Part of La Comédie Humaine
Don Juan Faez d'Azhoza commands wealth and power in early 19th century Europe, but neither satisfies his deepest craving. He wants to live forever. His obsession with finding the elixir of life drives him across continents, where he seeks out alchemists and sorcerers who promise the secret to eternal youth. Don Juan will pay any price for immortality, even human lives. His single-minded pursuit isolates him from his family and loved ones, transforming him into a man who becomes increasingly detached from the world he desperately wants to inhabit forever. As Don Juan travels deeper into dangerous territories and makes increasingly dark bargains, he faces a terrible question: what does it mean to truly live when you sacrifice everything human about yourself to avoid death? Balzac creates a character whose quest for endless life becomes a meditation on mortality, love, and the price of absolute desire.
Genres: classic-literature, french-literature, historical-fiction, european-literature, dark-fantasy
Vibes: dark, introspective, melancholic, philosophical, thought-provoking
Tropes: corruption-of-character, isolation-from-loved-ones, moral-reckoning, obsessive-quest
Setting: Europe
Period: Early 19th Century
48 pages · Paperback · Kessinger Publishing
Content warnings: death, murder