Part of La Comédie Humaine
First published 1993
Rabourdin works within France's sprawling state bureaucracy, where he has developed an ambitious plan to cut the government workforce by half while doubling its revenue. His unscrupulous wife helps him maneuver through the political maze as he attempts to implement sweeping reforms. But when details of his reorganization scheme leak out, the threatened low-level clerks and functionaries rally behind his rival, a thoroughly incompetent bureaucrat who promises to protect their jobs. What begins as an administrative reform effort transforms into a bitter power struggle that pits efficiency against self-preservation. Rabourdin finds himself fighting not just institutional inertia but the desperate fear of those who stand to lose everything. The battle exposes the gap between noble intentions and brutal political reality in a system where personal ambition and petty scheming often triumph over genuine progress.
Genres: fiction, satire, classic-literature, literary-fiction, 19th-century, political-thriller
Vibes: character-driven, cynical, politically-charged, satirical, thought-provoking
Tropes: ambitious-protagonist, corruption-exposed, political-intrigue, rise-and-fall
Setting: France
Period: 19th century
247 pages · Paperback · Northwestern University Press