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Cousin Bette
Cousin Bette | Honor de Balzac
15 posts | 10 read | 16 to read
The crown jewel in a remarkable literary career, Cousin Bette is regarded by many critics to be Balzac's last great work before his death in 1850. A fine example of European realist fiction, the story recounts the attempt of a disgruntled housewife to bring about the misery and destruction of her entire extended family. Fans of Tolstoy's War and Peace will enjoy Cousin Bette.
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AvidReader25
Cousin Bette | Honore Balzac
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Mehso-so

A classic that explores a world filled w/greed, lust & selfish choices. There‘s no one to root for, even the virtuous Adeline is insufferable. Her husband, Hulot flits from one affair to the next & she pretends nothing‘s wrong. She's held up as a paragon of saintly womanhood, a standard even her daughter can't emulate in the same dilemma. Bette‘s plot was interesting but she was shuffled to the sideline as we watched the "redemption" of the Hulot.

BarbaraBB Great review! 3y
AvidReader25 @BarbaraBB Thanks! So hard to keep it short. 😆 3y
19 likes2 comments
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Arvena
Cousin Bette | Honor de Balzac
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#internationalcoffeeday ☕️

☕️Yes!
☕️ The tagged book - it is said that Balzac used to drink 50 cups of coffee a day!

@Blackink_whitepaper

Blackink_WhitePaper Omg 😱 50 cups !!! Thanks for playing 💐😀☕️ 4y
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Lcsmcat
Cousin Bette | Honore Balzac
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Lcsmcat
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Pickpick

This was a qualified pick for me. It has some great witty quotes, and in many ways Balzac is a sharp observer (and chronicler) of human nature. At other points his chauvinism, in both senses of the word, drove me mad. (He particularly seemed to have a problem with Poles.) While I will not attempt to read the entire Comédie Humaine, I am glad I read this one.

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Lcsmcat
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😂😂😂

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Lcsmcat
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WTF Balzac!

CSeydel Zoinks 5y
Graywacke 🤦‍♂️ 5y
See All 6 Comments
tournevis Oh so very Balzac, this! 5y
zsuzsanna_reads Well there is a link to testosterone, but 🤦 5y
Jas16 🙄 5y
46 likes6 comments
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Lcsmcat
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I‘m finding Balzac‘s prejudices hard to swallow, but his very French outlook on life, like the above quote, amuses me greatly.

Lindy I tried reading Cousin Bette after learning that it inspired one of Sarah Schulman‘s novels (which I enjoyed), but I didn‘t get too far before bailing on it. 5y
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Lcsmcat
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“Books and flowers are to many persons as necessary as bread.”

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Yes!!!! 📚🌼 6y
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Lcsmcat
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I‘ll just leave that there. #paris #balzac

Cathythoughts 😊👍🏻 6y
ellemarr Very nice! Great quote @Cathythoughts 6y
45 likes3 comments
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Lcsmcat
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I keep finding quotes to highlight in this book. So rather than spamming everyone‘s feed with multiple posts, I‘ll just put these out here. I particularly like the top one.

arubabookwoman My favorite Balzac! 6y
GabrielleDubois My favourite Balzac is the man behind the author, when he received his friends for dinner without any meal to give them because he had no money. Then he told his friends: "Would you be so witty if you were not hungry?" ? 6y
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Lcsmcat
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That‘s a unique take on heredity. 🙄

DivineDiana Hmmm. 🤔 6y
GingerAntics That‘s interesting. 6y
49 likes2 comments
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Lcsmcat
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I‘m #afraid that once again I‘ve started two new books on the same day. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Slade House for my #audiocommute and the tagged book on Kindle. #blackcatchallenge @Clwojick

48 likes1 stack add
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toofondofbooks
Cousin Bette | Honor de Balzac
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19 likes1 stack add
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BookGoGo
Cousin Bette | Honor de Balzac
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The #booksleeve @Michelle_mck had been waiting for is now available in store, for the truly #bookish minded peeps. Available in small and large http://etsy.me/2qEZ8GV

Michelle_mck I'm coming round to get one so you better not sell them all! 7y
LeeRHarry Ooh that's lovely! 😊 7y
TrishB That's lovely 💟 7y
Nat_Reads ❤️ 7y
73 likes4 comments
review
Shazzer
Cousin Bette | Honor de Balzac
Bailedbailed

I decided at the start of the year to try read a few classics. This probably wasn't the best to start with. It's so melodramatic. It was when the Brazilian "cousin" turned up that I lost the will to keep reading.