111 Book Review: At the Sign of the Cat and Racket
At the Sign of the Cat and Racket (La Maison du chat-qui-pelote)
by Honoré de Balzac
That’s right, y’all. I advocate dirty books: we’re doing Balzac!
At the Sign of the Cat and Racket (or La Maison du chat-qui-pelote, if you’re nasty) is one of those titles that implies a zany game of cat tennis, cat badminton, cat racquetball, cat squash, or literally any other racket-based sport being played by at least one cat. Alas, such hopes will be dashed (sorry, spoilers!).
The actual story is of two marriages — one romantic and one down-to-earth — pinned between art and industry. It’s subtle, but it’s a kicker. Makes sense why Balzac chose this story as the opening installment of his Human Comedy literary universe. It’s basically Iron Man, but in Paris.
TL;DR: Cupid runs out of arrows in this one, but also Cupid is the worst. Also, there’s a hullabaloo over a painting.
Rating: 8 out of 11 Racket-Holding Cats
Get it here:
- IndieBound (print, U.S.)
- Better World Books (print, worldwide)
- Project Gutenberg (electronic, free)
- Apple Books (electronic)
- Google Play Books (electronic)
- (sorry, no audio for this one #BizOpportunity)
Oh, you liked it? Well, then, try: Anna Karenina (for the subtle shades of love), Romeo & Juliet (for the less-subtle shades of love)
