Reviews

Honorine by Honoré de Balzac

s0on_'s review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

yolisa_mkele's review against another edition

challenging sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Absolutely gorgeous 

ladyonequestion's review against another edition

3.0

A difficult one from a modern perspective as it's dealing with a couple who would just be divorced today. Nevertheless, I think it makes an interesting point about the position of women in the period. Honorine longs to live independently and earn her own money but she is hopelessly naive, encouraged by her husband who secretly finances her because he can't let her go. The situation for both of them is pretty hopeless. The story is told delicately.

msand3's review against another edition

3.0

Perhaps the greatest Wing Man tale ever written. The story-within-a-story-within-a-story offers a complex way of understanding audience, as we see Honorie through the eyes of a not-so-objective voice who must play so many roles to obtain the "truth" that he ultimately suppresses the own truth in his heart. It's not a top-tier Balzac, but it does make for an enjoyable enough read.

lnatal's review against another edition

2.0

The original French text is available at La Bibliothèque électronique du Québec.

Free download available at Project Gutenberg.



Opening lines:
Si les Français ont autant de répugnance que les Anglais ont de propension pour les voyages, peut-être les Français et les Anglais ont-ils raison de part et d'autre.

Scènes de la vie privée :
3* La maison du Chat-qui-pelote (1830)
3* Le bal de Sceaux (1830)
3* La Bourse (1830)
4* La Vendetta (1830)
3* Madame Firmiani (1832)
3* Une Double Famille (1830)
4* La paix du ménage (1830)
3* La Fausse Maîtresse (1842)
3* Étude de femme (1830)
4* Albert Savarus (1842)
4* Mémoires de Deux Jeunes Mariées (1841)
3* Le Colonel Chabert (1844, first published as La transaction, 1832)
4* Une fille d'Eve (1839)
3* La Femme Abandonee (1833)
4* La Grenadière (1832)
3* Le Message (1833)
3* Gobeseck (1830)
3* Autre Etude de Femme (1839-1842)
4* La Femme de Trente Ans (1834)
4* Le Contrat de Marriage (1835)
3* La Messe de L'Athee (1832)
4* La Grande Bretèche (1832)
2* Honorine (1843)