I've only read Lost Illusions but I loved it to shreds. I actually went out and found another copy to give to my mom for xmas. What next for me and Balzac?

pick one from any of his popular books

Can any French readers let me know if I'd be missing out on his meaning by reading a translation?

I guess I'm asking if his genius depends on his language. I've always been wary of reading translations for this reason.

>>7626088
as an English reader I can tell you his genius is his imaginative genius. you should be fine with even the coarsest translation.

>>7626088
autism or meming?

>>7626088
>I've always been wary of reading translations for this reason.

we got another one

>>7626092
Everyone has a limited amount of time to spend reading. I'd rather spend that time reading an original rather than a translation because there wasn't another, separate human getting in the way of the text.

It's fine for writers that depend moreso on the content, the narrative, that sort of thing. But could you imagine reading a translation of Joyce? The language games are confined to the English tradition.

People who speak English think differently than people who speak French who speak differently than people who speak Mandarin, etc. And I don't think you can translate a way of thinking.

>>7626090
Would you say that "imaginative genius" is synonymous for world-building?

>>7626098
autism

>>7626109
Could I just grab your cock and stroke it? Come on. Someone else has mine.

>>7626101
sort of. it is his world-building -- his famous paris and his angouleme -- but it's also his characters and his plotting and how his characters interact with his world

cousin pons
pere goriot
lost illusions

his best 3, also his less melodramatic works,balzac is fun but you can still tell he isnt that "realist" yet, one of the first? yes.

>>7626027
>Also, what are you personal favorite stories from Balzac?
when that one guy gets cucked

>>7626088
As a french, i can say you are not missing anything. The four pillars of the french literature are Stendhal, Balzac, Flaubert and Zola. Stendhal and Flaubert for their style. Balzac and Zola for their imagination. So it's fine to read Balzac in english.