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History of the Thirteen
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This trilogy of stories—Ferragus: Chief of the Companions of Duty, The Duchesse De Langeais, and The Girl with the Golden Eyes—purporting to be the history of a secret society, laid the foundation for Balzac’s Scenes of Parisian Life and is a stunning evocation of all ranks of society.
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Paperback, 392 pages
Published
August 29th 1974
by Penguin Classics
(first published 1833)
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19th Century French Superheroes Avoid Kryptonite!
Nothing can stop these guys, even if they can’t leap tall buildings at a single bound!
Whoa, dude! Balzac anticipated American comics and TV by about a century, but his imagination was far less technological. I mean, no batmobiles, no spider DNA, and no single power-engendering words (shazam anyone?) But the band of brothers, thirteen in all, can achieve anything, have unlimited financial resources, connections in high places, and murder is child’s ...more
Nothing can stop these guys, even if they can’t leap tall buildings at a single bound!
Whoa, dude! Balzac anticipated American comics and TV by about a century, but his imagination was far less technological. I mean, no batmobiles, no spider DNA, and no single power-engendering words (shazam anyone?) But the band of brothers, thirteen in all, can achieve anything, have unlimited financial resources, connections in high places, and murder is child’s ...more
E könyvet forgatva sokszor felmerült bennem a kérdés, hogy ugyan miért is olvasok én Balzacot? (Azon túl, hogy Emma lányom választotta ki a három elé tett francia szerző közül, azzal az indoklással, hogy „selymes a tapintása”. Köszönöm neked, Világirodalom Remekei-sorozat, a selymes borítókat!) Merthogy mit is csinál Balzac? Egyrészt ha meglát egy szépasszonyt, egy koldust, egy biciklis futárt vagy akár egy utcát, rögtön elkezdi meghatározni, mégpedig nemritkán 3-5 oldalas kacskaringós leírások
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The criminal as superman: Balzac's fascination with crime as the obverse of society and because the criminal epitomizes the shapeshifting of modernism. There's also a heavily gothic element to these stories. Balzac distinguishes his novellas from 'traditional' gothic because he is charting the physiognomy of Paris, his great subject. As always, Balzac tends to over describe. He is the epitome of thick description, sometimes to the narrative's detriment.
I would give Girl with the Golden Eyes 5 st ...more
I would give Girl with the Golden Eyes 5 st ...more
3.5 stars, has some highlights of human observation and some lowlights where Balzac just seems to have placed some text in there for no obvious reason. Pumping out that many books his characters can be blonde one page, dark haired the next but you’re not reading him for intricate details.
Less the story of the mysterious “thirteen” and more three tales of love, passion, desire & manipulation. A lot longer than 392 pages would imply.
Less the story of the mysterious “thirteen” and more three tales of love, passion, desire & manipulation. A lot longer than 392 pages would imply.
The History of the Thirteen purports to be the story of a secret society- but in actuality its more of study of society and various types of love.
First, a note on the general nature of Balzac’s work: Balzac was an author with wide-ranging concerns. Balzac is at his best when he’s making observations about society and talking about Paris at large- the strata of society, the types of people living in it, how they interacted with each other. Some observations are very clever. One great line is wh ...more
First, a note on the general nature of Balzac’s work: Balzac was an author with wide-ranging concerns. Balzac is at his best when he’s making observations about society and talking about Paris at large- the strata of society, the types of people living in it, how they interacted with each other. Some observations are very clever. One great line is wh ...more
2019 was to be the year of Project Balzac, an attempt to get at least knee deep, possibly waist deep into the human comedy. It nearly came to grief at the start of the second of the three novellas that make up this collection, an interminable and prolix account of the position of the aristocracy in Paris in the 1820's and 1830's. Frankly this was as poor a piece of writing as anything I've sign from a great writer, even allowing for the perils of translation.
But eventually I made it through the ...more
But eventually I made it through the ...more
Feb 14, 2018
Myriam
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Shelves:
littérature-19eme-et-avant
Je ne suis pas sensible à l'écriture d'Honoré de Balzac.
