Scenes from a Courtesan’s Life by Honoré de Balzac Review: A Classic Hot Mess

I am a fan of Balzac’s work since I read some of it in college, though I must admit my memory of the books of his I have read is sketchy at best. I picked up Scenes as one of those free books on Amazon and felt like rekindling my love of French naturalist lit with a random Balzac pick.

In the modern parlance, this book is an enjoyable hot mess.

Whatever the title may say, the Courtesan whose life we see is not the main character, nor is her life or the life of her sugar daddy the main focus o...