It's hard not to compare this book to Balzac's Lost Illusions. Both are about young lower-class men from the countryside, desperate to advance through the brutal class system in 19th century France, who go to Paris to find their fortune, and both ending up in ruin. Balzac's story is much more compelling, perhaps because of more focus on political and workplace issues, whereas Stendahl focuses more on doomed romance - two of them actually - where the young man falls in love with upper class women.

Some of the enjoyment is just seeing life through the lens of 1830's social mores. A sexual encounter was described in this way: "When Julien came out of Madame de Renal's room some hours afterwards, one could have said, adopting the conventional language of the novel, that there was nothing left to be desired." Booyah!

The romantic fantasies of his second lover were also bizarre and facinating: "Being in a real battle, a battle of Napoleon, where six thousand soldiers were killed, why, that's proof of courage. Exposing one's self to danger elevates the soul and saves it from boredom...". Er, yeah. Great way to avoid boredom.

Generally I really enjoy 19th century French novels with their portrayal of class conflict, but I'd say Zola, Hugo, Balzac all did a better job than Stendahl. So Stendahl may be worth a read, but the others should come first.