleigh club schooled the prostitutes and many lessons focused on Balzac. I thought that I should look into Balzac myself.
His prose is breathtaking.
This isn’t even recognized as one of his best works. The series is mind-bogglingly huge, and I just randomly picked this one out because it was on Librivox and I didn’t feel like going to the library to borrow a paperback. I was floored. Every word was perfect, profound, heart rending and true. Oh so so true. Perhaps this sounds ridiculous, but the story was lyrical, and symphony of sights and sounds that just stab at you with a sort of sweet pain.
I read something about him that stated he never stopped revising editions, to the great dismay of his editors. I think it such a shame that I don’t speak or read French, because this work was so beautiful in English, that I cannot imagine its perfection in its original language. It reminds me of the Mark Twain quote “The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter--it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”
I fully intend on reading the complete works of Honore de Balzac, and any aspiring writer
or lover of the art of literature should invest some time in him.
Scintillating is a good word to describe this actual story. It’s full of lust, jealousy, deceit, really powerful chaotic emotion. It’s wonderful. Who needs Desperate Housewives? I’ve got BALZAC!
His prose is breathtaking.
This isn’t even recognized as one of his best works. The series is mind-bogglingly huge, and I just randomly picked this one out because it was on Librivox and I didn’t feel like going to the library to borrow a paperback. I was floored. Every word was perfect, profound, heart rending and true. Oh so so true. Perhaps this sounds ridiculous, but the story was lyrical, and symphony of sights and sounds that just stab at you with a sort of sweet pain.
I read something about him that stated he never stopped revising editions, to the great dismay of his editors. I think it such a shame that I don’t speak or read French, because this work was so beautiful in English, that I cannot imagine its perfection in its original language. It reminds me of the Mark Twain quote “The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter--it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”
I fully intend on reading the complete works of Honore de Balzac, and any aspiring writer
or lover of the art of literature should invest some time in him.
Scintillating is a good word to describe this actual story. It’s full of lust, jealousy, deceit, really powerful chaotic emotion. It’s wonderful. Who needs Desperate Housewives? I’ve got BALZAC!
July 8, 2018
One of the most comedic elements of the musical The Music Man is the particular nasty emphasis given to the name of and by extension the books of Honore De Balzac. Ballllzack! Having read this novella, my sympathies are suddenly aligned with the otherwise gossiping ladies of River City.
According to the flap on this nicely printed Art of the Novella Edition of The Girl with the Golden Eyes, Author Honore' De Balzac tended to write "fueled by dozens of cups of coffee." The first quarter of this 120 page book is the product of a caffeine jag. Kids do not do drugs and write novellas .
Thirty pages of gobbledygook, pointless, contradictory and only barely related to a story line that will be thrust at us without so much as a page break. There will be no page breaks as the story is run at us in one continuous text based montage.
Balzac is considered the Father or Realism. Realism AKA Naturalism. Naturalism is supposed to be the honest, if unpleasant truth about reality. At its best it helped to uncover scandalous evils like badly processed foods or slum living. Golden Eyes is a heavily Gothic piece of fiction built around the conventions of a Cassanova type love affair gone tragic, compromised by its admitted relationship to others of this type such as Dangerous Liaisons.
Or protagonist, Henri de Marsay is a dissipated (Read no good-nick) bored Parisian boulevardier. Based on looks and her apparent status as a closely chaperoned innocent Henri conceives a passion for (gets horny for ) The Girl with the Golden Eyes, AKA Paquita. She is of course built for love highly conflicted, ready to believe the crap he sends her in elaborately secret mash notes. She has tragedy written all over her and (again) elaborately guilty unspeakable secrets. Henri, allowing his ego and his gonads to rule manages to ignore countless layers of evidence that he is in way over his head.
Difficult to imagine but the Girl with the Golden Eyes is normally published as the third in a trilogy. It is also part of a larger sequence of books, the La Comédie Humaine.
I say its spinach and to heck with it.
According to the flap on this nicely printed Art of the Novella Edition of The Girl with the Golden Eyes, Author Honore' De Balzac tended to write "fueled by dozens of cups of coffee." The first quarter of this 120 page book is the product of a caffeine jag. Kids do not do drugs and write novellas .
Thirty pages of gobbledygook, pointless, contradictory and only barely related to a story line that will be thrust at us without so much as a page break. There will be no page breaks as the story is run at us in one continuous text based montage.
Balzac is considered the Father or Realism. Realism AKA Naturalism. Naturalism is supposed to be the honest, if unpleasant truth about reality. At its best it helped to uncover scandalous evils like badly processed foods or slum living. Golden Eyes is a heavily Gothic piece of fiction built around the conventions of a Cassanova type love affair gone tragic, compromised by its admitted relationship to others of this type such as Dangerous Liaisons.
Or protagonist, Henri de Marsay is a dissipated (Read no good-nick) bored Parisian boulevardier. Based on looks and her apparent status as a closely chaperoned innocent Henri conceives a passion for (gets horny for ) The Girl with the Golden Eyes, AKA Paquita. She is of course built for love highly conflicted, ready to believe the crap he sends her in elaborately secret mash notes. She has tragedy written all over her and (again) elaborately guilty unspeakable secrets. Henri, allowing his ego and his gonads to rule manages to ignore countless layers of evidence that he is in way over his head.
Difficult to imagine but the Girl with the Golden Eyes is normally published as the third in a trilogy. It is also part of a larger sequence of books, the La Comédie Humaine.
I say its spinach and to heck with it.
October 12, 2012
I taught this novella in my writer's workshop and most of my students could not get through it, but that's a shame. While it is certainly is not perfect, it is one of the more interesting novellas I've read, and one of Balzac's many fascinating works. The structure itself is a marvel, as it begins with an overview of all of Parisian (and human) society and zeroes in on one very specific, and very grim, tale. This is where Balzac began his oeuvre, folks, this is where one of the greatest, if not the greatest, literary achievements of all time was born. A portrait and reflection of an entire society began in the first pages of this novella.
Melville House Books Edition recommended.
Melville House Books Edition recommended.
April 27, 2015
«A vida é uma singular comédia.» (p. 72)
São escritores como Balzac que elevam a prosa ao estatuto de arte e tornam o simples ato de ler num enorme prazer.
Foi então pela escrita do autor que me rendi a «A Rapariga dos Olhos de Ouro», mais do que propriamente pelo melodramático romance. Gostei muito do cuidado analítico e do tom crítico com que Balzac nos fala da sociedade parisiense do século XIX (Capítulo I: «Fisionomias Parisienses»), ridicularizando-a e despindo-a de mérito uma vez após a outra. Uma sociedade que acaba por não estar assim tão longe da nossa, como gostaríamos de nos gabar que está. Este Parisiense vive avidamente, obcecado com as aparências, buscando tudo com ferocidade sem se deixar conquistar realmente pelo que quer que seja. Para ele o dinheiro é sinónimo de poder e há que obtê-lo a qualquer custo, tornando-o o preliminar, mas também o próprio intuito, da corrupção. Aqui, ouro e prazer são o senhor universal; e o desejo por um, ou por ambos, acaba por entorpecer os sentidos.
«Todos estão identicamente cariados até aos ossos por cálculo, por depravação, por um brutal desejo de vencer, e, sondando-os bem, encontraríamos em todos uma pedra no coração.» (p. 31)
Cheio de pontos que merecem uma pausa para reflexão, este livro acabou por me surpreender pela inclusão de tópicos tabu que não esperava encontrar, tais como escravidão sexual e lesbianismo. A precipitação com que me chegou o final - também ele com resoluções que não esperava - acabou por me deixar em ligeiro choque, pairando sobre os últimos parágrafos alguns minutos depois de já terminada a leitura.
Com parágrafos grandes e escrita muito trabalhada, o tamanho do livro e o ritmo que adquire no final impediram que a leitura se tornasse aborrecida. Gostei muito e fiquei muito satisfeita com a tradução (Domingos Monteiro - Relógio D'Água) que por vezes tanto prazer no rouba às leituras.
December 28, 2018
Tasvirleriyle okuduklarınızdan daha fazlasını anlatan BALZAC, bu romanında da kalemini konuşturmuş. ''Tercüme kadın gibidir, güzeli sadık, sadığı güzel olmaz'' sözünün sahibi Cemil Meriç'in ilk Balzac çevirisi **Altın Gözlü Kız ** Balzac Klubümüzün Kasım Ayı romanıydı. Klüp olarak keyifli bir Balzac günü geçirdik. Balzac'ın hayatından, dönemin Fransa'sından ve romanımız ALTIN GÖZLÜ KIZ'dan bahsettik.
