Lost Illusions
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Lost Illusions
Honoré de Balzac
Literature
James Mustich
Aug 11, 2018
Lost Illusions is a massive novel—more than six hundred pages. Written in three parts between 1837 and 1843, its several story lines conspire to display most of the author’s abiding concerns: the claustrophobic dullness of provincial society and the ruthless snobbery of its Parisian counterpart; the wounds inflicted by every class distinction; the corruption of love and art by money and intrigue; the tawdry expediencies of the literary world; the cynicism of the press; the energies of commerce and industry; youth’s endless capacity for delusion. Balzac no doubt poured his own youthful disenchantments into Lost Illusions. But he filters these disappointments through an intelligence so alert to every nuance of physical, social, and commercial experience that his novel exudes a loyalty to life that no amount of disillusion can diminish.
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roppenhe
Feb 18, 2019
Captivating, bitter and brilliant. The life of a writer was just as hard in bygone days as it is now . . .
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Shulamit Jegher
Sep 17, 2019
excellent book, best to read it in the original french if possible as it loses a bit in the translation
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