Honore de Balzac

Advantages: A pleasant period novel
Disadvantages: Could be regarded as moraliizing

...When it came to packing for my holiday in September, I wanted to take a couple of thin(nish), light books that wouldn't take up much room in my rucksack and that I would not mind leaving behind in a hotel or hostel for others travellers to take with them. I searched through a pile of books I had to read and one that matched my requirements perfectly was "Eugenie Grandet" by Honore de Balzac. Written in 1833, this is the story of the Grandet family, living in Saumur, in provincial France. The head of the family, Monsieur Grandet is a miser who lets his wife and daughter live in near poverty whilst he busies himself with the task of counting his gold in his private quarters. The Grandets live in a vast mansion which is on the brink of falling down for lack of repair. Each morning, Monsieur Grandet weighs out sugar, meat... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Beautifully written characters, possibly his greatest work
Disadvantages: None I can think of

...of Goriot's daughters, desperately seeks to obtain money and an entry into society at whatever cost. The final main character, Vautrin, is one of the first homosexuals in fiction. He holds society in disgust, but wishes to govern Rastignac to act out that which he did not succeed to do in his own misspent youth. This book could easily have been three novels, yet each character is necessary to show the differing obsessions resulting from the power and money of high society. When described the book could be taken to be overly moralistic and preachy, but by retaining the reader's sympathy for the characters Balzac does not once fall into this trap. This is one of my favourite books, the kind of novel that you cannot stop thinking about even after the last page.... Read review

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Advantages: Very descriptive writing + excellent plot
Disadvantages: n/a

...Dai SiJie has created a unique coming of age story. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress depicts the lives of two teenage boys being sent to re-education in Mao's China, Luo and the Narrator (his name isn't given, so he is simply referred to as the Narrator. ) They are moved to a remote place, Phoenix Mountain. There, they lived in the second floor to a pig stable and meet the Little Chinese Seamstress, the most beautiful girl around. Their lives were then spiced up with the discovery of about their friend, Four-Eyes. Four-Eyes had a stash of English literature books, long since banned. They ultimately steal these books and their lives were transformed forever. I'd enjoyed this book very much. The author uses various methods to convey strong emotions and imagery. I felt very moved by this story and had actually spent a few... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful