Lost Illusions (Dodo Press) (Paperback)

from colligan

If one enjoys excellent writing coupled with a superb presentation of historical periods, Lost Illusions is a book not to be missed. The author's wit and eye for all matter of detail carrys the patient reader through a plot which, at times, wanders into lengthy digressions. Definitely not what a ...

from whitrichardson

An excellent book. One of Balzac's best, in my opinion.

from JonArnold

I'd never read Balzac before seeing this recommended, after reading it I wondered why it took me so long to get around to him. The prose style might seem overly didactic at times (in the translation I read anyway) but otherwise it charts the decline and fall of a talented poet who tries his hand ...

from jonfaith

While there were issues with the structure of the novel, the disparate scenarios involving Lucien and David are removed from one another to a cumbersome degree. Compounding this, the tragedy which envelops David and Eve is soaked and blurred in jargon and legal asides. I sense that Balzac was thi...

from GarySeverance

From the frenetic world of writers and booksellers in Paris to the grueling life of hard work and boredom in villages, Balzac traces the systematic destruction of illusions in his characters. No one can be trusted (friends, foes, or family) when the creative or inventive person attempts to reach ...