Negative Positive
Title: Great intuition spoiled by not enough depth
Review: This is a quite interesting and charming novel even for someone who is not exactly a passionate reader of the 'classics'. The central idea, an ancient talisman with the power to make wishes come true, but shrinks with every desire that becomes true is fascinating and deeply philosophical and "human". I think Balzac should have elaborated more on this idea, exploring the dimensions of human desire and discovering more complex and deep characters for his novel. Instead, making the talisman work also for very trivial and passing desires, makes the while situation almost comical and superficial. It looks like Balzac didn't take himself too seriously with this novel and saved his efforts. Pity, but this is still a fascinating read.
Is the review positive or negative? 