6.11.2009

Finished with Goriot

So I don't want to post spoilers or anything at this point, just the general observation that, in many ways, this reminded me most of The Monk. Specifically, we follow these tales of the corruption of our protagonist's character, seduced there by a desire for women, of course, yet with the modern twist of the elimination of devils and spirits, only the machinations of the urban psyche to blame.
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3 comments:

  1. Courtney BatesJune 11, 2009 at 1:24 PM

    First of all, yay to you for finishing the book. Might I confess here that I haven't read more than a 100 pages yet? (shame!) I'll catch up.

    Anyway, in the small bit I *have* read, I would venture to say the writing style (albeit slightly classier) is quite similar as well to The Monk's. If only the subject matter were slightly more interesting...

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  2. Dr. MatthewJune 11, 2009 at 1:26 PM

    Oh sure, while religiosity can piss me off in real life, nothing like a good Satan-summoning to liven up a book. I'll admit, I'm kind of looking forward to the critical essays in the back (I have the Norton's edition) to liven it up a bit for me. My main motivation was to finish it quickly so that I could justify beginning to read "Pride & Prejudice & Zombies"

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  3. NickJune 16, 2009 at 9:44 AM

    Hi folks,

    I'm just getting into Pere Goriot now and am enjoying it so far. I've read A Harlot High and Low which is another part of Balzac's 'human comedy' which apparently spans 90 novels all told. Oh the machinations and the inrigues! I think if I had to compete in that Parisian jungle I would soon find myself stealing bread to survive and inspiring over-long musicals about miserableness.

    One thing the foreword of my edition mentioned that I found interesting was that Balzac's writings were a favourite of Marx and Engels as they approved of his charting the moral dissolution that accompanied the rise of the bourgeouisie. Of course Balzac described himself as a royalist, so I'm not sure he would like being approved of by Marx and Engels. Social analysis makes strange bedfellows!

    I'll be in touch soon with a venue for next week's meeting.

    I like the 'realist' style and

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