Balzac bu romanı yazarken; çok samimi arkadaşı Fransız kadın edebiyatçı George Sand (Chopinin ölümsüz aşkıdır. 8 yıl Chopinle fırtınalı bir aşk yaşamıştır.) ile genç tiyatro oyuncusu Madam Marie Dorval arasındaki lezbiyen ilişkiden esinlenmiş. 1822 yıllarında bu iki kadının arasında geçen maceralara tanık olması onu Altın Gözlü Kızı yazmaya teşvik etmiş.
Altın Gözlü Kız’ın en önemli iki kadın kahramanı dillere destan güzellikteki İspanyol-Çerkez kırması sarışın ve bir kaplanın ki kadar altın sarısı gözleri olan Paquita de Valdes ile esmer güzeli San-Real markizidir. Bu iki kadın birbirlerine korkunç ve gizli bir tutkuyla bağlıdırlar. Özellikle San-Real markizinin durumu patalojik kıvamdadır. Bir gezinti sırasında Paquita’ya rastlayıp ona delice aşık olan Paris'in en yakışıklı erkeği Henri de Marsay’ı en çok etkileyen şeylerden biri de Paquita 'nın altın sarısı gözleridir. Onu evine kadar takip eder. Uşağı vasıtasıyla hayatı hakkında araştırma yapar ve gizli mektuplar göndererek onu elde etmeye çalışır. Altın Gözlü Kız Paquita’de Marsay’dan hoşlanır. İki aşık bir kale gibi korunan markizin malikanesinde gizlice buluşmaya başlarlar. Altın Gözlü Kız Paquita ise bir yandan Markize, öte yandan Marsay’a duyduğu aşk arasında ikiye bölünür. Marsay ise klasik bir erkekten beklenileni yapmıştır. Romanın sonunu yazmayacağım. Balzac gene sağ gösterip sol vurdu.
Romandaki kurgu; para ve güç sahiplerinin her istediklerini yaptıkları, kadınların köle gibi satın alındıkları ve efendilerinin her türlü arzusu doğrultusunda altın yaldızlı kafeslere hapsedildikleri ö dönemlerdeki toplumu anlatmış. Ancak 1800 lü yıllardan günümüze çok fazla değişiklik olmadığını da bir gerçek.
Edebiyatla kalalım. Keyifli okumalar.
Balzac bu romanı yazarken; çok samimi arkadaşı Fransız kadın edebiyatçı George Sand (Chopinin ölümsüz aşkıdır. 8 yıl Chopinle fırtınalı bir aşk yaşamıştır.) ile genç tiyatro oyuncusu Madam Marie Dorval arasındaki lezbiyen ilişkiden esinlenmiş. 1822 yıllarında bu iki kadının arasında geçen maceralara tanık olması onu Altın Gözlü Kızı yazmaya teşvik etmiş.
Altın Gözlü Kız’ın en önemli iki kadın kahramanı dillere destan güzellikteki İspanyol-Çerkez kırması sarışın ve bir kaplanın ki kadar altın sarısı gözleri olan Paquita de Valdes ile esmer güzeli San-Real markizidir. Bu iki kadın birbirlerine korkunç ve gizli bir tutkuyla bağlıdırlar. Özellikle San-Real markizinin durumu patalojik kıvamdadır. Bir gezinti sırasında Paquita’ya rastlayıp ona delice aşık olan Paris'in en yakışıklı erkeği Henri de Marsay’ı en çok etkileyen şeylerden biri de Paquita 'nın altın sarısı gözleridir. Onu evine kadar takip eder. Uşağı vasıtasıyla hayatı hakkında araştırma yapar ve gizli mektuplar göndererek onu elde etmeye çalışır. Altın Gözlü Kız Paquita’de Marsay’dan hoşlanır. İki aşık bir kale gibi korunan markizin malikanesinde gizlice buluşmaya başlarlar. Altın Gözlü Kız Paquita ise bir yandan Markize, öte yandan Marsay’a duyduğu aşk arasında ikiye bölünür. Marsay ise klasik bir erkekten beklenileni yapmıştır. Romanın sonunu yazmayacağım. Balzac gene sağ gösterip sol vurdu.
