Is Balzac actually good, or just a meme?

Is Balzac actually good, or just a meme?

He wrote the best French book. But stick to English books if you don't speak French.

wow...

I have met absolutely zero people that have read his works.

His name is ballsack what do you think.

Every french reader is familiar with his work, and i’m one of them.

Don’t trust that other user, btw : Balzac is easily translatable and should be read, if only for his skills as a Novelist and great, unparalleled gift of characterization.

I don't know any French guys. I don't trust him, he has to be considered one of the greats for a reason, but it just surprised me when no one has read him here and we usually like our French authors.

Be warned he deals with issues of class in his books. If this is something you just can't abide, I don't advise.

I don't read French, but I admire his absolutely insane work ethic.

Read it and find out!

He's underrated in the Anglosphere. Lost Illusions is a masterpiece.

>unparalleled gift of characterization.

Having read Pere Goriot, though he's good, he's no Dostoevsky.

HONOR THE BALLSACK

Proust and Rabelais remain the best french authors in my opinion but Balzac is very close to them. Dostoevsky was inspired by him (see the references to him in many of his novels). His vast project as to describe an entire society of his time is widely reknown...

Though his work lack a metaphysical perspective on things, his genius to describe so deeply the human nature is really amazing.

>Having read Pere Goriot, though he's good, he's no Dostoevsky.
... yea, thank God for that.

lel

Memeish. Like a pedantic imitation of Hugo. But i have only read in translation.

>Like a pedantic imitation of Hugo.
Baffling take. Hugo is ten times more pedantic, paternalist, didactic, etc, etc., than Balzac.

haha, lmao!!

I have only read Les Miserables so I can't say with authority, but how can you say that it was formulaic at all. Quite the opposite.

woody allen is a fan

he's also a Bob Hope fan

He also fucks little girls

>little bits of story
>proceed to talk about things completely unrelated to the story for a long time
>another little bits of the story
>little bits of more unrelated things
>finally reaches the climax for one part
>rinse and repeat

Yeah, it's formulaic.