I’ve been waiting for you to do the Balzac edition of this series! Thank you, Brian!!

Thank you Brian for an interesting video, I am now tempted to try Balzac next year . Hope you and your family have an enjoyable Christmas and New Year. Kind regards.

Thanks so much for this... exactly what I needed to hear. Cheers!!

I started with Sarrasine. Loved it so much that I'm planning on reading all his novels. I fell in love with his writing style. Next one is Le lys dans la vallée. Amazing video, thank you!

There are 3 Balzac novels on my list! Pere goriot is one of them. Fantastic!! Very helpful ☺️

This is so good, Brian! Such a helpful framing and very astute. And valuable, for me, since I haven’t read Balzac. Only until the last few years have I wanted to pick up any classics. Millennial contrarian fever had me for decades, I guess.

Great video, Brian! I've been meaning to check out Balzac for years - this video is so useful.

I am so glad I didn't start with the wrong ones but now I really want to read Père Goriot.

Ironically i started balzac with the wild ass’s skin. Saw on Wikipedia it was the last book freud read before his assisted suicide so i thought id give it a shot. It felt a bit extended at certain parts and rushed in others (especially the last 1/3 of the book) but I really enjoyed it and it got me hooked on Balzac. I will say it is a bit different than Balzac’s other works with the supernatural element but I think it has its own merit and was one of the more memorable books of Balzac that I read and I definitely will re-read it at some point in the future. I should note that I read the oxford classics edition, which had many pages of notes in the back.

I also had to read "Papá Goriot" in Spanish. Don't remember a thing. I hauled a few Balzac ever since Cousin Pons, which I enjoyed. Thanks for the guidance.

I haven't really explored a lot of French classics yet, I really want to try out Balzac, Hugo, Zola and Dumas. I like that it seems like the French write a lot about class struggles.

I'm reading Eugénie Grandet right now and so far really enjoying it. I've only ever read Per Goriot by him before. What do you think of some of his French contemporaries, or near contemporaries? I enjoy Maupassant’s work a lot, both his short stories and his novels. I just noticed that he was born about two weeks before Balzac died.

I did start with Pere Goriot and really enjoyed it. Looking forward to reading more Balzac in the future. Have you read Catherine de Medici? I like history and thought it would be interesting to hear Balzac's take on Catherine, but from the review I looked at on Goodreads, it is hard to tell if the book really is about Catherine or if it is about other things? Also, what did you think of Ursula Mirouet? Thanks for your insights Brian!

Finally, the Balzac edition! Based on the three books you described for where to start, I think I am leaning toward The Black Sheep.

Started Goriot a few nights ago. Instantly drawn in. "Unknown Masterpiece" does sound interesting.

I love this series even when it is about an author I have already started.

I was force-fed Old Goriot in college and did not like it at all. I didn’t touch Balzac for 20 years. Last year, I decided to give him another try. I read Eugenie Grandet and loved it. Then Colonel Chabert (loved it), and An Old Maid (an unmarried woman as an object of ridicule, not my cup of tea). I will read some more, and may even give another chance to Goriot.

The first book I read by Balzac was the NYRB edition of selected stories from 'The Human Comedy.' As a Chekhov fan, it was the perfect way to start reading through his oeuvre.

I wish you talked about some of short stories too like A Passion in the Desert. The line about what the desert is like has stuck with me until now

I’ve read a few Balzac: Old Geriot, Cousin Betty, and Wild Ass’s Skin. Lost Illusions is on my radar. I have a huge omnibus of Balzac, but the translations are old public domain so probably not the best.

Have you read the new MacKenzie translations of Lost Illusions and Lost Souls (A Harlot High and Low)? I might start with those.

Thank you for your interesting video. A couple of years ago I bought Balzacs complete works of his 'Human Comedy' (German edition) in 12 volumes which follows Balzacs order in which we should read his books. Isn't such an order available for the English translations? Have a nice day and happy reading

Great video! Thanks for the recommendations. What about Cousin Bette? Good or bad place to start?

So I was checking out the band balzac. I wasn't expecting this but welcomed. I had no idea balzac was a author but I'd like to check it out? Maybe video for balzac newbs? Where do i start?

I started with Pere Goriot as recommended, and really enjoyed it! What should I read next?

Maybe this will see me picking up one of his books. Although I haven't decided on the language I want to read it in. I keep thinking I could go for a German translation, but so often I enjoy English translations more. And my French is not good enough to even consider although that would be grand LOL.

I always thought I'd read Balzac but in fact I think it was always De Maupassant. Seems I remember some oddity in their birth/ death dates. I do remember asking for Balzac in a very popular book store and had to explain that there was in fact a z in the name. I think he has fallen out of favor with younger readers.

I'm starting with bio by Stefan Zweig. My copy of the old book was printed in 1946. Guess I want to understand the man first.

It is good to know when a book is a sequel, haha. That is strange they don't mention that on the book anywhere. 🤔

good video... but i would say all the books you show are pretty good... there are some balzac novels that are really boring, but you mentioned none of them... i agree "the wild ass skin" is an outlier in balzac works because of the supernatural setting but i also think it was maybe an inspiration for oscar wilde's "dorian gray"

I truly believe that my love for Balzac stems from beginning with Cousin Bette.

I started with Les Choans. I realized quickly I had to learn about the French Revolution and the Vendee. once I got some historical information it became much easier to read. The Ass's Skin was ok but it was too philosophical for me and yes, the magic in it really deviated from his realism. It doesn't seem to fit the rest of his work. It felt more like a potboiler that was written on the side, too commercial.

I appreciate anyone who posts anything here about great lit, and Balzac is a great writer. However, I disagree with this person re The Wild Ass’s Skin. It is a fine novel, despite some lulls here and there, and it’d be a good first Balzac. It does have a supernatural element, but it does not detract from its essential realism. This is also true of Maupassant, Gogol, Pushkin, and many others. It’s not, as this person suggests, an either/or thing; many realists include supernatural elements in their fiction. I agree, though, that Pete Goriot is probably the best Balzac starting point.

Great novelist particulary in entertainment value, class analysis with trashy melodramatic plots, no wonder Karl Marx loved his books so much. Père Goriot and Lost Illusions are master classes in compelling characters and plot, Eugénie Grandet I find to be trashy in a bad way.

I couldn't put the wild asses' skin down as a teenager

Balzac...heh, heh...yeah😊