The Wrong Side of Paris (La Comédie Humaine #52)
This vivid portrait of the underbelly of nineteenth-century Paris, exuberantly rendered by Jordan Stump, is the first major translation in more than a century of Balzac’s forgotten masterpiece L’Envers de l’histoire contemporaine. Featuring an illuminating Introduction by Adam Gopnik, this original Modern Library edition also includes explanatory notes.
From the Hardcover edition.
Balzac is an author whose individual works can run the gamut from ill-conceived and hastily constructed to sublimely powerful novels such as Pere Goriot, Lost Illusions, A Harlot High and Low, Cousin Bette, and Cousin Pons. And I would also have to add The Wrong Side of Paris, which required a re-reading to appreciate its power. Yet, even Balzac's inferior works have their place: This is because the Comédie Humaine is like a vast continuum illuminated by greater lights and lesser lights. A vast
When I picked up this translation at the local annual library book fair, I was confused. The cover and title have a distinctly late-twentieth century feel to them, but the author's name was vaguely familiar in an old-timey sort of way. Those contradictory characteristics, plus the unambiguously moralistic nature of the plot summary on the back jacket, convinced me to buy it.As someone with translation studies background, translated literature will always hold a special place in my heart. And,
A bit different from the usual Balzac fare. I loved the idea - a man joins a secret charitable society and gets caught up in the lives of a family that has fallen on hard times. Not a thing wrong with this book, only I wish there had been more of it! Not just the one family - more, more, more! Balzac ends it quite abruptly,something he occasionally does, and I only forgive him because his writing is so wonderful, his descriptions of character, interiors, the Parisian city-scape - all so
This, Balzac's last book before he died, is uncharacteristically merciful. Yes, there is a Paris so crowded that one can practically smell it; yes, there is the stumbling hero; yes, there are powerfully individual rooming houses (no novelist ever cared more about where people lived); yes, there are the plot twists that anticipate the detective novel. But it is startling to encounter Balzac describing a small group of selfless philanthropists guided by "The Imitation of Christ"--this from the
This lesser-known, final finished Balzac novel comprises 2 halves and is the concluding segment of the Parisian Life chapter of the Human Comedy. There are 3 translations into English with alternate titles, this one being the most recent.As in most of the author's work, there is a display of bottomless wisdom, an assured, master's touch, and an incredible condensation of narrative and pathos. It is, from the start, a condemnation of refined tastes, a repudiation of vanity and empty boasts, and a
Honoré de Balzac
Paperback | Pages: 272 pages Rating: 3.69 | 342 Users | 44 Reviews
Mention Containing Books The Wrong Side of Paris (La Comédie Humaine #52)
Title | : | The Wrong Side of Paris (La Comédie Humaine #52) |
Author | : | Honoré de Balzac |
Book Format | : | Paperback |
Book Edition | : | First Edition |
Pages | : | Pages: 272 pages |
Published | : | April 12th 2005 by Modern Library (first published 1848) |
Categories | : | Fiction. Classics. Cultural. France. Literature. European Literature. French Literature. 19th Century |
Commentary Toward Books The Wrong Side of Paris (La Comédie Humaine #52)
The Wrong Side of Paris, the final novel in Balzac’s The Human Comedy, is the compelling story of Godefroid, an abject failure at thirty, who seeks refuge from materialism by moving into a monastery-like lodging house in the shadows of Notre-Dame. Presided over by Madame de La Chanterie, a noblewoman with a tragic past, the house is inhabited by a remarkable band of men—all scarred by the tumultuous aftermath of the French Revolution—who have devoted their lives to performing anonymous acts of charity. Intrigued by the Order of the Brotherhood of Consolation and their uplifting dedication to virtuous living, Godefroid strives to follow their example. He agrees to travel—incognito—to a Parisian slum to save a noble family from ruin. There he meets a beautiful, ailing Polish woman who lives in great luxury, unaware that just outside her bedroom door her own father and son are suffering in dire poverty. By proving himself worthy of the Brotherhood, Godefroid finds his own spiritual redemption.This vivid portrait of the underbelly of nineteenth-century Paris, exuberantly rendered by Jordan Stump, is the first major translation in more than a century of Balzac’s forgotten masterpiece L’Envers de l’histoire contemporaine. Featuring an illuminating Introduction by Adam Gopnik, this original Modern Library edition also includes explanatory notes.
From the Hardcover edition.
Present Books Conducive To The Wrong Side of Paris (La Comédie Humaine #52)
Original Title: | L'Envers de l'histoire contemporaine |
ISBN: | 0812966759 (ISBN13: 9780812966756) |
Edition Language: | English |
Series: | La Comédie Humaine #52, Études de mœurs : Scènes de la vie parisienne |
Rating Containing Books The Wrong Side of Paris (La Comédie Humaine #52)
Ratings: 3.69 From 342 Users | 44 ReviewsArticle Containing Books The Wrong Side of Paris (La Comédie Humaine #52)
This lesser-known, final finished Balzac novel comprises 2 halves and is the concluding segment of the Parisian Life chapter of the Human Comedy. There are 3 translations into English with alternate titles, this one being the most recent.As in most of the author's work, there is a display of bottomless wisdom, an assured, master's touch, and an incredible condensation of narrative and pathos. It is, from the start, a condemnation of refined tastes, a repudiation of vanity and empty boasts, and aBalzac is an author whose individual works can run the gamut from ill-conceived and hastily constructed to sublimely powerful novels such as Pere Goriot, Lost Illusions, A Harlot High and Low, Cousin Bette, and Cousin Pons. And I would also have to add The Wrong Side of Paris, which required a re-reading to appreciate its power. Yet, even Balzac's inferior works have their place: This is because the Comédie Humaine is like a vast continuum illuminated by greater lights and lesser lights. A vast
When I picked up this translation at the local annual library book fair, I was confused. The cover and title have a distinctly late-twentieth century feel to them, but the author's name was vaguely familiar in an old-timey sort of way. Those contradictory characteristics, plus the unambiguously moralistic nature of the plot summary on the back jacket, convinced me to buy it.As someone with translation studies background, translated literature will always hold a special place in my heart. And,
A bit different from the usual Balzac fare. I loved the idea - a man joins a secret charitable society and gets caught up in the lives of a family that has fallen on hard times. Not a thing wrong with this book, only I wish there had been more of it! Not just the one family - more, more, more! Balzac ends it quite abruptly,something he occasionally does, and I only forgive him because his writing is so wonderful, his descriptions of character, interiors, the Parisian city-scape - all so
This, Balzac's last book before he died, is uncharacteristically merciful. Yes, there is a Paris so crowded that one can practically smell it; yes, there is the stumbling hero; yes, there are powerfully individual rooming houses (no novelist ever cared more about where people lived); yes, there are the plot twists that anticipate the detective novel. But it is startling to encounter Balzac describing a small group of selfless philanthropists guided by "The Imitation of Christ"--this from the
This lesser-known, final finished Balzac novel comprises 2 halves and is the concluding segment of the Parisian Life chapter of the Human Comedy. There are 3 translations into English with alternate titles, this one being the most recent.As in most of the author's work, there is a display of bottomless wisdom, an assured, master's touch, and an incredible condensation of narrative and pathos. It is, from the start, a condemnation of refined tastes, a repudiation of vanity and empty boasts, and a
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