Lu pour le lycée. ...more
Lu pour le lycée. ...more
To give this book the credit it deserves, read and project yourself back to the time in which it was written. And then, examine closely the statements that Balzac is making, many of which are so relevant today. Just as the writing of Thoreau has today's young readers gob-smacked at his relevance to present-day thought, Balzac's stories are teeth-grittingly reflective of today's world, particularly Paris. I loved this book despite the fact that it really skirts around paying off on its title. The
...more
I read these very loosely connected stories in anticipation of watching Jacques Rivette's massive film Out:one. Apparently the film is somehow based on this collection and I wanted to have as much ammunition as I could as I delve into the 12 hour film.
My reaction to this volume is the same as my reaction to the other Balzac I have read - sloppy writer, hastily constructed works, shoddy craftsmanship. I'll try some others but not too soon.
I know this will sound incredibly pompous but perhaps thi ...more
My reaction to this volume is the same as my reaction to the other Balzac I have read - sloppy writer, hastily constructed works, shoddy craftsmanship. I'll try some others but not too soon.
I know this will sound incredibly pompous but perhaps thi ...more
Girl with the Golden Eyes, 3.5, notes in reading progress.
Ferragus, 4.0, the opening pages on Parisian streets and intermittent bits on the lobster-like jointed monster of the city are up there with the zoological class-strata passage at the start of "Golden Eyes." Where these novellas are (only relatively) weak in characterization and plot, they make up for it with some of B's most memorable long view descriptions of society. If one were to cut-and-paste together an ideal abridged La Comedie hu ...more
Ferragus, 4.0, the opening pages on Parisian streets and intermittent bits on the lobster-like jointed monster of the city are up there with the zoological class-strata passage at the start of "Golden Eyes." Where these novellas are (only relatively) weak in characterization and plot, they make up for it with some of B's most memorable long view descriptions of society. If one were to cut-and-paste together an ideal abridged La Comedie hu ...more
Lu pour la rentrée en 1e, il me semble.
Thirteen powerful men are part of a secret society above and beyond the law. This book is a collection of three short stories from "La Comedie Humaine".
...more
Balzac - autor lido por várias gerações e que ainda será lido por muitas outras devido a sua genialidade - traz neste livro três histórias de sua Comédia Humana. Em cada uma apresenta Paris com uma pena que mais parece uma câmera fotográfica ou uma filmadora: Adentra ruas, casas e quartos e retrata a lama, o perfume, os encantos e arrotos, o refinamento e o punhal assassino. Sua Paris é uma cidade em que beleza e feiúra compartilham o mesmo palco, são vizinhas e se conhecem, convivem juntas, hor
...more
Crystal-clear, insightful characterization and social commentary, the reason we still talk with reverence about Balzac. This was written when he was younger, so it goes on a bit in some of the emotional descriptions, but it's all good. As always the reader will have to overlook or even better adequately contextualize oneself against the youthful Balzac's openly reactionary jingo gaulism of some parts.
I don't really get who the Thirteen are from reading the story, but oh well, I guess you had to ...more
I don't really get who the Thirteen are from reading the story, but oh well, I guess you had to ...more
An interesting collection of three novellas featuring members of the mysterious "Thirteen," a secret organization of well-connected men who are not above breaking the law to accomplish their (mostly benevolent) ends. My favorite of the three tales was "The Duchess de Langeais," for its analysis of Restoration Paris and depiction of early 19th century women's precarious social and legal situation, even rich, titled women.
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Paryžius Paryžius Paryžius...
Detektyviško stiliaus balzakiškos istorijos apie XIXa. vidurio Paryžiaus gyvenimą.
Patiks tiems, kam patinka ilgi esė tipo pamąstymai apie visuomenę ir žmogų. Pati fabula atrodo net nereikalinga. Ar tik ji Balzakui netrukdė pasakyti, ką jis iš tiesų nori išpasakoti?..
Detektyviško stiliaus balzakiškos istorijos apie XIXa. vidurio Paryžiaus gyvenimą.
Patiks tiems, kam patinka ilgi esė tipo pamąstymai apie visuomenę ir žmogų. Pati fabula atrodo net nereikalinga. Ar tik ji Balzakui netrukdė pasakyti, ką jis iš tiesų nori išpasakoti?..
Histórias um pouco bizarras demais para o meu gosto. Muito melodrama, exagero, mistérios mais toscos do que necessário. Dispensável.
predictably, don't touch the axe is very possibly the best thing i've read all year
...more
Bit too prolix to be top flight Balzac. Inspired a classic movie by Rivette.
