Books › La père Goriot
La père Goriot
First published 1996 · 632 pages
A gritty, glittering descent into the moral compromises of high society and the tragic cost of unconditional love.
What it feels like
Reading this novel feels like stepping into a meticulously painted, dimly lit Parisian boardinghouse where every scuff on the floorboards tells a story of faded glory and desperate ambition. The narrative moves at a steady, deliberate pace, immersing you in a world where social currency is everything and moral compromise is the price of admission. The prose is famously dense and observant, lingering on the material textures of poverty and opulence alike to reveal the psychological rot beneath. It is a deeply cynical yet profoundly tragic reading experience, tracing a devastating arc from youthful naivete to bitter disillusionment. This is a feast for readers who revel in sweeping nineteenth-century social realism, intricate character studies, and unsparing examinations of human greed, filial cruelty, and the hollow pursuit of status.
- Mood
- grimy
- claustrophobic
- ambitious
- decaying
- melancholic
- Tone
- cynical
- observant
- satirical
- tragic
- melodramatic
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- social climbing · filial ingratitude · moral corruption · the cost of ambition · unconditional love · class disparity
- The writing
- Dense, highly descriptive, and psychologically penetrating, lingering on material details to expose the inner rot of society.
- The arc
- The journey moves from wide-eyed, ambitious curiosity to a crushing, cynical disillusionment with human nature.
- Who it's for
- Lovers of sweeping nineteenth-century social realism who enjoy intricate character studies and unsparing examinations of human greed.
Content notes
- poverty
- emotional abuse
- death of a parent
- financial ruin
- terminal illness
About the book
SCOTT (copy 1): The Hédi Bouraoui Collection in Maghrebian and Franco-Ontario Literatures is the gift of University Professor Emeritus Hédi Bouraoui.
Description from Open Library.
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