A review by screen_memory
Lost Illusions by Honoré de Balzac

5.0

I always forget how much I love Balzac. I've read a fair amount of his works, but I've only done so over the span of seven or eight years. This particular book, though, I have owned and put off reading for five, maybe six years. Each glimpse of the formidable volume would make me shudder at the size of the novel and the sheer amount of hours I would invest into it, but once I started the story it was difficult to put down.

Balzac wrote with full force in this one. Intricate plots, interpersonal dealings, treacherous schemes, underhanded deals, and other shady goings-on abound in this work.

Also, I cannot help the fact that I am so put off by so much modern prose and its absolute intolerance toward anything but the barest skeleton of what's necessary in a scene, and thus have found my home in the territory of the old masters, shameless neo-classicist that I am, that Balzac's work, characterized by his intimidating attention to detail and settings (Balzac serves as an excellent teacher of esoteric names for furniture and interior decorations...you know, if that's your thing), is nothing less than a pleasure to read.