L'occhio spietato di un grande reazionario
Questo volume, piccolo tassello di quell'opera mastodontica che è la Comédie humaine, raccoglie tre romanzi brevi o racconti lunghi, reperibili anche singolarmente in varie edizioni.
Filo rosso che unisce i tre racconti sono i Dévorants, sorta di setta segreta operaia che riunisce uomini in grado di tramare contro il potere costituito e dotati di una assoluta solidarietà interna. In realtà i Dévorants compaiono molto marginalmente nelle storie, se si ecce ...more
Questo volume, piccolo tassello di quell'opera mastodontica che è la Comédie humaine, raccoglie tre romanzi brevi o racconti lunghi, reperibili anche singolarmente in varie edizioni.
Filo rosso che unisce i tre racconti sono i Dévorants, sorta di setta segreta operaia che riunisce uomini in grado di tramare contro il potere costituito e dotati di una assoluta solidarietà interna. In realtà i Dévorants compaiono molto marginalmente nelle storie, se si ecce ...more
The Thirteen is a trilogy consisting of Ferragus, The Duchesse de Langeais and The Girl with the Golden Eyes. The premise tying them together is the fact that there is a group of thirteen men who will aid each other at any time with no questions asked. The premise sounded exciting and delightful to me. Unfortunately, the stories turned out not to be much to my taste.
Three stories involving members of a secret society. Ferragus; chief of the Companions of Duty, The Duchesse de Langais, and The Girl with the Golden Eyes. Somewhat gothic, melodramatic. Not one of my favorites. Translated by Jerbert J. Hunt. I really need to read a biography of Balzac.
I'm really disappointed with my first foray into Balzac. His descriptions are minute, but trying too hard to be waspish to give a real sense of the society he's mocking. With added boy's-own levels of skullduggery and endless, exhausting mysogeny, it's the least enjoyable book I've read in ages
...more
٣ فصول في الحب والتضحيات التي يقدمها الطرفان في سبيل الحب ،،
الرواية احتوات على فلسفة الكاتب للحياة الباريسية في القارن التاسع عشر،، بلزاك حلل طبقات المجتمع بطريقة رائعة ،، وصف باريس بطريقة جميلة بعيوبها و حسناتها .. وصفه لحالة الحب كانت مثالية ..
الرواية احتوات على فلسفة الكاتب للحياة الباريسية في القارن التاسع عشر،، بلزاك حلل طبقات المجتمع بطريقة رائعة ،، وصف باريس بطريقة جميلة بعيوبها و حسناتها .. وصفه لحالة الحب كانت مثالية ..
Pure and unadulterated sentimental bullshit. Very flat characters, seeming to revolve around their genitalia, without actually being in possession of brains or even the capacity to figure out their situations. Balzac = most likely, never again.
I'm not sure if it was the translation or the book, but it was painful and boring. There were SO many details... and they didn't even flow together in an enjoyable way. I can only hope it's better in French.
...more
Just barely started this and then lost it already, oops!
Very hard to concentrate on Balzac's florid prose.
...more
Parisian ভালোবাসায় overdosed.
Brilliant.
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Honoré de Balzac was a nineteenth-century French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of almost 100 novels and plays collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the fall of Napoléon Bonaparte in 1815.
Due to his keen observation of fine detail and unfiltered representation of society, Balzac is regarded as one of the found ...more
Due to his keen observation of fine detail and unfiltered representation of society, Balzac is regarded as one of the found ...more
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“I did not know that bureaucracy could send its claws into our very coffins”
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“Il s'est rencontré, sous l'Empire et dans Paris, treize hommes également frappés du même sentiment, tous doués d'une assez grande énergie pour être fidèles à la même pensée, assez probes entre eux pour ne point se trahir, alors même que leurs intérêts se trouvaient opposés, assez profondément politiques pour dissimuler les liens sacrés qui les unissaient, assez forts pour se mettre au-dessus de toutes les lois, assez hardis pour tout entreprendre, et assez heureux pour avoir presque toujours réussi dans leurs desseins; ayant couru les plus grands dangers, mais taisant leurs défaites; inaccessibles à la peur, et n'ayant tremblé ni devant le prince, ni devant le bourreau, ni devant l'innocence; s'étant acceptés tous, tels qu'ils étaient, sans tenir compte des préjugés sociaux; criminels sans doute, mais certainement remarquables par quelques-unes des qualités qui font les grands hommes, et ne se recrutant que parmi les hommes d'élite.”
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