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Showing results for tags 'honore de balzac'.
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I read the Oxford World Classics version as translated by A. J. Krailsheimer. This book is only 263 pages long but the font is small and close together so I reckon it would be longer if the font was bigger. It took me ages to read - 12 days - which is unusual for me but a good thing. So, first, Pere Goriot, the titular character doesn't make an appearance until quite well into the book and even then he's not the major character. The major character is Eugene Rastignac, a decent, polite, considerate warm-hearted country boy who has come to make his fortune in the big city of Paris. He stays in a fairly run down boarding house and is determind to learn what he needs to know in order to succeed. Balzac describes, in detail, how Rastignac goes about this. Balzac also gives accurate descriptions of what Paris life was like in 1819 when the book is set. Pere Goriot gradually emerges to become the main character and Rastignac develops a fondness for the old man and gets close to him. What happens after this is truly shocking. I found it difficult going because I struggled to concentrate on it. That would be a personal thing and nothing to do with the book. I'm not well versed in translators but I know that there are some I can't read so this one must have been good enough. The story took a long time to establish itself and there were many characters but it was a good story and not something that I could predict. It may warrant a second read at some point in the future. Nevertheless, I recommend it.
