Probably my weakest Balzac yet, with his fascination with conspiracies/secret societies taking new importance in this volume (though little direct narrative consequence). The idea of Paris as a kind of conscious being in itself is interesting but other than some nice descriptions I feel like it doesn't really add much to the overall story which is a decent melodrama of jealousy, obsessive love and paranoia that's a little thinly characterized if still of much interest for all the reasons Balzac always is - like the opening and the ending a lot but it wanders in between at points. ( )

843.7 BAL

Balzac was such a prolific writer that one is bound to ask the question: Where to begin? La Comédie humaine is the umbrella under which most of his fictional output is set, the earliest of which appeared in 1830. Even Balzac himself was undecided about the proper order of the many dozens of works, having reorganized the list several times over the years.

Ferragus came relatively early in the series, appearing in 1833, more than a year before Pere Goriot, the Balzac novel most familiar at least to English readers. Ferragus was the first novel in a trilogy called The Thirteen (Histoire des treize), followed by the Duchess of Langeais (La Duchesse de Langeais) and The Girl with the Golden Eyes (La Fille aux yeux d’or). In Balzac’s final organization of La Comédie humaine, The Thirteen appeared under a grouping entitled “Scenes from Parisian Life" (Scènes de la vie parisienne).

Balzac’s original intent with regard to The Thirteen was to exploit the eternal fascination with secret societies and their alleged illicit machinations behind the scenes. However, just at the time he was to begin Ferragus — which was to be serialized in a Paris weekly — he became caught up in the idea that Paris itself was a living breathing organism and could be the true protagonist of a novel. Thus, Ferragus begins with as dramatic a description of the city of Paris as one is apt to find anywhere. Throughout the novel, the city is indeed a palpable presence; however, Balzac fell short of turning it into the protagonist. And the netherworld of occult organizations — barely mentioned — merely lends a foreboding atmosphere, vaguely visible from the shadows.

In some ways Ferragus is like a melodrama, particularly in its delivery. Everything seems exaggerated. Is it really possibly to will oneself to die? Balzac’s style of writing is such that no detail is left to the imagination, perhaps a key to the nature of his Realism which distinguishes this book from what might otherwise be considered a typical Romantic novel. The words tumble out breathlessly. The characters almost seem like the stock players in a melodrama. As someone wrote, Balzac’s favorite types include “the noble soldier, the scoundrel, the proud workman, the fearless spy and the alluring mistress.” Every one of these types appear in Ferragus!

Even though the characters seem formulaic although by no means cardboard cutouts, I suspect this novel is fairly representative of Balzac. The reader can learn a great deal about the highly stratified post-Napoleonic French society — even in the pages of this one little book. Balzac’s garrulous style by itself is fascinating and the novel is filled with suspense.

The riveting plot concerns itself with a happily married couple whose idyllic existence is threatened by the amorous interest of a feckless young man (“the noble soldier”) who interjects himself uninvited into their lives and ferrets out a dangerous secret. Doubts creep in and — well, what happens next is for the reader to find out. ( )

A Comédia Humana, chamada de 'o monumento literário' do escritor francês por reunir 89 de seus títulos, entre contos e romaces, é um retrato vivo da sociedade francesa do século XIX. Ela é dividida em três partes: "Estudos de Costumes", "Estudos Analíticos" e "Estudos Filosóficos". A mais longa, com 66 títulos é "Estudos de Costumes", da qual faz parte o presente livro, "Ferragus".

Esse é também, como uma história dentro de outra história, o primeiro livro de uma trilogia que fala de situações diversas mas traz, como pano de fundo, a História dos Treze, uma sociedade secreta e misteriosa que possui muito poder. Para além da suposta fantasia que tal sociedade possa suscitar, Balzac foca sua escrita na realística descrição que faz dos costumes e das personagens - sempre com ênfase nas figuras femininas.

Ferragus, chefe dos Devoradores, divide a cena com Madame Jules e seu marido e ainda com o oficial Maulincour, numa narrativa que envolve crimes, suspense e espionagem. O melhor, como habitual, são as análises e observações sobre o 'zeitgeist' dos eventos sociais e bailes franceses da época e, particularmente neste título, o funeral e o enterro descritos ao final do livro. ( )