Reviews

Letters of Two Brides by Honoré de Balzac

towercity's review against another edition

4.0

every Balzac novel seems to follow the same pattern: a relatively slow beginning picks up more and more as it goes on until, by the time you get to the middle, you suddenly realize you've become so drawn into the novel that you almost forgot the distinction between it and reality, and you continue in this state of confused reality until you reach the end of the novel and Balzac throws in a moral so dated to his time and so far from your own moral compass that you're torn from the reality of the novel and forced to wonder, "why did Balzac freakin do this?" this style is called realism, and Balzac is its unfortunate master. i personally cannot get enough

meeliyo's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

zoebeketova's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

msgtdameron's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

Balzac wrote a great piece of psychological thought.  Thought into the meaning of Love.  Much of the work concerns love and what is love.  Both characters keep trying to define love for themselves and each other.  Louise, finds love as a whirlwind of sexual tension.  Where getting the man to be your lover and slave to that love is prime.  Renne, finds herself in a loveless marriage, at least from her perspective, but it is a marriage that is honorable for both her and her family.  Louise grows to actually love her second husband as a man, but becomes jealous with out investigation.  He has turned the tables on Louise by making her the one who is the slave in the relationship.  Renne has children and loves them as a mother should, she learns to love her husband, and use her connection with Louise to promote him at Court.  The end is well done Louise dies as a moth would when drawn to the flame.  She lived fast died at 30 and left a beautiful memory.  Renne buries Louise, then runs to her children and husband.  The whole psychology of both women as they get to the end is truly fascinating and well written. 

yuliia_trevi's review against another edition

5.0

I thought it was awesome and I would want to re-read it ( which is unbelievable). I will keep this book in my library, very-very nice!

lmsst's review against another edition

emotional inspiring sad slow-paced

5.0

sydneyedens's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

love an epistolary novel, love women main characters, interesting to get a peek into 1900s very aristocratic france lol the patriarchy is quite something isn’t it 
i’m reading war and peace right now too, and i’m literally learning so much about french history lol go off napoleon 

dasandryne's review against another edition

4.0

livre audio - J'ai beaucoup aimé la première partie de ce livre. L'aspect épistolaire était, à mon avis, très bien utilisé et le personnage de Renée et Louise m'ont semblé intéressants et complexes. J'étais contente qu'elles ne tombe pas dans les stéréotype de la jeune fille sage et innocente qui ne connait rien et la femme passionné et égoïste. Cependant, la seconde partie ma un peu déçu et j'y ai trouvé la voix de l'auteur beaucoup trop moralisatrice et très réductrice quant au rôle de la femme même pour la société de l'époque (je ne peux m'empêcher de me demander si George Sand n'a pas trouvé la dédicace de ce livre un peu insultante). La plume de l'auteur a cependant sauvé ce livre pour moi.

vivi_in_naniwa's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

3.25

ladyonequestion's review against another edition

4.0

A charming epistolary novel about two women growing up and falling in love. Balzac contrasts Renee who choses an arranged marriage with an older man and her domestic life with her children, and Louise who falls passionately and jealously in love. The novel gives a good insight into the motivations of the two women and into their private and public lives, although I would describe them as both being rather stubborn in their opinions and Renee in particular can be quite judgemental towards Louise. Once I got into this, I found it hard to put down.