Part of La Comédie Humaine, book 4
First published 2001
Hippolyte Schinner works alone in his atelier when disaster strikes. The young painter loses his footing on a step-ladder and crashes to the floor, the impact rendering him unconscious. The sound of his fall carries through the building to the apartment directly below, where Adélaïde Leseigneur lives with her mother, Madame de Rouville. The two women rush to investigate the commotion from their upstairs neighbor. What begins as a simple accident becomes the catalyst for an encounter that will intertwine the lives of the solitary artist and his concerned neighbors. Balzac transforms this moment of vulnerability into an exploration of human connection, showing how chance events can bridge the gaps between strangers living mere floors apart.
Genres: fiction, drama, art, romance, literary-fiction, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: chance-encounter, found-family
Period: 19th-century
250 pages · Unbound · Blue Unicorn Editions