Romandaki kurgu; para ve güç sahiplerinin her istediklerini yaptıkları, kadınların köle gibi satın alındıkları ve efendilerinin her türlü arzusu doğrultusunda altın yaldızlı kafeslere hapsedildikleri ö dönemlerdeki toplumu anlatmış. Ancak 1800 lü yıllardan günümüze çok fazla değişiklik olmadığını da bir gerçek.
Edebiyatla kalalım. Keyifli okumalar.
November 28, 2025
The first thing to say is that I adore the cover of this book. Another wonderful example of the designer's art by the NYRB. This drew my attention to the book on the bookshelf and then I saw it was quite thin and by Balzac. Those three facts put together made me buy the book as I'm almost 100% sure I've not previously read a book by this author, other than perhaps Pere Goriot.
I liked this book a lot and I want to read another book /story in the Human Comedy series by Balzac.
The first chapter doesn't really add much to the story as Balzac seems intent on finding ways to insult Parisians, he appears to find them a human tragedy rather than a human comedy if you like, but the rest of the book is wonderful.
Henri de Marsay is a consummate hedonist who falls for the girl of the title, whose name is Paquita Valdes, the first time he sees her. The feeling is mutual and they contrive to meet a number of times, before she says something that Henri finds repulsive. He can't stop thinking about Paquita though and with the help of a secret society Henri manages to gain access to her home.
Here he finds bloodshed and discovers the truth about the girl and his own half-sister.
I liked this book a lot and I want to read another book /story in the Human Comedy series by Balzac.
The first chapter doesn't really add much to the story as Balzac seems intent on finding ways to insult Parisians, he appears to find them a human tragedy rather than a human comedy if you like, but the rest of the book is wonderful.
Henri de Marsay is a consummate hedonist who falls for the girl of the title, whose name is Paquita Valdes, the first time he sees her. The feeling is mutual and they contrive to meet a number of times, before she says something that Henri finds repulsive. He can't stop thinking about Paquita though and with the help of a secret society Henri manages to gain access to her home.
Here he finds bloodshed and discovers the truth about the girl and his own half-sister.
Read
May 18, 2020Casas Ros’un Enigma adlı muhteşem kitabını okurken karşıma çıkan Altın Gözlü Kız kesinlikle dikkatli bir okuma gerektiriyor. Paris Çehreleri başlıklı ilk bölümünde; işçileri, ikbal hırsızlarını, iş adamalarını ve sanatçıları anlatırken, her kesimdeki ahlaksızlıkları ve çaresizlikleri anlatıyor size. Sonra diyor ki: Ama Paris istisnalar şehridir. Kimseyi itham altında bırakmıyor, dürüst insanları da anlatıyor. Bugün sadece Paris'e atfedemeyeceğiniz insan sebepli çıkmazları size kırk sayfada özetliyor. En sonunda da karakterinin çehresini/maskesini anlatıyor ve diyor ki: Böyle biryüzün daha ilk bakışta nasıl da tutku dolu bir hayranlık uyandırabileceği anlaşıldıysa, hikayemizin ana fikri doğrulanmış demektir. Sonra başlıyor bugünün dünyasında asla tahammül edemeyeceğimiz saygıdan yoksun bir arzu düşkünlüğünü anlatmaya...
March 5, 2020
Cu siguranță Balzac a fost unul dintre autorii care mi-au deschis porțile spre literatura clasică europeană. Mi-a plăcut foarte mult să-i citesc romanele în liceu, cred că ar fi timpul să mă întorc la opera sa.
Recenzia pentru acest volum o găsiți aici.
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This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2025
"This young man had one unfortunate quality, for we tend to regard everything that seems powerful as great, and men often deify what is extravagant. Henri did not know how to forgive. The capacity to revise past judgments, which is certainly one of the graces of the soul, was meaningless to him." (85)The Girl with the Golden Eyes—an episode in Balzac's Human Comedy—is a dramatic tale of obsession, desire, and the general soullessness of Parisian society. The novella opens with a mythological and Dantesque reflection on the Paris of Balzac's time—a city in which people are cynically moved by only two things: pleasure and gold. The whole thing is rather phantastic and departs from Balzac's usual realism. After this fascinating scene-setting, the story begins. I won't give away what happens, but I didn't care all that much for the story itself, which was brushed with broad strokes and ultimately stretched too thinly into its bare symbolism.
