First published 2011
Monsieur Goriot lives among the eccentric residents of Madame Vauquer's rundown boarding house in Paris. Once wealthy and respected, he watches his money drain away under mysterious circumstances. His fellow lodgers turn their backs on him as his fortunes decline. Only his two elegantly dressed daughters continue to visit him regularly. Eugene Rastignac, an ambitious young man hungry for social status and riches, sees opportunity in the boarding house's strange dynamics. He plots his way into Parisian high society. Meanwhile, the mysterious Vautrin conceals dangerous secrets that could destroy them all. Goriot's relationship with his daughters drives him toward financial ruin. He sacrifices everything for their happiness and social position. Rastignac learns harsh lessons about the price of ambition in post-Revolutionary France. The boarding house becomes a microcosm of a society where money determines worth and family bonds bend under social pressure. Balzac exposes how greed and status corrupt human relationships in bourgeois Paris.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 19th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: ambition, downfall, family-drama, social-climbing
Setting: Paris
Period: Post-Revolutionary France
316 pages · Kindle Edition · Penguin