Mopping Up The Gravy

[poliphilo]

I'm coming to the end of Balzac- by which I mean I've exhausted the resources of our local library. Thus far I've read:

Eugenie Grandet
Pere Goriot
Le Peau de Chagrin
Illusions Perdues
Splendeurs et Miseres des Courtisanes
Cousine Bette
Cousin Pons.

Which leaves some eighty titles- many of them unavailable in modern English translation. Balzac is tremendous. Superhuman. I really don't know how one man managed to do (and know) so much.

Mind you, a good number of those eighty titles are short stories. The two books I borrowed on our last visit to the library (when I met an old girlfriend working at the tourist information desk- which was nice) contain fourteen. 

When I've finished with them I'll be saying adieu to the great man and moving onto Zola. 

Comments

[saare-snowqueen.livejournal.com]

Zola is fascinating - a kind of French Charles Dickens.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm looking forward to getting stuck in.