September 2, 2014
After a long description of Paris and then the introduction of Henri de Marsay, in comes a 'golden-eyed' girl who is eventually killed by her jealous mistress...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 22, 2020
A little while ago I read my first piece of fiction of Honoré de Balzac's La Comédie Humaine. It was 'The Memoirs of Two Young Wives' (or brides, depending on the translation) and I absolutely loved it. I vowed to work my through the rest of them as and when I found them. Unfortunately, I didn't love this one as much and not just because it contains outdated language that is offensive to my modern sensibilities.
It begins with the author giving a long spiel about the terrible behaviour of the locals of Paris (and generally how crap the city is). He detests them. They're all motivated by money or pleasure, so he says. And then begins the story of an arrogant, privileged, white man bringing about the downfall of an innocent young woman. It contained the if I can't have you, no one can trope. The author writes beautifully, but this story centres heavily around misogyny which I know is the point because the author's whole thing is realism, but gross gross gross. This gets a very mediocre (and disappointing) three stars.
It begins with the author giving a long spiel about the terrible behaviour of the locals of Paris (and generally how crap the city is). He detests them. They're all motivated by money or pleasure, so he says. And then begins the story of an arrogant, privileged, white man bringing about the downfall of an innocent young woman. It contained the if I can't have you, no one can trope. The author writes beautifully, but this story centres heavily around misogyny which I know is the point because the author's whole thing is realism, but gross gross gross. This gets a very mediocre (and disappointing) three stars.
October 5, 2022
Qualsiasi cosa de Balzac abbia scritto, per me è oro. Ho scelto questo libro piccolo senza aspettarmi molto, appunto per la piccola mole, ma sono rimasta colpita. Inizia con una descrizione approfondita su Parigi e, soprattutto, sui parigini, e poi scivola nella storia vera e propria. In La fanciulla dagli occhi d'oro de Balzac riprende un personaggio che mi aveva attirato molto in Illusioni perdute il giovane spietato, elegante, cupo e furbo Henri de Marsay. Qui alle prese con l'amore e l'ossessione per una fanciulla bellissima, anche se la storia avrà un finale molto drammatico. In una breve novella de Balzac riesce a raccontare l'amore, l'ossessione, l'inganno, la sete di potere e vittoria di un dandy, l'omicidio e ad accennare all'amore omosessuale. Non mi pare che, prima di lui, qualche autore francese avesse già affrontato esplicitamente l'amore tra due donne.
October 19, 2025
i actually liked the rant about paris the most
March 13, 2025
caca pour rien
December 20, 2012
Refreshingly cynical in his effortless slicing of society's absurdities, over 150 years later, Balzac's keen and scathing observations continue to apply to modern western civilization:
The second part features Balzac's descriptions of surging passions, which are timeless and sublime:
"Now we have reached the third circle of this hell… Their actual stupidity is hidden beneath an expert science. They know their profession, but they ignore anything unconnected with their profession. So, to protect their self-esteem, they call everything into question, criticize right and left; seem skeptical but are actually gullible, and drown their minds in interminable discussions. Almost all of them adopt convenient social, literary, or political prejudices so as to dispense with having to form an opinion of their own… Having left home early in order to become remarkable men, they become mediocre, and crawl along on the heights of society."
The second part features Balzac's descriptions of surging passions, which are timeless and sublime:
"She squeezed him tight, brought her head up to his, offered her lips, and gave him a kiss that gave them both such vertigo that de Marsay thought the earth was opening up… The scene was like a dream for de Marsay, but one of those dreams that, even as they evaporate, leave behind a feeling of supernatural voluptuousness in the soul, which a man chases after for the rest of his life.”
November 22, 2021
As decadent extravaganzas go, this is to Balzac as Salambo is to Flaubert: a realist does Orientalist fantasy and goes way OTT.
Known to me as a legendary work since Surpassing the Love of Men: Romantic Friendship and Love Between Women from the Renaissance to the Present and The Romantic Agony. I remember I couldn't find a copy at the age I was lost in those, to my despair.
About its lesbian credentials: I found these not so bad as you might expect. .
Well, I was riveted. Not much like the classic Balzac of Lost Illusions etc. No more does Salambo resemble Madame Bovary. Fascinating.
