The Wild Ass's Skin
Title | The Wild Ass's Skin PDF eBook |
Author | Honoré de Balzac |
Publisher | |
Total Pages | 318 |
Release | 1908 |
Genre | France |
ISBN |
The Magic Skin (French Literature Classic)
Title | The Magic Skin (French Literature Classic) PDF eBook |
Author | Honoré de Balzac |
Publisher | e-artnow |
Total Pages | 231 |
Release | 2019-12-18 |
Genre | Fiction |
ISBN |
A young man named Raphaël de Valentin wagers his last coin and loses, then proceeds to the river Seine to drown himself. On the way, however, he decides to enter an unusual shop and finds it filled with curiosities from around the world. The elderly shopkeeper leads him to a piece of shagreen hanging on the wall. It is inscribed with "Oriental" writing; the old man calls it "Sanskrit", but it is imprecise Arabic. The skin promises to fulfill any wish of its owner, shrinking slightly upon the fulfillment of each desire. The shopkeeper is willing to let Valentin take it without charge, but urges him not to accept the offer. Valentin waves away the shopkeeper's warnings and takes the skin, wishing for a royal banquet, filled with wine, women, and friends. He is immediately met by acquaintances who invite him to such an event; they spend hours eating, drinking, and talking. But his actions must meet consequences. For each wish granted, the skin shrinks and consumes a portion of his physical energy.
The Fatal Skin
Title | The Fatal Skin PDF eBook |
Author | Honoré de Balzac |
Publisher | Signet Classics |
Total Pages | 336 |
Release | 1949 |
Genre | Fiction |
ISBN |
Set in early 19th-century Paris, it tells the story of a young man who finds a magic piece of shagreen that fulfills his every desire. For each wish granted, however, the skin shrinks and consumes a portion of his physical energy. Bent on killing himself by throwing himself into the Seine after losing his shirt at the gaming tables, Raphael de Valentin, the romanticised, doomed young hero of Balzac's early novel, 'La Peau de chagrin' (1831), turns into an antiques shop to while away the hours till darkness (when he can be sure not to be rescued). There he finds himself in an emporium of civilisation's treasures, from all over the world and in every marvellous material, executed to the highest degree of human art. Eventually, the eerie, wizened keeper appears and shows Valentin the magic skin which gives the novel its title. It's the hide of a wild ass and, like the ring of the Nibelungen, has the power to grant its owner every wish. But in return it will take possession of Valentin, body and soul. Every time it performs, it will shrink and Valentin's life will shorten in accord.
The Wild Ass's Skin
Title | The Wild Ass's Skin PDF eBook |
Author | Honoré de Balzac |
Publisher | Oxford University Press, USA |
Total Pages | 289 |
Release | 2012-06-14 |
Genre | Fiction |
ISBN | 0199579504 |
Set in early 19th-century Paris, it tells the story of a young man who finds a magic piece of shagreen that fulfills his every desire. For each wish granted, however, the skin shrinks and consumes a portion of his physical energy.
The Wild Ass' Skin
Title | The Wild Ass' Skin PDF eBook |
Author | Honoré de Balzac |
Publisher | |
Total Pages | 410 |
Release | 1897 |
Genre | France |
ISBN |
The Wild Ass's Skin
Title | The Wild Ass's Skin PDF eBook |
Author | Honoré de Balzac |
Publisher | |
Total Pages | 312 |
Release | 1906 |
Genre | France |
ISBN |
The wild ass's skin, by Honoré de Balzac
Title | The wild ass's skin, by Honoré de Balzac PDF eBook |
Author | Honoré de Balzac |
Publisher | |
Total Pages | 0 |
Release | 1915 |
Genre | |
ISBN |