What do ya'll think of Balzac?

No. Flaubert would be the most popular choice, and rightfully so.

>

Look at the fucking question, no shit i'm implying. Balzac is still no Flaubert or Stendhal.

Never understood how he kept his boner up the entire day writing. Dude must be have been sore af

Oh yeahhhhh, something like 20 cups a day or something? Didn't he wish for his secretary or assistant or whatever to pick out a cup that most represents the day and give a summary as to why?

Is The Unknown Masterpiece good?

>ya'll

holy shit this is a literature board, used almost exclusively by Americans, how do you fags still get this wrong

As for Balzac he is one of the greatest character writers. He has a great eye too. The social dynamics can be a much at times though

t h i s

The most popular choice would obviously be Hugo.

I never read Balzac, but I know some interesting things about him, like:

a) Tolstoy said he was one of the best, if not the best, French writer, and said that he was “undeniably, a genius”. If Tolstoy, one of the greatest writers of all time, said that about Balzac, then he must be really gifted.

b) Balzac was very incapable when he started writing, but somehow he managed to keep going, to keep moving forward and forward, slowly improving, until finally he blossomed into a significant writer. He seems to have forced himself to become a great writer; he was a triumph of the will in flesh and blood.

c) Balzac was very dedicated to his art and produced a lot of material, struggling day after day after day to generate new and better fiction. Here, again, his colossal will-power is evident.

With all that in mind I would like to know what the people who have read him on Veeky Forums think about his work.

Cannot speak to the French perspective. In the Anglo-sphere, however, Proust would be considered the greatest French writer. Though Camus would be the most widely read. Hugo would not be known at all if it weren't for the stage and film adaptions of Les Mis.

I only read Pere Goriot but I thought it was very good. Interesting perspective on French society at the time and his characters were great. Very descriptive as well.

I have been toying with the idea to write an adaptation of Pere Goriot in modern times in NYC. A little cliche I know but it could be fun

French here. No. Contenders for greatest French writer would be Montaigne, Molière and Proust. Most academicians would probably go with Proust.

But no matter, Balzac IS a great writer.

pleb tier fatass

>Contenders for greatest French writer would be Montaigne, Molière and Proust
I would add Corneille and Hugo for the immense variety of their oeuvre.

How can you take anyone called fucking "Balzac" seriously?

La Fontaine is held in very high regard by academicians (rightfully in my opinion).

>Molière
>over Rabelais and La Fontaine
>Proust

He had the greatest writing schedule of all time.