Known to me as a legendary work since Surpassing the Love of Men: Romantic Friendship and Love Between Women from the Renaissance to the Present and The Romantic Agony. I remember I couldn't find a copy at the age I was lost in those, to my despair.
About its lesbian credentials: I found these not so bad as you might expect. .
Well, I was riveted. Not much like the classic Balzac of Lost Illusions etc. No more does Salambo resemble Madame Bovary. Fascinating.
February 11, 2021
(The Human Comedy #20/98)
It's not quite worthy of 4 stars, but I've been very critical of Balzac in the last few Human Comedy entries, so I'm going to round up.
I've often complained of Balzac's propensity to luxuriate rather too much in description and scene-setting, showing too often how he's paid by the word and takes an age to get round the actual story he's planing to tell. However, in this case the opening preamble (a full quarter or more of the book) is easily the best part of it. It's a cynical, hard-nosed appraisal of Paris and its citizens, none of whom come out with any praise whatsoever, and it's among the best sections of Balzac I've read.
The tale itself is a gory, sensational penny dreadful worthy of Ann Radcliffe or Jim Thompson. We meet Henri de Marsay, a beautiful amoral illegitimate fop who lives only for pleasure, gold and revelling in the humiliation of others. He falls for the eponymous "Girl With the Golden Eyes" and the story spirals into sex, cross-dressing, lesbianism and murder. The messy, fairly confusing finale is worthy of the most outrageous Grand-Guignol.
For Balzac, this was packed full of incident, so I heartily approve and wish that more of his works moved at this pace.
It's not quite worthy of 4 stars, but I've been very critical of Balzac in the last few Human Comedy entries, so I'm going to round up.
I've often complained of Balzac's propensity to luxuriate rather too much in description and scene-setting, showing too often how he's paid by the word and takes an age to get round the actual story he's planing to tell. However, in this case the opening preamble (a full quarter or more of the book) is easily the best part of it. It's a cynical, hard-nosed appraisal of Paris and its citizens, none of whom come out with any praise whatsoever, and it's among the best sections of Balzac I've read.
The tale itself is a gory, sensational penny dreadful worthy of Ann Radcliffe or Jim Thompson. We meet Henri de Marsay, a beautiful amoral illegitimate fop who lives only for pleasure, gold and revelling in the humiliation of others. He falls for the eponymous "Girl With the Golden Eyes" and the story spirals into sex, cross-dressing, lesbianism and murder. The messy, fairly confusing finale is worthy of the most outrageous Grand-Guignol.
For Balzac, this was packed full of incident, so I heartily approve and wish that more of his works moved at this pace.
May 22, 2015
Terrible work. Two-dimensional characters, a predictable and unreal story, no dilemma or drama to the work, and a morbid conclusion. The introduction was fascinating and the author's description of Paris life, very interesting. As a case study for period literature it was marvelous, but as a piece of literature standing on its own, it was ridiculous.
January 25, 2022
Je n’ai vraiment pas aimé, la description philosophique qui dure les 3/4 du livre était redondante, certains passages intéressants trop peu présent… L’histoire farfelue m’a fait rire parfois mais j’ai du la relire plusieurs foi pour enfin comprendre les personnages et la fin de l’histoire.
January 3, 2020
A very short story. The first pages go on and on about the Parisians...then there is a strange plot. To be honest I finished it having lots of questions. I didn't enjoy this one.
February 15, 2024
A strange, Gothic, *Romantik* tale of horror — written in excess — slips vampiric — slightly absurd.
This is actually the third novella of the trilogy that was used to construct, long after Balzac’s death, The History of the Thirteen.
The translation, at any rate is superb. Charlotte Mandell is currently preparing, as part of the new OWC Proust (Brian Nelson, the fine translator of Zola, and editor of the OWC Zola series, did vol 1 — Swann), a translation of vol 2, À l’ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs). She has translated many works, including Énard’s Zone.
This is actually the third novella of the trilogy that was used to construct, long after Balzac’s death, The History of the Thirteen.
The translation, at any rate is superb. Charlotte Mandell is currently preparing, as part of the new OWC Proust (Brian Nelson, the fine translator of Zola, and editor of the OWC Zola series, did vol 1 — Swann), a translation of vol 2, À l’ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs). She has translated many works, including Énard’s Zone.
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September 1, 2020That's just how being a lesbian is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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